Braun JB9040BK TriForce Pro Power Blender 1600W, 68oz, iTexture Control

BACKSTORY: Was in the market for a new blender when my Ninja finally gave out after a rapid decline rounding the third year of ownership with daily use. I didn’t want to depart from the $250-ish price range of the Ninja but I knew I wanted some specifics in my next blender: better ice crushing, smoother finish, easy to clean, no frills.Well, after some healthy research I was presented with the following “best” blenders: Vitamix, KitchenAid, and Oster.Have personally experienced leaking with the Osters so was a no for me. The Vitamix is outrageously priced, a no for me. The KitchenAid seemed okay but nothing special.Unsatisfied, I dig through countless reviews and videos on Amazon. So many people seem perfectly content with so little. Not I. I needed the best blender for the buck, cause why not?I happened to stumble on this beast. While not a listed contender on the usual review sites, it is a name brand. I own a different product of this brand and had a terrific experience with their customer service once… I figured I’d give it the time of day. Watched a few videos and had it in the cart moments later.PRODUCT REVIEWThe item arrives, next day of course. Simple packaging, mostly recycled paper.One instruction booklet and a product registration page included.You receive one muddler, the jar and lid, and the base.The base is quite large, maybe 30% bigger than that of the ninja. The jar, while holding the same measurements, is a little wider and shorter than the ninja so fits better under cabinets.The use of this machine is a breeze. Lots of preset modes that actually seem to make a difference. Was skeptical but have yet to use the manual modes yet.Extremely smooth smoothies come out of this thing. Not a berry seed nor fleck of ice will survive on the “smooth” setting.It is a little loud but well worth it for the power provided.The blades are sharp.It’s easy to clean.10/10

I bought multiple units and initially one came defective out of the box. The blade mechanism wouldn't rotate. The replacement was fine.PROSFLOURS: I have done chickpea, lentils, rice and other legumes with no difficulty. Do not overfill the jar. Then sift. Put the unsifted stuff back in for another pounding cycle and you will get most of what you put in as a fine flour. Keep anything that refuse to breakdown further for soups.SPICES: Does everything including coffee, however be warned that you should NEVER grind up cloves and anise type of spices with a blender or any grinder that features a non-glass jar. The compounds from the oil in the spices will eat into the jar and permanently stick to the jar. It creates an impossible to get rid of cloudiness.HERBS: You can finely cut herbs but you have to add a bit of liquid to it. You can then use the water in your cooking or filter it out. But essentially you can turn the unit into a food processor.COMPARISON TO NINJAI've come to Braun from Ninja model Ninja BL660 and BL770 after finding out that their nasty gasket ring made of silicone that goes into the cavity around the blender's jar base to create a seal is subject to heavy black mold that penetrates deeply into the silicone, releasing poison into the food. Because it is in an out of sight place, you wouldn't know that it even exists unless you make a point of taking it out for through cleaning. It is also non-replaceable meaning that you have to buy a new base at a cost half the unit itself. The plastic base from Ninja is also subject to scratches and dents from rotating ingredients at great speed and force, which means constant micro plastic shavings are released into the food on a regular basis, worsening with time.The design of the main big jar of this model by Braun, not the smaller smoothie jars that goes with this unit, doesn't feature a grooved cavity around the base that requires sealing with a gasket ring. That was the design I was looking for. The blender's options also cover a wide range of tasks and it is super powerful.The smoothie jars compatible with this unit (not included with this listing and available separately) feature that same dreadful design as Ninja. So if you get it make a note of taking the gasket out and cleaning it regularly to prevent out of sight buildup of mold overtime.CONSBecause of a groove free design, which I totally appreciate, the cleaning can be difficult at times but not a big deal. I much rather not see that dreadful groove design.The jar is not a cheap acrylic but I wish it was made of glass. Glass is the ideal material for food that is pounded at great force and speed and cleaning and long term maintenance is far superior to that of thick acrylic or whatever the material is.

I have no words to describe how good is this product. Robust, heavy, excellent material, versatile, easy to use. Powerful. Its triangular shape make it easy to scrape the cake batter before clean it. Wonderful!

This is worth the extra money. It is powerful and sturdy. I make smoothies and soups in a fraction of the time. My only gripe is the top lid is hard to put on and take off. It is very large. The last blender I'll ever need.

After our beloved KitchenAide died we decided to pay a bit more for a power blender. The Braun is super powerful it’s amazing what it will chew through and make smooth.Very happy with our purchase. There’s a lot to like about this unit. The presets work well. The pulse function is so much better than the KA. It just looks good and feels well made. The pitcher, being triangular has only 3 sides to spatula down to capture every little drop. The clean function works surprisingly well. So far so good!Noisy: The truth is, there’s no such thing as a quiet blender. They’re all loud. Don’t expect an appliance that has the power of a skill saw to be quiet. It’s not. I measured 102 db from 3’ away at full speed. That’s nearing rock concert loud, but the sound drops off fast and at 10 feet the sound pressure was a more comfortable 74 db kind of like heavy traffic loud. In the other room it’s not jarring loud at all. But put it in perspective, it’s loud but it takes less than a minute to chop chunks of frozen fruit and ice into a smooth consistency. So loud yes, for long, no. We put in the ingredients, push the button and step into the other room. The noise ramps up so there’s plenty of time to escape the noise.I’d recommend this blender to any of my friends.

Used it a few times and i am no longer able to fasten the container to the base