I am very happy with my blender and I wish I wind have stared here first. I went the vitamix route and tried the A3500 which is supposed to be their top of the line but after 3 replacements the blender could not handle a simple smoothie. After reading more reviews others had the same issue. I returned the blender and tried a series 800 from blendtec and it blended what the vitamix couldn’t with ease and was much quieter having the sound dampening cover! I would recommend this blender to everyone looking for a serious blender that is also quiet. I love it!!