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178 of 181 found the following review helpful:
 The Best Blender We Have Ever Owned Jan 02, 2008
By Robert Paterson
After owning two inferior blenders, I wanted one for our family that was powerful, sturdy, relatively quiet, easy to clean and good-looking. This blender is simply the best blender we have ever owned.
First, it is very powerful. You should have no problem using it for everything blenders are usually used for, including crushing ice, which it does amazingly well. It has a separate smoothie button that is fantastic: it varies the speed during the blending process and helps you create perfect smoothies, with no effort on your part. The blender shuts off automatically after using the smoothie or other preset functions, and has a digital display that counts down and tells you how long it will take to finish blending.
Perhaps most importantly, the curved blades and concave container are designed in such a way as to reduce or eliminate the amount of food that gets stuck in the bottom of the blender. In fact, after using it a few times, I was pleasantly surprised to find NO unblended pieces of food at the bottom of the blender. Everything was blended.
Regarding noise, this is by far the quietest blender I have ever encountered. With such a powerful motor, I'm not sure how they did it. I am a professional composer and have very sensitive ears, and the relative low volume of this blender is something I definitely appreciate. Don't get me wrong: it's a blender, so it still makes noise, but it is definitely NOT as loud as inferior blenders priced less than $100.
The base and container are quite heavy and will stay put when you are blending. It giggles a little when blending on a high setting (there are sturdy rubber feet that help to reduce noise), but it won't move on your counter. The container is made of thick glass, and you can wash the whole base in the dishwasher (the glass part in the bottom rack, the other parts in the top rack). The container lid has a sturdy ring that makes it very easy to pull off the tight-fitting lid. Don't let the pics fool you: that little ring is thicker than it looks.
Some blenders have plastic containers and some have glass, like this one. The advantage of plastic is really just the (usually) cheaper cost and lighter weight. The disadvantage is that plastic containers may crack (as ours did) and leak plastic molecules into your food over time as the container ages. Most plastics are carcinogenic, so I like to avoid plastic containers if at all possible, since this one is glass, and very thick, it is relatively safe. The markings on the side of the container are easy to read, so it's not difficult to use it as a measuring container when adding food, particularly liquids.
The blade housing is also very sturdy and much larger than on a typical cheap blender. It fits on so tightly that you need a turning handle (supplied) to unscrew the base. If I had only ONE complaint, this would be it. I don't like the idea of having to use anything other than my hands to disassemble the blender. But since I'll take a tight-fitting assembly over one that might leak any day, this really isn't a complaint at all.
BTW: for the technically inclined, this blender is assembled with screws, so if you wanted to disassemble the base, you could do it very easily. This thing is solid as a rock.
Regarding cleaning, the buttons are slightly raised under a one-piece pad that is extremely easy to clean. If any food does spill, which is unlikely, all you need to do is wipe it up with a soft rag or paper towel. One side note: you will need to thoroughly wash the blender once you get it out of the box. It still has the factory manufacturing smell, but that clears up with a good wash or two in the dishwasher.
Lastly, this is a fine-looking appliance. It's much sleeker than others made my KitchenAid and so on, and is industrial-quality, without looking like it belongs in a restaurant kitchen.
All in all, I am extremely happy with this blender and enthusiastically give it five stars.
***UPDATE***
We had this blender for 2 1/ 2 years, using it maybe 3-4 times a week on average, and the motor finally gave out. To be more accurate, the power light blinked on, but the blade assembly would not run. We didn't do anything abnormal with it, and mostly used it for smoothies. Then one day, it just would not work.
Like others mention here, it will leak if you do not screw the bottom part on very tight. In fact, you have to be quite strong to screw it on tight enough so that it will not leak. Ironically, leaks rarely happened over the button area, but definitely happened above the blade if the bottom was even a tiny bit loose. I also found it annoying that the only way to remove the base if it was screw on as tightly as it needed to be was to use the lever that comes with the blender. Shouldn't blenders come apart without having a separate gadget to worry about?
As for my comments that it can be taken apart, I'll have to retract that. I attempted to take it apart to replace a fuse, the part of the blender that apparently gave out, but it's basically impossible--not very easy to take apart at all.
All in all, we really enjoyed our Breville blender while it worked, but we think that for this price, it should last five years or longer under normal use. We will not purchase this model again and will look at other brands like Vitamix.
121 of 125 found the following review helpful:
 Breville BBL600XL Feb 04, 2010
By R.B. Jones
I initially had a great experience with the Breville BBL600XL blender. It did everything that I wanted, and did it very well. Smoothies, frappes, fruits, veggies, all that I wanted it to do. I didn't have any problems with the frequently discussed leaking large seal.
But the problem with my unit, and after much internet research, I believe others are having the same problem as well, but just haven't disassembled and diagnosed the problem. I have done exactly that, and here is what I have found.
There is a small black seal under the blades, not the large seal which seals the cutter assembly to the glass jar. Here is what I believe is occurring: The liquid from the ingredients, which are blended, eventually leak under this black seal (which is underneath the 3 blades inside the jar), and into a bearing which is part of the blade assembly. This bearing should be a high quality food quality sealed bearing, but this particular bearing is not either, a)high quality, or b)not sealed as it should be.
The liquid leaks into the bearing, eventually causing internal failure of the bearing, and in which case the bearing seizes (no longer rotates, or does not rotate freely).
Two things then happen: 1)the black rubber seal underneath the blades will disintegrate, and you will only find this out when you notice a burnt smell (produced from the black rubber seal) and bits of black rubber seal in your drink. You will also discover that your drink doesn't taste quite right. You will then wonder what the small black bits are in your drink, as you don't remember putting anything like that in the blender. You will then know the the bearing, of which I speak, has failed.
2)If the blender is continued to be used, with the seized bearing, the motor in the blender base will stop working, and will no longer function. I did not experience this, as I quit using mine when the bearing seized.
You will now have to purchase a new Blade Assembly for ~$50. In which case, this problem will more than likely happen again, every year, or so, depending upon frequency of use.
I tried to contact Breville, to no avail. My blender was nearing the end of the warranty. I absolutely could not get in contact with anyone at Breville. The recording at Breville, after you have been on hold for more than 30 minutes (IIRC)will ask you to leave a callback number, and they will return your call, because they value you as a customer. I did leave my contact info, and I never received a return call from Breville.
I bought this blender to go with my Breville Ikon Espresso Machine, which has been going strong for more than 2 years (I love it BTW).
By Breville BBL600XL now occupies a space in my pantry, because I can't bring myself to throw away a $200 blender (price I paid).
After I came to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to get service from Breville, I purchased the Vita-Mix 1363 CIA blender. It has been going strong for about 3 or 4 months, and I am thrilled with its performance. Excellent product, and it has a 7 year warranty. Yes it is more money up front, but I don't have to worry if breaks in 6 months. Vita-Mix pays shipping both ways, if I have any problems. I have no affiliation with Vita-Mix, or Breville, other than purchaser of their products. As I stated, I am thrilled with my Breville Ikon Espresso Machine, so nothing personal against Breville, other than my bad experience with this blender.
My guess is, if you purchase this Breville blender, you will eventually (depending upon frequency of use) experience the same problems as I have. Apologies for the long post, but I want to be as clear as I can.
Good Luck with your blender purchase.
147 of 160 found the following review helpful:
Veritable Revolution in Blending Oct 12, 2007
By R. Williams
"code slubber"
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R37N41A9X3J0D0 Key things to notice:
1. You just press one button, then you can leave the room.
2. Results are very smooth.
3. Much less noice, no squealing particularly.
There has been a lot of press recently about how commercial smoothies are rarely nutritious because they use juice and have no fat and protein. Add your own nuts and seeds, and us things like guava pulp (high in fiber and lycopene), and you can turn that all around. With this blender, even with things added, the results are smooth.
Not sure what is up w/the price here. I found this thing @ Macy's no sale for $149. Maybe it's an older model. This thing is also great for making sauces and dressings, which regular blenders are generally awful at.
55 of 57 found the following review helpful:
This is an outstanding kitchen appliance Nov 22, 2007
By Michael Finn
"McFin"
After you use one of these, you'll never go back to a whimpy blender. It's relatively QUIET, but most importantly, its POWERFUL. I bought this becasue Porular Mechanics rated it the best, and I'm convinced they were correct. It will start right up under a heavy load of solid friut or vegetables. Try that with the standard blenders most folks use. This feature is important if you're making healthy shakes or smooties. Lesser blenders will wear out out soon with steady use of these heavy loads. When it's done the smoothies are truly smooth. That's also a great feature this unit offers over most of the competition. The ability of the Ikon 750 to crush ice is almost beyond belief. You get what you pay for with this high priced blender. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds on the Popular Mechanics review.
58 of 62 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Blender Mar 24, 2008
By Forrest Wilson
I accidentally gave it two stars and would love to change that to five stars but Amazon will not allow me to, sorry Breville!
I bought this blender to replace my older Waring that still works fine, I just wanted to buy something new. I kind of agonized over what to get, bouncing back and forth between this (I liked Breville because I have their citrus juicer which I enjoy) and a Vitamix. Obviously I cheaped out and bought this because I figured the vitamix would be overkill and this would be great.
So, it looks nice on the counter and I like the dimensions of the glass carafe- a bit squattier and not as tall and reedy. It is not quite as powerful as I imagined that it would be, but it blends everything very nicely- you may just need to let it run a few seconds more. It's a more subtle and effective kind of power than the Waring, even the lowest setting will do the job if you let it run, without that initial "explosion" that you see in cheaper appliances.
The LCD seems a tad gimmicky- what is the point of having a timer if you cannot preset it? Just to see the numbers count down or up and know "I blended that for 50 seconds"? It is somewhat useful in that if you have a usual shake and you know how long it takes to incorporate it, you can always stop it at that time and know it's blended.
More positives are that it is quite solid and whisper quiet (perhaps because of the low power!), and the dimensions are very satisfying. You just want to put stuff in it and blend. I don't know what that guy is talking about who said the lid finger plug is not helpful because it totally is.
All said, this is a great blender. If you want crazy amounts of power- perhaps look elsewhere to Vitamix and Blendtec. But if you want something solid, functional, beautiful and well designed for the average household, look no further. I recommend searching for a 20% off coupon at for linens and things or bed bath and beyond and buying it there for [ ... ] which is an absolute steal for this!
UPDATE: After having and using this blender for a week now, I really have started to appreciate it more and more. it is truly a quality product, and even the lack of power I initially complained about has become a non-issue. It blends everything great, even on the low setting. An added bonus is the ability (due to the width of the base and blade) to make a shake so thick you cannot pour it out of the glass! When blender jars are thinner you are limited as to how thick you can go-at a certain point it just stops mixing. Not so here, it is almost like a food processor. I highly recommend this blender now that I have had a chance to experience it.
Enjoy!
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