Review on Vitamix A3500 Brushed Stainless Blender by Corey Michaels

I've wanted to buy the Vitamix for a long time, mainly because it was advertised for making soups. But I hesitated because of the price. I mean who can justify $600 for a blender. But recently I've been looking into whole foods and decided that soups made from fresh vegetables would come in handy. So I took the plunge. I chose the Ascent A3500 because I love all the bells and whistles. I love the fact that I just push a button and all the time and speed changes are done for me. I can install it and go where, like some models, you have to manually control the speed and settings while mixing. It also received many good reviews and recommendations. So for me it was the model I went for. I also decided to order the blender through Revain Prime so I can send it back if I don't like it. I like the safety net where I can change my mind if I decide I don't want to keep something. Especially now that I can just pick it up at the UPS store for a refund. In any case, I really liked the mixer out of the box. Yes, there was a burning smell initially when the engine was run in. And yes, it's loud (don't expect quotes talking next to it). The Accent A3500 is said to be quieter than other models. I can't imagine how loud they are if that's true. It's really big too. But I found a spot for it on the counter and left it there. I just made smoothies. And I was impressed how smoothly it worked. I added spinach, flaxseed, and chia seeds, as well as frozen fruit and ice cream. It can be so smooth. Unlike some small blenders that leave little chunks of ice behind. Then I made a leek and artichoke soup which was delicious and convinced me I had made the right choice. While there are some soups that you can just puree right in the blender (like tomato soup), most soups require you to do some prep and cook the ingredients on the stovetop first to blend the flavors. But after that you just throw everything in the blender and voila! Pureed, hot, steaming soup. The friction of the paddles heats the soup. And so smooth again. I love drinking my soup (think Campbell's Creamy Tomato) and this blender mixes the ingredients so well you can do just that. No Pieces. I continued to use the blender in one form or another almost every day. However, after a few days of use I got error code E 1 which caused the blender not to work. After some research I found out it was a sensor error; Mixer was having trouble reading the connection to the jar. The literature says just turn it off and on again. It worked initially, but I frequently got an error code, and turning it on and off didn't help. I've looked online and found this to be an issue with some Ascent blenders and has instructed people to send the blender in for repair if it persists. Since I bought mine from Revain I sent it back and ordered another one. The first order was a package with a book. To see if I could get a blender from a different batch, I ordered it without the book. The new blender was great! I've been using it for a little over a month, there are no error codes yet, I use it almost every day. My main uses are smoothies, soups and new to me nut butters. I made three batches of cashew butter and it was amazing! So much so that I had to quit because I ate too much. Note. I had a blender plugged into an extension cord and it cut the extension cord while I was making nut butter. However, when I plugged it into a regular plug (not a strip), everything was fine. I think the extension cord was too delicate. I also really like the self-cleaning function. While you may need to wash the inside with a rag from time to time, most of the time self-cleaning will do the trick. In summary: is the blender worth the money? Yes. However, there seems to be an issue with the sensor on some Ascent models (bad batch?) so you may have to return it or take it to Vitamix for repair. If things like this drive you crazy, I'd be careful. Otherwise I like the Vitamix A3500 very much.