Because the price is relatively expensive, I thought about it for a long time, but after receiving it, I don't need to worry too much, because it has a 10-year warranty. I have recommended several friends to buy it, and they are all very satisfied. I like it so much, it will be loud when operating, but it is acceptable. The stainless steel shell is easy to clean. The base is a little heavy, but it's stable. However, I also recommended that it be equipped with an opener suitable for the bottom of the container, cause it will make cleaning easier. 5 star recommendation.

Everything we like about it.

This is the first Vitamix blender I've ever owned. I had always wanted one but I just couldn't justify spending the money. I never really understood the hype; don't all blenders do the same thing? I honestly thought I'd be paying 5x more for a blender just because of the brand name. So I stuck with my Ninja blender for more than a decade. It did the job just fine but I was never truly satisfied with its consistency of crushed ice. It was grittier than I would have liked. This prompted my search for a newer, more powerful blender.

Initially I only cared about whether the new blender crushed ice into a smooth texture so I could replicate Starbucks Frappuccinos and slushies. As many folks do, I gravitated towards buying a brand I was already familiar with. In my case it was Ninja. So that's what I initially bought. A more powerful version of what I already had. I will say that it DID manage to impress me with its ice crushing ability, but I was less impressed at how little Ninja's design had changed since my last purchase 10 years ago. Water gets trapped in the container handle, and I just hate the blade that takes up so much space in it. So I started looking into alternatives. That's when I decided to learn more about Vitamix and whether it really was worth hundreds of dollars more than my Ninja.

Long story short: the answer is yes. Yes, it is worth it. There were three features in particular that really sold me: the blade design, its ability to make hot soup right in the container, and the 10-year warranty. I cannot stress enough how much better the Vitamix blade design is compared to the Ninja. There are two main blade types that you'll find in a blender: those that chop, and those that pulverize.

Blades that chop are cheaper but will wear down over time requiring you to sharpen or replace them. Blending hard items like ice cubes can be particularly rough for chopping blades and will cause them to dull faster. Ninja blenders use chopping blades. Vitamix, on the other hand, uses pulverizing blades that are dull by design and never need sharpening. Instead of taking up the entire container, the blade sits compactly at the bottom. It blends by pulling ingredients down towards the blade and pulverizing the heck out of them. Trust me, this makes a HUGE difference in the texture and consistency of your blends.

For example, I added mandarin slices one time to a smoothie I made using my Ninja which uses chopping blades. It tasted fine but it couldn't fully break down the little white fibers that hold citrus fruit segments together. I didn't really like that texture so I just considered it a faux pas on my end for using an ingredient that maybe isn't ideal to put in a blender. Turns out that while not ideal for my Ninja, the Vitamix A3500 had NO issues whatsoever pulverizing mandarins into a completely smooth texture. That's the moment I thought, "Ok, I totally get the hype now."

The type of blade also determines how much liquid you need to add for it to perform its best. Chopping blades typically need more liquid to keep them moving. That can result in watered down results. With the Vitamix blades, you don't need to add as much liquid. My personal experience is that everything just tastes better coming from the Vitamix, hands down.

Ultimately what you're paying for when getting a Vitamix machine is quality blades, a powerful motor, solid construction, and with the Ascent series a 10 year warranty. Ninja offers a one year warranty. Vitamix can pulverize just about everything you put in it into a completely smooth texture. It's actually impressive. But the blades alone are not enough, the motor needs to be powerful enough too...

The motor in this thing IS very powerful. People complain about how loud this machine is, and that powerful motor is the reason why. If you want quiet, look for a cheaper blender with less power. But for me the noise is a more than fair trade-off due to the consistently amazing blends it gives me. And to its credit, it's only really loud when used on its highest settings. Having said that, the loudness is not intolerable, at least for me. You'll also notice a kind of "burning" smell when you use it the first few times. Don't be alarmed by this. It's a brand new motor and needs time to cure (or "break in"). The smell will go away after you've done a few blends on its highest speed.

The power cord is very short, I think it's 3 feet long. So it'll need to be placed close to an outlet. The length of cord makes sense though given how much power it puts out. It's not ideal to use long cords with high powered appliances, so I don't recommended using an extension cord. If there's no other way, then I'd say use the shortest extension cord possible and make sure it's rated for appliance use. Also, despite its low profile design, it would not fit under my cabinets. To be fair, I think my cabinets sit lower than average. Luckily I have one section of counter space that sits lower which makes it the only place I could put it. Otherwise I would have to store the container instead of keeping it on the base.

What started out as a quest for better ice consistency evolved into a more complex obsession with blending. I use the Vitamix every single day. Sometimes more than once. I've made smoothies in it. Frappes. Soups. You name it. It actually got me excited to blend, try new recipes, and encourages me to eat healthier. I'm not someone that enjoys spending a lot of time cooking or preparing elaborate meals, and my laziness led to eating unhealthy (but zero effort) food. But I can make an entire soup in five minutes now using fresh ingredients by just throwing some vegetables and broth into this thing, blend, and eat. It's almost TOO easy and I no longer have an excuse to avoid eating better.

What can I say. I am absolutely obsessed with Vitamix now and a total convert. I do think it's absolutely worth the price if you can afford it, because you have to consider that Vitamix is guaranteeing that it'll last at least 10 years. Plus, I'm not sure if any other brand is going to give the exact same results. I had no idea what I was missing until I tried it myself, now I can't ever go back.

Firstly, I really like the Vitamix A3500 and I'd buy it again. I use it daily to make smoothies, soups, hummus, bread dough, and homemade nut butters. However, it is not perfect. I've owned other models, like the 5200, which has some features that I like a little better (it makes smoother hummus and peanut butter).
The "set it and forget it" smoothie and ice cream functions are nice, but I almost never get a perfectly blended smoothie, hummus, or nut butter. The shorter tamper works decently, but it doesn't go in deep enough when I need to push ingredients into the blade.
I've also gotten an error code when making thick hummus and nut butters. This means that the machine stops and I have to unplug and wait until the motor cools down to restart.
Even with all of these problems and challenges, it's a great, restaurant quality machine that will make excellent products "¦ with a little work and patience.

The media could not be loaded. I am a living witness to Vitamix blender. Really I had used many blender out there, I don't want to mention names because am not here to destroy any brand. But i must confess this is a blender I have missed for 27yrs before I got introduced to it. Every time I need to blend with my other brands, I always hate the outcome because I would definitely have back skin or seed left with my pepper, leaving me to use a seive. When i tried to blend my pepper 🌶 with Vitamix, behold the smoothness just left me speechless. The quality was just right that I couldn't ask for more. Noise level for a big base like A3500 is ðŸ‘. The top seal is fantastic. A great brand that has no equal.