I like it!!! I was intrigued by the split among the reviewers of the Dyson DC 11. I carefully read the reviews, took note of what appeared to be the common problems and then evaluated it in person before making the purchase. As vacuums go, this is relatively expensive so I didn't want to deal with any unpleasant surprises. I don't mind spending money but I sure do hate to waste it!
Let me begin with the common complaints:
1) the power cord is awfully short.
The sales material clearly states the cord is 21.7 feet long. The vacuum and telescoping wand add about five feet to that. It seems adequate to me but others will have to make their own judgment.
2) the air driven brush on the floor tool may turn off unexpectedly.
I haven`t yet experienced that problem, but if you do just pull the air release trigger on the wand and it will come back on. There is no need as stated by others to turn the machine off to reset.
3) The power on/off button and the power cord rewind are the same color and shape.
Put a small red "stick on" dot on the power switch and the problem will go away. If Dyson reads these reviews they should at least make them different colors.
4) The wand collapses unexpectedly.
Pull each section until you hear an audible "click" and it will not collapse. It takes a little extra energy to do that.
5) The beater will not handle carpet with a heavy pile.
That is probably true. I have wood floor and area rugs so it works fine on those. The beater brushes are removable for those of you with oriental or wool rugs where the beating action might do damage.
My own take is as follows:
1) Build quality
In a word--fabulous. It assembles and disassembles very easily. The canisters even come apart so you can rinse/wash them if you like. It seems solid and well made.
2) Suction
I thoroughly vacuumed a high traffic short pile area rug with my old vacuum and then with the Dyson. I was actually stunned at the amount of dirt it took out of the rug. A definite A+ here.
3) Functionality
Everything works as advertised. The noise level is average, the hose could be a bit longer and it's a minor wrestling match to wrap the hose around it for storage.
4) Price
It's a little on the expensive side. I purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond and they allowed me to use a 20% off coupon even though the coupon excluded Dyson. It never hurts to ask!!
The bottom line is that this is a fabulous vacuum for an apartment or small to average size house (1500-1800 sq ft) with a mixture of floor types. If I had lots of wall to wall carpet an upright would be a much better choice. I'd rate it a solid buy. I'll update this review if anything changes.
Fine Fein I does all Fein claims, and very well. The ability to choose the suction level between 5 settings allows me to keep the noise down if I don't need high power, but even at high power it's pretty quiet ( I measured 75db at 3 ft). European hose sizes are a little different from US so be prepared to get creative with hose adaptors.
To use the auto on/off feature you plug the tool into a power socket on the side of the vacuum, the socket is protected by a spring loaded cover which is hinged at the top, hence, with the cover open you cannot see the holes for the plug; not a big problem but I find it annoying.
Still, this is a huge improvement over my Shop Vac.
The tale of 4 vacuums We had a Dyson it did terrible job on wood/tile floors - gave it to thrift shop. So we purchased 3 vacuums over the last month (Hoover S3765-040, Hoover U6630-900, and a Bissell 37604) from local big box stores. Sorry Amazon too much risk buying expensive items from you when you do not how they will work. The best by far is the Bissell 37604. It is the only one that we did not have to use a stick vacuums to clean the floor where the dogs sometimes sleep. It was the very best on the indoor/outdoor carpet, area rugs, and the tile. Also it is very easy to use and clean. Shows that you do not always need to spend a lot of money.
SMALL BUT STURDY WHEN I FIRST TOOK THIS WET VAC OUT OF THE BOX I REALIZED HOW SMALL IT WAS.
IT ALSO DIDN'T HAVE THE LONG TUBING THAT MOST OF THEM HAVE. BUT, WHEN I STARTED TO USE IT IN MY DAUGHTERS NOT CLEANED IN TEN YEARS BARN I REALIZED IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL AND USEFUL MACHINE. IT NOW STAYS IN MY CAR GETTING READY FOR ITS NEXT JOB.