I had been wanting to purchase a Vitamix for years, particularly because it was advertised to make soup. But I hesitated due to the price. I mean, who can justify paying $600 for a blender. But recently I got into a whole food kick and I decided that eating soups made from fresh vegetables would be a helpful. So I took the plunge.I decided on the Ascent A3500, because I like all the bells and whistles. I like the fact that I just push a button and it does all the timing and speed transitions for me. I can set it and walk away, where as with some models, you have to manually control the speeds and settings while you are blending. It also got a lot of good reviews and recommendations. So for me, this was the model I decided to purchase.I also decided to order the blender through Amazon Prime, so I could send it back if I didn't like it. I like the safety net of being able to change my mind if I decide I don't want to keep something. Especially now that I can just drop it off a the UPS store to make a return.Anyway, out of the box, I really liked the blender. Yes, it smelled like it was burning at first, as the motor was broken in. And, yes it is loud (don't expect to have a quote conversation standing next to it). They say the Accent A3500 is quieter than other models. I can't imagine how loud they are if that is true. It is also really big. But I found a place on my counter for it, and left it there. Right away I made a smoothie. And, I was impressed with how smooth it came out. I had put in spinach, flax and chia seed, as well as frozen fruit and ice. It can out so smooth. Unlike some smaller blenders that left small bits of ice.I next made some Leek and Artichoke soup that was delicious and it had me convinced I had made a good choice. Although there are some soups you can just blend straight in the blender (tomato soup for one), most soups you have to do some prep work and cook the ingredients on the stove first to meld flavors. But after that, you just throw everything into the blender and voila! Pureed, hot, steaming soup. The friction of the blades is what heats the soup. And, again, so smooth. I like drinking my soup (think Campbell's Creamy Tomato), and this blender gets the ingredients blended so well that you can do just that. No chunks.I continued using the blender almost everyday in some fashion. However, after a few days of use, I started getting an error code E 1, that would keep the blender from working. After doing some research, I learned that it was a sensor error; the blender was having problems reading the container connection. The literature said just to turn it off and turn it back on. That worked at first, but I started getting the error code a lot and turning it off and on didn't work.I looked on line and found this was a problem for some of the Ascent blenders and people had been instructed to send the blender back for repair if it persisted. Since I bought mine on Amazon, I returned it and ordered another. The first order was a package deal with a book. Wanting to see if I could get a blender from a different batch, I ordered it without the book.The new blender has been great! I have had it for a little over a month, with no error codes so far, and I use it almost everyday. My main uses are smoothies, soups, and a new one for me, nut butters. I've made three batches of cashew butter and it was delicious!! So much so, I had to quit making it, as I was eating too much. Note: I had the blender plugged into a power strip and it would trip the strip when making nut butters. However, when I put it in a regular plug (no strip) it did fine. I think the power strip was too sensitive.The other thing I really like is the the self cleaning feature. While you may have to take a wash cloth to the inside once in a while, for the most part, the self cleaning does the trick.So, bottom line, is the blender worth the bucks? Yes. However, there appears to be an issue with the sensor on some Ascent models (a bad batch?), so you may have to send it back or send it to Vitamix for repair. If that sort of thing makes you crazy, I would use caution. Other than that, I really love the Vitamix A3500.