Blendtec Professional 800 - Blender with WildSide+ Jar (90 oz) for Smoothies & Frozen Drinks - Quietest Professional-Grade Power - 11-Speed Touch Slider - Easy to Clean - Black

I never imagined spending even half this much for a blender. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the crazy price is 100% worth it IMO. Currently living in an apartment building in NYC where it is not permitted to make normal blender noise at the time of day/night when I MUST make my protein blender drink - daily. So, we began our search for a quiet blender.This is quiet. Really quiet. I can run it at 2am even and not bother anyone.Added benefits: 1) It's crazy fast. I used to run my good Oster blender for 7 minutes (by the clock) in order to emulsify all the nuts and seeds I need in my special health drink. This blender does it in 60 seconds. Seriously. AND 2) The level of emulsification in that 60 seconds far surpasses the level I got in 7 minutes with my old Oster. All the nuts and seeds end up ground totally fine, no grit at all, super smooth.3) Another added benefit -- perhaps the best, recognizable to anyone who has used blenders a lot for many many years: There are no removable parts! You do NOT remove any rubber rings or take the blades out to wash it. Everything stays intact. Soooo -- that means washing it is a snap and there is NO LEAKING and there is no searching for parts to replace - ever. What a frigging relief.4) AND it can be used in lieu of a food processor because the bottom is wider than a standard blender and so the blades are wider. Hey, it's not quite as great as a dedicated food processor, but it's very good and if you're short on space it's just fine IMO. I made tabouli with this and it was perfectly satisfactory. I found that, compared to a standard dedicated food processor, I had to stop, stir, and re-pulse a bit more, but it's really OK. After all, this is primarily a blender and it truly excels at that.When my partner and I want to do something really well, we now refer to our "Blender Standard" which is our code for our 100% satisfaction with this choice.

The 800 is a quality blender, no question, but sometimes it needs a little help.At first, my wife and I started making smoothies for two with this recipe:1 cup coconut milk4 tablespoons of brand4 tablespoons of protein mix4 tablespoons of chia seeds2 tablespoons of powdered greens1 fresh banana2 cups of frozen berries1 cup of crushed iceThis makes a great and healthy smoothy. My idea was to put the ingredients in the order listed above, press the icon for a smoothie, and walk away. But it wouldn't work. The problem is that an air pocket forms above the blade which stalls the unit.But the problem was solved with a few changes:1. I changed the amount of coconut milk from 1 cup to 1.5 cups (12 ounces).2. I added all the other ingredients EXCEPT the crushed ice.3. I pressed the smoothie icon and ran it for 20-30 seconds. It worked like a champ.4. Then I paused the smoothie process (by touching the smoothie icon again), opened the lid, and added the cup of crushed ice.5. I continued the smoothie process by touching the icon again and let it run for 10-20 more seconds.Perfection.A Blendtec representative told me that once the Blendtec is broken in that I may not need to add the crushed ice as a second step--that I will be able to put everything in at once. But I have not had the 800 long enough to verify that.One other thing: It is quiet, very quiet, which I greatly appreciate.

Splurged for this based on the advertising and reviews stating that it was the "quietest professional grade blender". We do morning smoothies and even though we have a high end Vitamix I decided it was worth it to buy this so we don't have to deal with the early morning noise. But, it's very noisy and almost as noisy as the Vitamix. Tried it recently to blend only milk and protein powder, assuming the earlier noise was due to grinding frozen fruit- it was just as loud. Downgraded to 1 star!It blends smoothies well, but sometimes leaves chunks after it completes the full "smoothie" cycle, and we've already had it stop and overheat twice in the few weeks we've had it, just making a smoothie with frozen strawberries and milk.We like the touchscreen and automated settings (you can press a button for smoothie, ice cream, etc and it'll change the speed at various times in the cycle) although sometimes the touchscreen doesn't work, you either can't get it to press or it just is gone, even though the blender is on.Bottom line, it mostly blends well, is a little finicky, and is very loud, so for the $799 price I am sure you can find either a much cheaper or a much better option.

I had previously bought a Ninja and the noise was so loud when blending frozen fruit for my smoothies, I had to return. That got me looking into blenders with noise dampening hoods attached. I bought this one and since I just make individual smoothies, I have only used it with the Blendtec GO (30 oz) Bottle, Reusable Single Serve Blender Cup. The GO Bottle and noise dampening hood are remarkable. The smoothie cycle is 1 minute and is quiet, no earplugs needed! It blends my almond milk, frozen banana, frozen avocado, spinach, protein powder into a delightful smoothie I have every day. It is well worth the money and you'll save your hearing/no ear trauma!