Customer Reviews

Braun MX2050 PowerMax Jug Blender

5 star:		(197)
4 star:		(84)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(46)
1 star:		(113)

 

 

I had an old Osterizer blender with 12 push-buttons, none of which matched the speed of this Braun powerhouse. I bought this to make protein shakes, which includes crushing a couple ice cubes, and so far, it has produced uniformly smooth shakes, with no lumps of unblended powder or pieces of uncrushed ice. The blades circulate the mixture quickly and thoroughly, and clean-up is simple; removing the bottom allows easy access to the (heavy) glass jar, or you can put some water and detergent in the jar and use the pulse setting.

One minor design flaw caused me to downgrade from 5 stars to 4. The lid has a removable center part for adding items while blending, which is a good idea. But even when this piece is fully closed and in place, there are openings at the edges. This is not a problem for the shakes I make, but the first time I used the pulse setting to clean the blender, I had soapy water all over. The easiest work-around is to put a kitchen towel on the lid when cleaning, but I do not know why Braun's designers left openings in an otherwise tightly-fitting lid. Even the old Osterizer with its removable center part sealed completely. If not for that, a 5-star product!

I know there are others out there like me: when I want to buy something, I want to buy the best. Naturally, I go for the top of the line. That usually means paying more for better quality. My reasoning is to spend a little more and I won't have to buy another one for years to come.

I'd been meaning to buy a blender for sometime now. After some hunting through the most well-known "consumer reporting" magazine, I discovered that this $50 blender, mixed, chopped and crushed ice better than models that were EIGHT times as much. This model is the best I've ever used.

Ice crushing was the key factor in the purchase. This baby crushes it in a few quick pulses. Frozen drinks are ready in less than 30 seconds. I use mine for protein shakes and it's a snap to clean. The key is cleaning it immediately.

I must stress that you can't find a better value for your money. This blender is amazing!

I was excited to receive this blender after much research. I enjoy making smoothies and this unit had favorable reviews. As I first put it together I noticed that three of the six plastic gears on the bottom of the blade assembly seemed particularly thinly spoked. I recalled the one review in which the owner mentioned that two of his six spokes had broken off. I pushed forward hoping that the Braun engineers knew what they were doing.

Unfortunately, after maybe 10 smoothies and nothing else, I went to reassemble the blade assembly and notice one of the larger three spokes had broken off! I looked at the base unit and sure enough the small plastic piece was sitting next to the drive gear. How long will it be before one of the small ones breaks off?

Otherwise, the blender is perfectly nice. Unfortunately, this design flaw is critical and I wouldn't expect any of these blenders to last more than a year or two. They need to beef up their blade assembly. Mine is going back. Save yourself the hassel, keep looking...

I purchased this blender with C Reports blessing- What a mistake! The 1st time I used it to chop ice (as directed in the instruction manual) it broke! ALL the plastic parts on the bottom cracked! I was incredulous, I always TRUSTED C Reports rating & advice! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS BLENDER!

Being that Consumer Reports gave this blender a great review & rating, I was amazed that there were SO many negative reviews of it here. But after reading them, I discovered that they had to do with a previous version of this product which had problems with the plastic blade/gear assembly. Those problems have been fixed, and the Braun MX2050 PowerMax Jug Blender works just fine.

I primarily use this blender to blend up banana breakfast shakes 4 times a week, and it hasn't given me any problems. I did, though, find out that you can't expect to put fruit that's totally frozen in this blender and expect it to work the way it's supposed to (Semi-frozen is the best way to go). After I'm done, I just fill it up with water until it gets to the 4-cup mark, squirt some dishwashing liquid in & use the "Pulse/Clean" setting to help with the clean up. It makes washing everything a hell of a lot easier!!

Anyway, I ended up getting this blender because it gave you lots of power & capacity for a low price. With other blenders, you get more by paying more ... which I refused to do. This was a good purchasing decision for me. I definitely got my money's worth. Whoever designed this blender had the end-user in mind. Everything is easy to set up & clean.

I had done quite a bit of research before buying this blender to make smoothies. I guess I should have listened to the online comments. While Consumer Reports rates this blender as a best buy for powerfully blending smoothies and a great price around ..there is a problem. After using the blender for only about a month the plastic teeth that hold the pitcher onto the motor break off. I had seen reports of this happening but the motor power and cost seemed hard to pass up. I agree that the blender is perfect for blending smoothies and crushing ice. The problem is the plastic teeth aren't strong enough to keep up with the powerful motor so when you do make smoothies or crush ice often they break off. Knowing that this might be a problem I was always very careful when placing the pitcher onto the base thinking that may help...but no amount of care was gentle enough for such a cheap plastic part. When I called Braun customer service this morning they said they would send out a replacement part free of cost. I asked if I might get more than one of the parts at a time since this was likely to happen again she said not unless I purchased them. I would have to call in each time it broke and then wait the 2 weeks for the new part under warranty. She mentioned that others had been having this problem and that they may redesign the part if they get enough complaints...I am holding out hope that this will be the case because after my year warranty is up I will have to shell out aroung ten dollars plus shipping and handling for the replacement part that is destined to break again....and that while the powerful motor is built strong enough to last! Such a shame...

Like most everyone else, I experienced a broken plastic drive tooth (still worked though) with my blender and also noticed that speeds 1 and 2 seemed to be the same speed.

Barring those issues, I really liked how well it blended until this past Thanksgiving weekend. While making my first batch of frozen drinks for guests, it began to smoke. It then slowed down and died.

It appears there's a one-year warranty on it as long as I can come up with proof-of-purchase and take it to a service center. I got it as a Christmas gift last year and sure hope my sister saved the receipt!

We bought this blender about 2 months ago. We make fruit smoothies with it every day, using frozen fruit, fresh fruit, yogurt and milk.

The jug attaches to the power base through 6 small plastic brackets which are attached to the bottom of the blade assembly. The brackets fit into a black ring on the power base.

Within the first month, 2 of the plastic brackets broke off. Now this month, 2 more brackets have broken. Ever since the first bracket broke, we have tried to be particularly careful about making sure that the jug is on the base correctly before starting the blender, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Braun has agreed to replace the blade assembly, but the service representative had "no idea" why the brackets were breaking off. He suggested that we thaw the frozen fruit before making the smoothies, but this would be time consuming and would change the consistency of the smoothie.

If the next blade does no better, we're going to end up trashing this blender and buying a different brand. What a waste of money!

I researched extensively to decide that this blender was the very best one. I'm really disappointed.

I use this blender primarily to make smoothies with yogurt, frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches, etc) and water, and I fill the jug with the ingredients. Sometimes the frozen fruit will jam up, stopping the blades. The problem is that the plastic gear that connects the blades to the motor becomes stripped over time until it no longer works at all. Mine lasted 8 months, using it perhaps once or maybe twice a week.

NOTE: I too researched this on Consumer Reports and verified that my blender is the new, "improved" unit that the magazine said was OK. They were wrong.

11/06: Note also that my unit has been at the repair shop for over 2 months waitinf for parts, which are back ordered. I finally got fed up and complained and Braun is shipping me a new unit, which is also back ordered. I hope the new version is better than the old one

11/20/06: Called Braun and demanded that they send me a new one since the parts were not obtainable. They said they would send me one but it is back-ordered. They were very nice over the phone, though.

12/12/06: Finally did get my unit. Alas, it has the very same gearing system as the old one. I guess I'll be gentle with it and hope for the best, then when it breaks, I'll buy another brand

1/15/07 Am being gentler by feeding fruit in one frozen strawberry at a time, but this time it actually burned out -- smoke started coming out. Into the trash

The Braun PowerMax MX2050 was top-rated and listed as a CR Best Buy in the December 2004 issue of Consumer Reports. According to the text, the current model passed the severe durability test: 50 minute-long ice-crushing cycles. Evidently, durability improvements have been made in the model. The negative comments may have been made by buyers of the "old" model.