Vitamix Explorian Blender, Professional-Grade, 64 oz. Low-Profile Container, Black - 65542 (Renewed Premium)

Excellent item. I am delighted with the smoothies, so well blended and tasty. Also tried the ice cream feature for chocolate ice cream and it was a hit too. I haven't tried the soup setting yet. It looks and acts like a totally new blender. Not as loud as other people mentioned. Besides, smoothies and ice cream do not take more than a minute. Very, very happy with it.

Holy cow, this thing is scary loud. Sounds just like the blenders at Starbucks and I thought it was going to take to flight and blast off thru my ceiling on the highest setting. The instructions make it sound as if you don't start it up in the correct order you might regret it. First power button, then check the second power button, then ramp it up. I'm used to the old 10-key push buttons where you just plug it in and use it. I bought this because it can make soup from scratch and that appealed to me. Just throw everything in and turn it to the soup setting and walk away and in 5 minutes you have piping hot soup.

As a dedicated Vitamix owner for well over a decade, I can confidently attest that the Vitamix Explorian Blender, even as a renewed model, upholds the brand's enduring commitment to excellence. After relocating from Kenya back to the US and leaving my beloved Vitamix behind, I found myself in need of a new one. This was my very first kitchen appliance purchase as the entire family use it daily.Right from the initial use, this blender felt like an old friend reuniting with me. It performs precisely as you'd anticipate from a Vitamix – it's an absolute powerhouse! Whether I'm concocting smoothies, simmering soups, or experimenting with pesto recipes, this blender has yet to disappoint. It consistently delivers impeccably smooth, creamy, and flawlessly blended results, aligning seamlessly with the expectations of a professional-grade machine.One of its standout attributes, in my opinion, is its user-friendliness. The controls are intuitively designed, facilitating seamless transitions between speeds and ensuring I achieve the ideal texture for any recipe with ease. Additionally, it manages to maintain a surprisingly hushed operation, despite the significant power it wields. This feature is a true blessing for early morning smoothie sessions or any culinary venture that extends into the late hours.While the 64 oz. low-profile container design marked a departure from the taller containers I was accustomed to, it has proven to be a space-saving revelation in my compact kitchen. It fits snugly beneath my cabinets, allowing for convenient storage, all without the slightest compromise in the blender's exceptional performance.What sets Vitamix apart, in my view, is their unwavering dedication to uncompromising standards and quality. They steadfastly refuse to cut corners, and this commitment shines through every facet of this blender. Remarkably, it comes at what I consider a bargain price, which makes it all the more appealing. I have the utmost confidence that, just like its predecessors, this Vitamix will remain a loyal and long-serving companion in my culinary adventures for years to come.

In all my life I never thought I would be writing a review for a blender. But after having this Vitamix for several weeks, using it about every day. I wanted to share my opinions for anyone in a similar situation.First off, I will say that my wife and I make smoothies for our breakfast Monday through Friday. So our blenders get a workout. Our first blender was a standard Black and Decker, we quickly wore it out. We replaced it with an upgrade to the basic Ninja blender. And we were happy with it for 5 years, mostly. We knew about Vitamix, but figured it would be a case of diminishing returns. How much more blender could you get? $100 for the Ninja seems like enough money. But after wearing it out with 5 years of consistant use, it was literaly smoking when my wife made a smoothie one morning. We decided it might be worth it to spend a little more money.And that's where we are. I will be comparing this Vitamix to the base Ninja (I noticed a lot of people were in my situation when I was researching brands, so I thought this might help). Scroll to the bottom for a TL/DR.First off, POWER!!!! UNLIMITED POWER!!! at least until 10. The controls on this Vitamix are simple enough. There is a pulse switch, and a switch On/Off. Then a speed dial that goes to 10 (I'm waiting for the Spinal Tap version that goes to 11). The manufacturers suggest flipping it on at 1 and dialing it up to the preferred speed. Kinda feels like operating a spaceship, going into hyperspace. I rarely need to go above 7, but it can easily handle ludicrous speed (also known as 10). And even at the fastest speeds the base doesn't move and stays on the counter. The Ninja had a tendancy to dance off the counter if you didn't hold on to it. As stated earlier, I make smoothies. And this thing performs in that, silky smooth smoothies from the first time I used it. Comparatively the Ninja had good days and bad, but could never puree frozen fruit as well (lots of little chunks). I will note that for the first week or so the Vitamix had an ozone type smell while being operated, it was a little alarming at first but faded after repeated use.Second, cleaning. Now I work at home, where as my wife runs off to the rat races of a 9-5 day. So I clean the smoothie mess most days. And I really know about cleaning the Ninja, the blade comes right out and is sharp. I had it fall off the counter once and luckly betrayed my instinct to try to catch it. Plus even with the dish soap warm water and pulsing trick. I still had to scrub the fragments of fruit, and the grommet where the blade fit in the pitcher had to be cleaned with a tiny wire brush regularly or it got moldy. Needless to say, I hated cleaning the Ninja. But now I move to the Vitamix, and this machine was made to clean everyday. The blade is fixed, so nothing to clean there. You just fill it up halfway with warm water and put in a squirt of dish soap, run it on high for about 60 seconds and pour out and rinse. Only rarely do I have to scrub off bits of fruit, and then it's typically only on the spout or drips on the outside. The fitting on the bottom has a little hole for water to run out if you dry it upside down, small thing but nice touch. Simply put, I don't mind cleaning the Vitamix.And finally the noise level. I heard people complain about this. Now the Ninja was like a jet engine starting up, I live on a busy street so I don't mind noise. But the Ninja had such a high pitched whine that it irritated the tiny bones in my inner ear. But the Vitamix on the other hand, is relatively quiet. I wouldn't record a band with it running in the background, unless it was an experimental album. But the Vitamix is not irritating in the least. Just a steady lower WHIRRRRR!!!! But as I stated earlier with the power, you don't need to run it that long anyway. And I will state with my full confidence. It is the quietest blender I have ever used.So for my TL/DR conclusion. This entry level Vitamix blend was worth every penny I spent on it. And I was very skeptical. I have heard the models higher than this are even better, if this one ever conks out on me (in a reasonable amount of time of course). I will likely check out the higher levels. But for now, I would give the Vitamix Explorian my top marks. And a noticable upgrade from your standard entry level blender (that's a thing right?).