I got this for Christmas after trying a couple of other blenders.  I wanted a blender with a glass jar because I'm trying to avoid plastic, even BPA free plastic.  But I was having to chew my smoothies and I could not make a drinkable cashew milk.  The Blendtec handles both.  I like the cleaning cycle also.  It is noisy but the noise does not bother me, although it is too loud to use if someone is asleep.  Overall I'm loving it and using it every day.