Braun MX2050 PowerMax 525-Watt 58-Ounce Jug Blender
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Braun MX2050 PowerMax 525-Watt 58-Ounce Jug Blender
Customer Review: N O.....P O W E R H O U S E
Summary: 3 Stars
The Braun Power Max 2050 is rated a "Best Buy" by a leading consumer
publication. It also has gotten sterling reviews on Amazon. I needed
a larger blender, and the price was right. So -- I bought it.
Well, it does have a glass container, which makes for more hygienic blending than plastic. The container, though of very heavy glass, holds only 56 ounces, instead of the usual 64. This gives it a large-enough
capacity for most blending operations, but keeps the heavy glass container, (though still quite heavy), lighter in weight than it would be, if the container held the additional eight ounces! (The glass used is also quite good glass -- it has a "green tint", usually seen only in older mirrors!)
It is also, as other reviewers have said, very easy to take apart for cleaning. This is important, especially as the glass -- though lighter in weight than it would be, if the container held 64 ounces, instead of only 56 -- is still quite heavy. On my first few uses, (I made smoothies), in fact, I just rinsed it off with hot water....and got an "Ajax squeek", telling me it was as clean as clean could be! (Probably due to the superiour glass used.)
As the top of the container is square shaped, a pouring spout really isn't needed, because any of the four corners can serve as a pouring spout.
It would be a very good blender, a power-house blender, as most of the professional reviews which praise this blender, seem to indicate -- except for one thing. This is an AVERAGE power bender, NOT a power-house blender. In the instruction booklet, it mentions one should cut hard ingredients into small pieces before putting them in. (By the way, my blender did NOT come with an instruction booklet! I found one website, selling many blenders, which directed me to download the booklet. However, when I called Braun itself, they promised to send me a hard-copy instruction booklet, which is definitely a praiseworthy action.) It's a pity this is not the "power-blender" it is said to be, and that the power of the blender matched the courtesy level of Braun, sending me my missing booklet!
All in all, this is an adequate machine. Just don't look for it to blend difficult things, like cake batters or crush ice-cubes. For gourmet blending, you'll need a gourmet blender -- like the much more expensive Blend-Tec. This Braun is adequate for most blending operations...but adquate for lower-to-mid power needs, only. It's a "Braun" blender all right -- but, sadly, not too "brawny"!
Customer Review: Good low-cost blender
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the second Braun MX2050 PowerMax 525-Watt 58-Ounce Jug Blender I've bought, and I suppose the fact that I've bought two of them isn't the most compelling recommendation. But here's my take on it.
The blender costs $50. In that price range, the quality is universally not so great, and the competing blenders seem to be far inferior to this one, both in terms of blending ability and durability. This one rises to the top of the pack for blending ability in this price range.
This blender has a nicely designed blade and jug that does a decent job of blending a variety of foods, including ice cubes. Yes, it's only 525 watts, which is somewhat anemic compared to the REAL blenders like Vitamix or K-Tec. But they start at $400. And many blenders are even less powerful.
The critical flaw with this blender is the plastic gear and drive shaft that link the motor to the metal blade in the jug. It is cheap and it breaks. The first time I broke a plastic part was due to ongoing usage mainly making smoothies with ice cubes, but no particular incident. The plastic drive mechanism on the bottom of the jug that attaches it to the base wore out. I replaced it under warranty.
The second time was a specific incident in which I started the blender quickly while it was loaded with food. There was something a little brittle and hard near the bottom, which broke a part (probably plastic) in the blender base. The blender was gone, but I liked it so much I bought the new, somewhat updated second generation version. Unfortunately, they didn't fix the fatal flaw in the new one, just made it prettier.
So if you decide to take the risk and buy this blender, use it as gently as possible. Introduce solids as gently and gradually as possible, preferably into the spinning blade with other blended foods/liquids at the bottom of the jug.
I have used the blender about 3 times a day for 16 months, and I've essentially destroyed it twice, if that gives you any sense of how long it will last for you. Maybe you'll be more careful than I was. And if you're luckly, it'll break under warranty the first time!
Steve
Customer Review: Best buy--thanks Amazon community for the help
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading the many reviews, I decided to take a chance on this machine.
We use a blender several times everyday. I had, in the past, bought blenders at the $40-60 level and they were not very good and last about 2-5 years. So I moved up to the $100-$150 range. My last purchase was the Cuisenart Duo. That machine was LOUD and slow and was hard to get things to the smooth level without a lot of stirring. It lasted about 4 years (with one replacement of the blade). It might go another year but the motor is starting to overheat. I was ready to buy the $500 vitamix turbo blender. I have seen it at the fair for years and thought that I have over the years spent this much. Then I saw the consumer reports and it recommended this one. I was worried that a blender in this price range would not be what I wanted.
However, I am SO glad I bought it. It is fast, powerful, makes great smoothies and best of all it cleans without any of the fruit sticking. I am not sure how it does this, but the fruit just rises off from the glass. The triangle shape makes pouring so much easier and the water seems to create a volcanic spin off of the three flat sides so that the liquid is pulled to the bottom. I could not be happier. And it is so much quieter. I waited 5 months to see if there were any problems but I see none. And I am grateful to the people who wrote reviews and I wanted to return the favor. I feel so empowered as a shopper to be able to talk to real people who are not invested in "selling" me something. So I am returning the favor. (I decided against the vitamix when I realized that the height of it would touch my cabinets.) This one is the perfect size. My recommendation is buy it. It might not last forever but then for $50 -- if it lasts 5 years, I will happy.
Customer Review: a basically good design has been cheapened
Summary: 2 Stars
The order was handled by Amazon with their usual excellent speed and efficiency, but my mistake was believing the reviews saying that this is a relatively quiet, high efficiency blender. When it came, I left the blender in the box for a couple of weeks while the kitchen wiring was being finished. We don't drink, so we don't make crushed ice drinks, and we never crush ice in a blender. We do make milk & fresh-fruit smoothies, without ice, several times a week. It quickly became clear that this blender is not up to the job. Despite the quality name, the basic moving parts are flimsy. It vibrates because the gears are made of plastic/nylon and don't mesh properly. The size and thickness of the plastic gasket has been cheapened to the point that it doesn't always stay in place as the bottom of the jar is tightened, and sometimes twists in a way that leaves half of the area at the bottom of the blender jar open and dripping milk all over the counter. Maybe all of this is just Braun's way of telling us that you don't get a high quality blender for $48. When I tried to return it, I discovered that Amazon won't accept a return after 30 days. It is true we'd owned it for more than 30 days, but we'd used it for a little over a week at that time. And after a lot of annoyance, it's time to look for another blender. I have been using our ultra-noisy but dependable old Oster in the meantime.Customer Review: Would be great if it lived longer.
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm only giving this blender 2 stars because when it did work it worked incredibly well. Everything came out so smooth, no random chunks that get missed by the blade (which has been my problem with several MUCH more expensive blenders I have purchased, including a Kitchen Aid). I bought this at the urgings of Cooks Illustrated mainly b/c they are usually so dead on with their reviews. And they were with this one...except for its short life. And many other people seem to be having the same problem.
I received this blender as a holiday gift in December 2007 and it is now less than two years old and it died. Sounds like the same problem others have had--during normal use it seemed like the blade wasn't catching, then the motor started smoking and burned out. All I was blending was some sauce, not anything chunky or thick at all.
I will attempt to contact Braun customer service, but it doesn't sound like much is going to come of that, esp. since it's probably past the warranty period and it sounds like this problem is not even reparable from what others have said. I've never had a blender die on me before--all of the others I tried worked for years, I just gave them away in the end (and one I even sold on craigslist).
Huge disappointment. :(