Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had this just under a month now. Bought it to replace my old straight cut machine that finally bit the dust after many years of service. I have to admit that even though I had seen the dimensions when I ordered it, I was a little shocked at how small it actually looks out of the box. No worries though since the micro cut shreds settle much more compactly and after 4 weeks of intermittent use, I'm about to empty it for the first time. Another plus is how much quieter it is compared to my old machine. It was the first thing both my wife and I noticed with the first use. I can only assume that reviewers who complained about the noise of this model have either received a defective unit, are first time shredder buyers or perhaps were expecting something like the big high capacity machines. This one is just perfect for my home office and light to medium duty use. Other observations: The grip area at the top makes this far less awkward to remove from it's waste bin than my older machine. With respect to capacity, so far I have yet to bog it down. The practical sheet capacity is about as expected; that is about 1/2 to 2/3 of the "rating" because most everything I typically have to shred is heavier than 20lb so I generally only feed 2-3 sheets at a time which slows it down just a little with 24lb or heavier stock. About the only negatives I have so far that knocked 1 star off are: due to the shape of the waste container, I worry about it being tipped over by the dog but I solved that by tucking it in between a printer stand and a small storage unit and secondly, the feed slot is just barely over 8.5 inches wide so you have to "aim" more than my old machine to feed it. This is my first experience with the Aurora brand so only time will tell, but so far I am very pleased especially given the price I paid..