The powerful Pro 1200's performance can match that of premium-priced blenders. It makes short work of extremeky fibrous green smoothie ingredients and quickly turns ice into snow. Yes, it's loud, but that doesn't bother me. All blenders are noisy. My mother used Oster blenders for 40+ years. Her Osterizer Galaxie from the 1970's still runs like a champ. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]