Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've owned this dryer for only a few weeks, so I cannot speak to its longevity. This is my third hair dryer with a cord reel, which I find convenient. The first one was OK and worked well, but was noisy. My second one (Conair 1875 Watt Ionic Cord Keeper Hair Dryer), which I used for only a couple months, was also noisy. The cord in it was also too short (4 feet) and when retracting it, rewound so quickly that the plug would whip around and hit me painfully in the hand. I had to be careful about how to hold it when retracting the cord. It also had only fast/hot and slow/warm settings. I got fed up with it, so I looked for new options at a local Target. I found this dryer and was hesitant to pay twice as much for it as I did the previous ones. I couldn't imagine what could be special enough about it to justify two and a half times the cost. When I tried it, I was quite surprised. The first thing I noticed is that it is heavier and feels very solid and well built. I don't care about the weight--it takes me only a minute or two to dry my medium-length (for a man) hair. The next surprise was that it is extremely quiet--even at high speed. I no longer have to turn up my radio to hear the news while drying my hair. It has independent controls for heat and speed. I usually like to use high heat with the low speed so it doesn't blow my hair so much. The 5-foot cord retracts slowly and safely and is just the perfect length for my situation. I would not describe the quietness of the dryer as slightly better than the cheaper driers I have used before--it is a dramatic difference. I have often wondered about the potential hearing loss my old dryers might cause, but didn't worry too much because it didn't take very long to dry my hair. If I still had long hair, I would be seriously concerned about the noise from a cheap dryer. As for how well my hair looks after using it, I notice no difference from the other dryers. My hair if very fine and thick with some wave, so it is pretty easy to care for. It will frizz in high humidity, but I live in Denver and humidity is not a problem here. I have not tried this in a humid environment. I highly recommend this dryer. Update on 2010-10-17: This dryer is still working great and I still consider it the best dryer I've ever used. Update on 2011-12-29: I cut my hair shorter last April and no longer use the hair dryer. It was still working perfectly after three years.