KitchenAid Torrent Magnetic Drive Blender

"Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts! We are about to take off!" That's how I feel each morning when I make my breakfast shake in this blender. This is not just a blender. It's an experience! The power this thing has is just amazing. I must admit, it took a few days to get used to the Torrent -- in particular, how to put the jar in and out of the machine. It isn't difficult. Just different. But once you get the hang of it, there's nothing to it. The other adjustment I made was the setting. On high, the appropriately named Torrent sounds like a jet engine, which is great if you want to clear the room of other people. But since that wasn't my objective, I tried a lower setting, which worked just fine. The amount of noise, I might mention, is less than other blenders I've had. In comparison, the Torrent sounds smoother, and the noise level is appropriate for the speed at which it is being run. My shake consists of one tablespoon Nutiva Whey Protein Powder; one tablespoon ground flax seed; a small handful of Nutiva goji berries; 1/4-1/3 cup of frozen blueberries; 1/3-1/2 frozen banana; a small handful of frozen organic kale; and about a dozen drops of liquid cholorophyl (ChlorOxygen) for good measure. I put all the ingredients in the blender at once and run it on next to the highest speed. Then I process it again at the lowest, even though that's probably not necessary. The Torrent does a great job of blending everything thoroughly, and it's far better than the Breville that I previously had. This shake, btw, tastes really good -- much better than you might expect. I tried another Kitchen Aid blender before deciding on this one -- the KitchenAid KSB1575MC. It was okay, but in comparison to the Torrent, there really is no comparison. Because I primarily use a blender just for my morning shake, I thought something less expensive would be sufficient. But the Torrent is in a class by itself, and to me worth every penny. UPDATE March 2018: About a year after purchasing, the blender started making a rather unpleasant noise and was obviously defective. To KitchenAid's credit, they quickly sent a replacement along with a postpaid return label for the original machine. Recently, the replacement blender had the same problem. This time, I was told there have been problems with this machine and it is being discontinued. Once again, KitchenAid sent a replacement -- their High Performance 3 HP blender. After using it just twice, my advice would be to buy the High Performance blender instead of the Torrent. It's much quieter, and an overall better machine. Plus, it comes with a 10-year warranty. KitchenAid stands by its products and with a warranty like this, you can't go wrong.