======= Summary =======
The Blendtec Designer Series 8-speed blender is a powerful, versatile, and serious blending machine.
======= Design =======
With its simple black and stainless steel design, the Blendtec D650S is a serious-looking machine with a touch of modern elegance. Located atop the hefty and solid blender base is a LCD touchscreen that offers easy-to-use controls. Six one-touch preprogrammed blender options are offered - Smoothie, Ice Crush, Whole juice, Ice Cream, Batters, and Mixed drinks. There is also a Pulse function as well as a "touch slider" that you can use to adjust the blending speed (eight different speed levels). The flatness of this touch control area makes cleaning very simple and easy.
The 36-oz blending cup fits into the base effortlessly as does the cap on top.
Ergonomicaly speaking, I experienced no annoyances. Everything is just well-built, solid, and all the components fit perfectly together. A seamless experience is the result.
======= Performance =======
Our household is a big fan of organic fruit & vegetable juices, smoothies, and ice cream. We consume typical beverages such as strawberry & banana smoothies, apple & carrot juice, and other combinations of fruit & vegetable drinks (celery, kale, pineapple, orange, etc).
Compared to ALL the other blenders we've owned in the past and use today, the Blendtec D650S performed the best. The liquid consistency, texture, and mixture proportions were spot-on and our drinks tasted and felt like they were blended by pros at Jamba Juice. It is not surprising when you read the specs of the Blendtec machine - a 1,560 W commerical-grade motor, powerful stainless steel blades, and 3.0 peak HP.
Here is a short video I shot of the Blendtec D650S in action making a strawberry-banana smoothie:
https://youtu.be/Hu2qfpn0HvU
This thing is blending monster. It is a bit loud but that's the price one pays for POWER and superior blending performance & consistency. :D
======= Nice Extras =======
The 8-year warranty is really nice. And it is Made in the USA. Not many appliance makers will stand by their products for this long. The long warranty gives me a nice feeling of assurance that I'll get to enjoy the blender for many long years and I'm hoping it to be a faithful kitchen companion.
Another nice touch is a little recipe pamphlet that Blendtec provided in the box. Even nicer is their website that provides hundreds of more (https://www.blendtec.com/recipes). It is exciting how this powerful blender opened up so many new recipes that I can now try that I couldn't before with lesser blenders from the past.
======= So, is it any good? Is it a good buy? =======
Yes and Yes~! What using the Blendtec D650S has taught me is that you really get what you pay for. Get something cheaper and less powerful and you'll get less performance, consistency, less warranty, less support, and more frequent purchases. If you get something more expensive but powerful from a trusted brand such as Blendtec, then you'll experience less frustration, the blending will be satisfactory and complete on the first try, and even more variety of different recipes can be experimented with and will be opened up to you.