Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We finally wore out the metal spline on our old Oster, motor still worked fine but we were negligent and gave the unit extremely rough use for over 10 years. We saw this new 1200 with what looked like a truly updated connecting plate at the bottom of the glass jar and A MUCH LARGER OPENING AT THE BASE OF THE JAR!!!!! We debated whether we wanted to give up the small former mount, still available on most Oster units, for this new, improved model. We ordered the new 1200 900 watt unit AND IT IS A KEEPER FROM THE FIRST BATCH OF SALSA WE BLENDED TO THE FIRST SMOOTHIE WE BREWED!!!!!! This new design solves a whole variety of issues. The jar mounts firmly, the larger opening absolutely improves the instant blending of largeonio veggie pieces etc. The control panel is perfect, exactly the basic options needed for making everything. We've used it several times now loaded with frozen fruit, ice, carrots, peppers, onions etc. IT WORKS!!!! The larger opening pretty much stops the clogging that was inevitable with older models of all brands with the small, restricted bottom to the blending jar. Also, the negative reviews we saw alleging this machine to be roar like a jet and shake like a wet lion ARE JUST NOT TRUE OF THE UNIT WE RECEIVED!!!! Sitting flat on the counter it simply does not vibrate hardly at all and noise is quite reasonable. Less than our older two models in both respects. CAUTION: I'm an engineer and pay attention to some details others seem to ignore. Don't overload the jar, better to run two batches than to push the machine to the limits. Also, DON'T PUSH DOWN ON THE LID WITH ANY FORCE EXCEEDING A POUND OR SO. This causes some adverse pressure on the mount and you can hear the motor slow slightly if you bear down on the top. THIS WOUD CAUSE, HEAT TO QUICLY BUILD ON THE ARMATURE AND WOULD create some burning odors if this bind were forced at high speed. We placed our hand on the top of the lid, JUST IN CASE, and barely pressed down, this was completely adequate. One last thing, don't go from a standing stop TO FULL HIGH SPEED WITH ANY OF THESE BLENDERS. It is best to start the process with chop or grate, break any ice binding loose, then go to medium speed for a moment and THEN ADVANCE TO HIGH SPEED if that is indicated for the process your are pursuing. I hope this helps someone, we will post a follow up to this positive review in a couple of months or sooner if we run into some type of mechanical failure.