There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Another factor to remember is that if you are going to be buying mid to high end coffee beans and you use a cloth/paper filter, you are just throwing your money away, because at some point it all comes down to the oils contained in the beans and by using a filter you are preventing the oil from getting into your cup.
I would argue though that filtration is entirely a matter of preference. How much of the coffee's oils make it into the cup has a direct correlation on the body of your coffee. Some people really love heavy bodied coffee, (eg. French Press) while some prefer a high level of clarity. (eg Chemex). I'd say this is probably the most important factor when choosing a brew method.
In the Sub $100 price class, take a look at the Capresso 560 Infinity Burr Grinder at $86.
Next up in price class is the Baratza Encore for $130 which I'm thinking might be overkill for 99% of buyers.
Beyond that the sky's the limit on what you want to spend. One of the three I mentioned is probably your best bet though.
The grinder matters more than the device, generally speaking. Burr grinders are better than blade grinders because of consistency. If you wanna just get something that'll cover all your bases (sans espresso) get a Baratza Virtuoso or Lido 2. If you just wanna dip your toe in the water get a Hario Skerton (with OE mod) or Kuissential Evengrind.
(It also doesn't hurt that, like KitchenAid mixers, it's engineered to survive the apocalypse.)
Also, reiterating what FancyRedFox said with regards to the grinder. I can't speak highly enough of the value that a conical grinder can bring to your coffee game. If you are just starting out then I would say the Barazta encore is your best bet!
Hope this helps!
The way the burr mechanism is designed will speed up the grind process and the precision and consistency is pretty good even without micro-adjustments.
The short answer about does it matter for a drip brewer, yes it does matter, but probably not as much as the quality of the beans you put in it. That being said, aiming for consistency is probably the first step to better coffee.