There's a reason this Vitamix gets such high ratings across the board at major sites. I was on the hunt and hit the RTINGS site to run product comparisons looking for something that would make smoothies daily, without doing further hearing damage to every human and animal in the house. Blendtec's products are effective but LOUD!This Vitamix 5200 replaced the Blendtec ES3 unit we had prior. 70% of its use was making smoothies and crushing ice, the rest was meal related, soups, hummus, butters, purees. What I'll say is this:The 5200 will knock out a smoothie at least 2x faster, if not 3x, and smoother consistency than Blendtec's product. It does this at what sounds like, to me, half the volume; I truly believe I probably have hearing damage from being in proximity to my Blendtec ES3 in the mornings after years of my better half making smoothies. With the 5200, it doesn't matter if it's hot or cold, and it'll get whatever you're putting in there as creamy as you can imagine with minimal effort. So far, several months in, this thing has been holding up great, and I look forward to many years of operation. It's already become a major source of food in the house, and it's easy enough the kids feel confident. The tall slender shape of the bowl seems to work well at promoting a good vortex and keeping fresh content from passing thru the blades.My only singular gripe is cleanup. It's not as easy as our Blendtec, but honestly, I'll forfeit the extra 15-20 seconds each cleaning for all the plusses this came with.One product we've picked up for the kitchen exceeded my highest expectations and I honestly - in hindsight - would've paid more money for. This is restaurant-quality equipment here. Highly recommend over any product Blendtec makes.