Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsSo far so good
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2024
This is my first Vitamix purchase. I bought this mainly for smoothies for myself. My old blender left me picking berry seeds out of my teeth after each smoothie. Hummus and cauliflower mash came out grainy in the food processor and would jam up my old blender unless you added more liquid, making the final product too runny. I watched many videos reviewing different Vitamix models. Most of the "influencers" recommended the fancier models with all the bells and whistles such as the Ascent 3500. I personally thought it was overkill for me and didn't think I'd ever use the timer, all the preset options, and different containers. I mean, it's a blender right? You put stuff in, turn it on for a minute and then turn it off. I'm not baking cookies or roasting a turkey in there.
The first thing I decided to make was strawberry ice cream using heavy whipping cream and frozen strawberries. I used the preset option for frozen desserts and tamper stick. The preset options have automated times and speeds and stop automatically after the preset cycle is finished. After the cycle was done it wasn't smooth enough for me so I used the variable speed dial on high for another 15 seconds and it was smooth, creamy, and delicious. After that experience, I don't think I'll be using the preset options much because depending on the type and quantity of ingredients, you will need to blend for different times to get just the right final consistency based on your individual preference. The presets don't account for all that.
To address some of the negative reviews:
Pitcher shifting: yes, the pitcher shifts a tad when the blender kicks on. That is normal. The motor is very powerful and the pitcher needs to have some give to it.
Lid: The lid does form a complete seal you just have to make sure you put some weight on it when you press it down into place.
Container size: This pitcher works just fine for my use but I usually only make two-serving smoothies using low volume items (no large fruits or greens). If you plan to blend a lot of large items and/or making additional servings at once, I would probably suggest buying a blender that comes with a larger pitcher or buying the 64 oz. tall Vitamix pitcher, which is compatible with this base. The 64 oz. wide pitcher is NOT compatible.
Sound: yes, it's loud. It's also very powerful. Those two things usually go hand in hand. The highest power setting is almost intimidating to use for the first time. Don't be scared to let it do it's thing. Keep the tamper handy.
Recipe book: The recipe book does not give conflicting instructions. I can't believe I have to explain this, but people read from top to bottom so the water or liquid is listed first in the recipes because it's the first ingredient to add to the bottom of the pitcher.
Overall, I really like this blender so far. The only thing I am wondering is if the 64 oz tall pitcher would help pull the ingredients down to the blade a little better because I almost always have to use the tamper for thicker blends. The reason I didn't get the 5200 with tall pitcher was because it was over $100 more than I paid for this one and didn't have a pulse button. I also didn't like that you have to turn the dial to 10 and also flip on the "high" switch to blend on high. Lastly, I thought I'd like having the preset options, which the 5200 didn't have, but have since found them unnecessary.
UPDATE: After using this blender for about a month, I have learned the proper ratio of frozen fruit and liquid to get my smoothies perfectly smooth and creamy using the smoothie preset option. I use the blender to make smoothies 99% of the time so I don't really use the other preset options. As I continue to use it, my ability to identify the proper ratio of ingredients to get the desired final consistency is improving. Overall, I'm loving this blender!
