Vitamix Ascent A2300 vs Blendtec Classic 575 - Blender Battle - Light Weight Category

ARE YOU READY TO RUUUUMMMMBLE???

Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a real treat for you, we are expecting an exciting fight between these two skilled combatants, the Vitamix Ascent A2300 vs the Blendtec Classic 575!

In one corner, 17 inches tall and weighing in at 11.83 pounds, we have the, Vitamix Ascent A2300. It is the Ascent Series entry level model. Instead of the touchscreen or pre-sets like its fancier brethren, it has stayed with Vitamix’s traditional switch and dial interface. This is the true inheritor of the Vitamix mantle.

In the other corner, we have the challenger, the Blendtec Classic 575 standing at 15 inches tall and weighing in at 7.28 pounds. It is Blendtec’s entry level model. Unlike the more pumped up premium Blendtec Designer Line models, the 575 has been stripped down to Blendtec’s core, heart and soul! Quintessential pre-set’s and power, but at an attractive price!

What a show of gamesmanship, as both combatants are trying to intimidate their opponent by revving their blender motors. Sounds like they both think they have what it takes to claim the title and are ready to start this bout. The crowd is excited too yelling out support for their champion. The anticipation is building as we await the bell. Here we go. Get ready for it... Brace yourself, this could get messy.

Ding Ding Ding…. Fight!

The power of a blender's motor is a critical component to successfully perform difficult blending tasks, such as frozen produce, ice, hard raw vegetables and leafy greens. Without it, you are likely to experience less than stellar results. That being said, both are incredibly powerful blenders with plenty of power and torque.

As Tim the Toolman Taylor always says "MORE POWER!"

Winner: Blendtec Classic 575

Wow what an exciting opening round. So close right out of the gate. But the Blendtec Classic 575 takes the first round due to its higher horsepower which enables it to turn garden rakes, golf balls, and iPads into fine powder! (Video here)

Undeniably one of Vitamix’s strongest selling points. Vitamix’s fans really appreciate the simplicity and ease of use that its manual controls offer. The A2300 is not an exception and continues that Vitamix tradition with their standard 10-speed settings.

On the other hand, even though Blendtec is better known for its pre-programmed blend cycles, the 575 still puts up a good fight with its 5-speed settings.

Winner: Vitamix A2300

No surprise here, Vitamix is known for their manual blending expertise. In this round, the 575 was overwhelmed (and suffered a side blow punch) by the A2300’s remarkable 10-speed options (a valuable feature for those that make-use-of and appreciate, more precision control).

What is it? These are options on your control panel. Just select the item such as smoothie, ice cream/frozen desserts, hot soups, or other, and it will perform the appropriate blend cycle. The blender then starts, runs a variety of speed cycles and stops when done. These pre-programmed blend cycles are designed by the manufacturers to deliver optimal blends.

Winner: Blendtec 575

No contest at all in this round. Vitamix is much better known for its manual blending controls. And that’s what they went with in this model. No pre-set programs at all. So, the 575 wins this round by default, because of it’s 4 pre-set cycles (smoothie, clean along with the multi use and super versatile 60 and 90 second blend cycles). Plus, the Classic 575 model, includes display of digital blend time and count down timer of each blend task. With blend times in view, you easily know how much time is left to complete your blend and may opt to multi-task (for those times when you want to get more done in less time).

The Vitamix Ascent A2300 blender looks very sharp and stylish. It’s a huge improvement over previous Vitamix models and their utilitarian design. This is not your grand father’s blender. The A2300 comes in 4 attractive colours.

On the other hand, Blendtec is known for their stylish good looks. Even though the Blendtec Classic 575 model has attractive classic design, it is not like the modern sleek and beautiful design style seen in the Blendtec Designer Model Series (ex: Blendtec Designer 625, Designer 650, Designer 675, and Designer 725). The Blendtec Classic 575 is available in 7 vibrant colours.

In the comparison between this Blendtec Classic 575 vs the Vitamix’s Ascent A2300 model, the A2300 wins for being more beautiful.

Winner: Vitamix A2300

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the judges award the A2300 the win for its stylish design over the Blendtec Classic 575.

The importance of the dimensions of a blender are individualized and unique to your kitchen. Know your cabinet to counter height as this will determine how much space is available for storing and using your blender. The more clearance you have will determine what dimensions are acceptable and preferable for both storing and operating. Nothing more frustrating then unpacking your new blender and finding out it does not fit under the cabinet!

If you are interested in the A2300, it is a taller machine, so be sure to carefully measure your kitchen counter to cabinet clearance to be certain you have enough clearance to fit. Be sure to take into account, the additional height of a tamper as it exceeds typical counter-top to cabinet clearance. This means for many, the Ascent A2300 cannot be kept on the counter fully assembled and may need to store the tamper and jar separately.

Winner: Blendtec 575

Blendtec wins the kitchen counter friendly competition as their blenders are more compact and lighter than the Vitamix blenders. The 575 should fit under most cabinets, even those with decorative moldings.  

Let’s face it, cleaning is an annoying chore! So, in the interest of doing less work (don’t you do enough already?), its important to determine which is the easier blender to clean.

Cleaning a blender can be broken into two parts, the motor base and the jar.

The Vitamix A2300 motor base has a switch and dial interface. The presence of a dial may require more intricate cleaning attention to clean spills, splashes, dirt, grime, bacteria and germs from around the dial. On the other hand, the Blendtec Classic 575 blender base is completely smooth, typically only requiring simple damp wiping.

Usually cleaning the jar can be done fast and easy by simply adding some water and a little dishwashing liquid to the jar and briefly running manually the blender and then rinsing. This will easily remove blend residuals around the blade and jar interior. However, stickier blends can require a more hands-on approach

A dull to touch blending blade is most ideal, as it makes cleaning around the blade assembly easier and safer. Vitamix claims that the blades on the A2300 are dull. But upon examination it gives the impression that you could cut your hands on it. On the other hand, the Blendtec blade system is indisputably completely blunt.

* Not Quite – In our opinion.

Winner: Blendtec 575

The Blendtec Classic 575 model is the winner in this category offering the most wins. Including:

• Pre-set clean cycle
• Safety of cleaning around the blunt blending blade
• Ease to clean blender base due to controls being 100% simple wipe clean smooth surface via their illuminated touch pad interface.

One of the perks of owning either one of these blenders is the great warranties they offer. They are a testament to the quality and reliability of these products.

Vitamix’s standard warranty on all blenders is 7 years.  However, Vitamix has upped the ante and is offering a 10-year warranty on their Ascent Series blenders. Blendtec’s standard warranty on all new blenders is 8 years. You can’t lose with either!

Winner: Vitamix A2300

The winning blender with the best warranty is the Vitamix Ascent A2300 for offering an outstanding 10-year warranty.

These blenders are loud. For all intents and purposes, they will be within a similar decibel range. You will not conduct a normal volume conversation while they are running without raising a voice or straining an ear.

But will one subject you to a shorter noise duration? Yes!

Now for this, duke-out, it is doing the popular blend task of making soup, which has a noticeably longer blend time to prepare.

Even though neither has a soup pre-set, the blend time of making a steaming soup in the A2300 is typically 5.5 minutes while the 575 can do it typically in 3 minutes. With a 2.5 minute difference in completing this blend task, judges agree this qualifies as a  distinctive and noticeable difference in noise duration.

Winner: Blendtec 575

The winning blender for least noise is the Blendtec Classic 575, as it can complete longer blend tasks faster, which means that you are subjected to blender noise for less time. This win is not surprising since both of Blendtec’s default jar options, namely the FourSide and WildSide+ are designed to increase friction which serve to complete blend times faster. 

Historically, Vitamix jars had a sharp blade system. However, in recent years they have been moving towards more of a dull blade system and state that their blades are dull. Vitamix promotes that the Ascent A2300 has a dull 4 prong blade that is safe to touch.

In our opinion, the Vitamix blades are not completely dull and could still pose a cutting risk when doing a hands-in manual clean.

Unlike Vitamix, the Blendtec blade system has always been completely dull with a thick 2 prong dull stainless-steel blade. Instead of slicing the jar contents like a sharp blade system, these blunted blades literally pulverize its blends to desired texture conformity.

About the Jar blades

• Historically Vitamix Blades were razor sharp. You had to be very careful to not cut yourself when cleaning the jar. But with the Ascent and other recent generation models, Vitamix has been transitioning to more of a dull blade system.

Winner: Blendtec 575

The 575 wins this round for having the bluntest blade system, in which to do blunt blade pulverizing action. The blunt blade system also allows for safe and easy cleaning, for more on that see "Round 6: Cleaning" above.

The Vitamix jar comes with a tamper that is used to push the jar contents onto the blades. The Blendtec WildSide+ Jar can make extra thick blends such as nut butters, but it would take periodic stopping and wiping down the sides thus slowing the process.

Winner: Vitamix A2300 64-ounce Jar

The Vitamix A2300 64-ounce base jar with tamper is better than the WildSide+ jar when it comes to making extra thick recipes such as nut butters. But if you use a Twister Jar on the Blendtec for extra thick blends, that’s another matter all together, and another battle… Tamper vs Twister Jar, tickets available soon!

Blendtec and Vitamix both provide excellent large general all-purpose type jars that come with your blender. Both Jars are well made and constructed of BPA free, strong, light weight Tritan co-polyester. And both provide unique qualities and value.

The Vitamix all-purpose jar that comes with the Ascent A2300, is their 64-ounce Low-Profile Container (with SELF-DETECT ™). The jar design is a mixture of both a circular and square shape. It has an outer body that follows a mostly circular shape with four vertical inward jutting sides. In a top down view, the inside looks like an octagonal shape on a rounded square base paired with 4 pointed blades.

The jar is from their new SELF DETECT line of Vitamix jars which is compatible with only the Ascent Series of blenders. With the SELF DETECT, the jar model is recognized by the Ascent A2300 (and all Ascent’s) which then are supposed to adjust blend preprogram settings depending on which size jar is in use. Currently there are no reports of blend cycle differences between jars that we can see, however in the future there may be updates on the blenders that may avail of this self detect technology. Another feature of the detect line, is it will not run a blend unless the lid is fastened close.

The A2300 has another interesting feature that there currently has no use for, a Wi-Fi capability. It’s been suggested that this may allow owners of Ascent blenders to obtain new pre-sets and other technology updates in the future. But we will have to wait and see what may develop.

What makes this jar special is the tamper that you can use to press thick and frozen ingredients into the blades. This enables it to tackle thicker blends without having to pause and wipe down the sides and resume.

The Blendtec 575, is offered with either a FourSide Jar or WildSide+ Jar. Both containers are considered all purpose jars.

About Blendtec Jar Options

• The WildSide+ Jar is a low-profile angular design jar with 4 similar sides and one shorter fifth side which is paired with a single thick stainless-steel blunt blade. The innovative design featuring an extra-wide base and the narrow fifth "wild" side which helps create faster, smoother blends. The jar design increases blending efficiency for frozen ingredients by up to 25%. The patented fifth side allows for bigger, quicker blends. The WildSide+ jar also features two vertical ridges on the interior walls to disrupt the blending pattern even further and accelerate the blend. The result? The fastest, smoothest blends yet. Ultimately Vitamix must have agreed with Blendtec engineers for better blender jar design, because they released a jar similar enough that they lost a patent infringement lawsuit for 24 million dollars to Blendtec in 2012. (Details here & here)

  

• The FourSide Jar is the original all-purpose Blendtec jar which had won Blendtec their fame and recognition in their earlier days. It is a low-profile jar with four equal sized sides and a 74-ounce capacity. Just like the WildSide+ (picture above), it too can be stacked and nested with other FourSide jars for space saving convenience.
  

Winner: Blendtec 575

A tough call, the tamper’s utility vs the WildSide+ and FourSide jar innovations, but in the end the WildSide+ Jar and FourSide Jar, takes the day because their design provides quicker blending, the blunt blades are safe to touch during cleaning and they provide truly hands-free blending automation.

Finally, we come down to the “Dollars and Cents” of this fight, because heck yeah, PRICE MATTERS! Both these blenders are powerful and have impressive warranties. But Quality is not free!

Winner: Blendtec 575
Currently you can find the A2300 for about $619 CAD. But the Blendtec Classic 575 wins the lowest price round as you can find it being sold by some vendors (including good4lifemart.com) for as low as $529.95 CAD.

Note that prices may change since time of writing.

For latest best deal and price on the Blendtec Classic 575 at Good4LifeMart, CLICK HERE >>.

A hard-fought battle that went the full 12 rounds. But the judge’s decision is for the Blendtec Classic 575.

So, there you have it. Blendtec’s Innovation, triumphs over Vitamix’s long history.

Please don’t send emails complaining that blender battles are modern gladiatorial fights! This is totally inaccurate. The blenders are neither slaves or prisoners. Their fates are not determined by the emperor or the crowd!