The Vitamix range has three series’ of its standard quality blenders: the C-series, G-series, and S-series.
This review will focus on the Vitamix S50 vs S55 vs S30 and will evaluate each of these in depth.
To determine which model in the Vitamix S-Series is going to be your best buy, let’s test these products and see how the fare in a head-to-head comparison.
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Vitamix S30 Review
What are the Pros and Cons of the S-series?
Rated with the top score in Consumer NZ testing, the Vitamix S30 is in a league of its own when it comes to quality kitchen appliances.
The consumers have spoken for themselves, so now it’s time for you to experience the pure blending might this S30 has to offer.
With so much power in its 790-watt motor and versatility with each use, it’s easy to see why customers fall in love with their Vitamix blenders.The S30 is perfect for those professionals and individuals who need quick, easy and nutritious meals on-the-go.
It comes with a 40-ounce compact container for small family meals, as well as a 20-ounce instant travel cup with flip top lid. Enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner on the go!
So many kitchen appliances take control in the kitchen, but with the S30 that control remains with you.
The easy-to-use variable speed control and pulse feature lets you set the pace.
Chunky salsa? No problem. Smooth puree? Easy.
The S30 makes you the master of your kitchen. Even when blending heated ingredients, the S30 has it covered.
There is a vented lid plug which releases steam while blending hot mixtures, and this is also easy to remove when adding ingredients or tampering the mixture down.
It’s fast, reliable, built-to-last and recommended by many home cooks and professionals. It’s everything you could need in a blender and so much more.
The cleaning process is also simple, and its compact frame allows you to pack it away with ease – not that you would want to!
So see what all the fuss is about, and give your kitchen what it deserves – a Vitamix S30. You will be so pleased with the results.
Positive Reviews
- It effectively lowers the apparent volume of the ingredients being blended.
- Effectively blends small batches at a time.
- Results in a finer and smoother texture of the finished product.
- Does not take up too much space.
- Reconditioned units are available at reduce price.
- Lightweight and small compare to the other models.
- Comes with both 20 and 40oz. containers.
- Sleek design and aesthetically pleasing
- The 20 ounce container can be interchangeable.
- Budget friendly.
- Adjustable speed.
Cons
- Clean-up can be a bit of a hassle, you need to unscrew the base and blade assembly first
- Lower power in comparison to other models.
- Ingredients need to be cut smaller before blending.
- Quite noisy.
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Vitamix S50 Review
If you’re lacking kitchen space, time, or both, then the Vitamix S50 is the answer to your problems.
This blender makes a fantastic kitchen companion and is sure to save so much time in the kitchen.
Whether you’re making a small batch of soup, sauce, dessert, dips or smoothies or are just preparing ingredients for dinner, the S50 has you covered.
It comes with two containers for your convenience – a 40-ounce BPA-free shatter-proof container and a 20-ounce BPA-free Blend and Go cup.
Enjoy the high performance blending on offer, as well as so many features to get that dinner served promptly! The Blend and Go cup also allows you to do exactly what is described – blend and go.
Put the ingredients in, blend, and go!
Two pre-programmed settings will take the guess work out of your blending needs, whilst the variable speed control and pulse function gives you back control with whichever ingredients you are working with.
A tamper will ensure all ingredients are in the container, not on the sides, and the S50 cookbook gives you a range of ideas to get your creative juices in the kitchen flowing.
Clean up is also a breeze, with all containers, the blade base, lids and seals being dishwasher safe when placed in the top rack. Then simply pack away the lightweight S50 in a kitchen cupboard!
Don’t settle for less than the best when you can have a Vitamix S50. As part of the S-Series, it’s a go-to blender for many families, professionals and individuals. Less time in the kitchen is more time with family and friends.
Get blending!
Positive Reviews
- Has 2 pre-programmed settings for liquefying ingredients.
- Best product for power blends and smoothies.
- Both manual and automatic variable speed settings.
- Automatic variable speed controls
- Easy to clean and store
- It is top rack dishwasher-safe.
Cons
- It is moderately expensive.
- Noisy when operated because of the powerful motor.
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Vitamix S55 Review
For those who are always on the go with no time to waste, the Vitamix S55 is the blender for you!
Compact, light, efficient and built to last, the S-Series Vitamix S55 could very well become your favourite kitchen companion.
From making smoothies through to soups and desserts; the S55 can do it all, and do it well.
Aside from the stunning design with a brushed stainless motor base, it offers a compact solution to your meal time woes.
Simply add your ingredients to the 40-ounce container or 20-ounce travel cup, use any of the four pre-programmed settings or set your own, and dinner is served! The 20-ounce travel cup can even come with you on your way to work.
This dynamic kitchen appliance comes with an interchangeable blade base with stainless steel blades, as well as being designed with your safety in mind with the safety interlocking system and automatic turn-off protection.
If you’re not quite sure how much you need to blend a particular ingredient, then simply make use of the variable speed control which allows you to fine-tune every texture.
Get that smooth soup or chunky salsa you desire with ease.
You control every part of the process. When it’s time to clean up simply pop the containers, blade base, lids and seals in the top rack of your dishwasher and hit start.
It really is that simple.
The blender can then be stored discretely in the kitchen cupboard until next time. Vitamix is all about making your life just that little bit easier. Take the first step and make the Vitamix S55 your new kitchen companion today. You will be glad you did.
Positive Reviews
- It has two additional settings for dips and frozen desserts.
- Automatic settings for processing desserts and beverages.
- Heavy duty motor.
- Adjustable speed settings
- Latest model in the VitaMix S-Series range.
- Quick and easy to clean
Cons
- It is quite expensive.
- It is noisy when operated, yet not as much as other S-Series models.
- One available in one color.
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What to expect in the box?
Upon opening the Vitamix S-Series packages, with the S30, you’ll find interchangeable stainless steel blade bases, a 20oz. container, a 40oz. container, a tamper for the 40oz. container, and personal blending cookbook with guidelines and references.
While in the box for the S50, you will find a personal recipe book, 40oz. BPA-free, shatter proof container, a 20oz. BPA-free shatter proof container, interchangeable stainless steel blades and a tamper. Generally, the S30 and S50 come with similar items and device accessories.
Whereas in the S55 includes a 20oz. travel cup, 40oz. container, tamper, brushed stainless steel motor base, personal recipe book, and the S-Series blades.
Vitamix’s packaging is labelled properly, the information regarding the blender is written all over the front side of the box and the symbol for its certification is printed on the box.
Evaluating the Overall Designs for the S-series (Vitamix S30 vs S50 vs S55)
Vitamix’s S-Series models are very popular with many consumers because of their high speed, quality edge blades, and heavy duty motors.
If you examine the physical appearance of the VitaMix blenders, they have sleek designs, with 10-speed settings and the pitcher can be used as a container for drinking as well as blending.
Let’s review the vitamix s50 vs s55 vs s30 and evaluate the differences:
The S30 and S50 are available in black and red, whereas the S55 is the only VitaMix product offered at brushed stainless steel.
In terms of their size, the S30 is the smallest among the S-Series. The product dimensions for these three models are as follows:
| S-Series | Products Dimensions | Product & Shipping Weights |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamix S30 | 5.9 x 5.9 x 14.6 inches | 5 pounds & 12.6 pounds |
| Vitamix S50 | 5.9 x 7.2 x 16.5 inches | 12.7 pounds & 13 pounds |
| Vitamix S55 | 5.9 x 8.34 x 14.55 inches | 12.2 pounds & 12.4 pounds |
The convenience of the containers
- All of the S-Series blenders have double-walled 20-ounce containers that helps to maintain the desired temperature of the liquids.
- It also has a 40oz. container for larger pieces of food that needs less preparation and consequently can blend, chop, mince and mix larger quantities of food.
- The 20-ounce container can be used as a travel cup as well as pitcher for blending. Both the 20oz. and 40oz. containers are sealed with a tight cover to prevent any spills.
- The VitaMix S-Series containers are not interchangeable due to each model being of a different size, so for instance, placing an S30 container on an S50 base will not work.
Who is the target market for the Vitamix S-Series?
All of the Vitamix S-Series blenders can general households, juice nutritionist, dieticians, chefs, bakers, cafes, coffee shops, milk tea stores and restaurants in preparing food, beverages, sauces, soups and a whole lot more…
Evaluating the performance: Vitamix S50 vs S55 vs S30 review
The S30 is powered by 790-watt power that can crush ice and blend tough ingredients intended for food preparations.
Unfortunately, due to the smaller physical size and dimensions of this blender, you have to do a bit of prep work by slicing the food into smaller, 1 to 2 inch bits in order for the blender to efficiently dice and chop the food.
The heavy-duty blenders on the other hand are powered by a range of 1380 up to 1440 watt motors, resulting in a finer and more thorough chop of harder ingredients.
The S30 is however particularly useful in preparations of small meals for the family.
In addition, the S30 model has a minimum speed of 1800 RPM and a maximum speed of 21,000 RPM.
On the other hand, the S50 features two pre-programmed settings allowing you to adjust the operating time of the blender in an instant.
It also comes with variable speed settings as well as a pulse function, to achieve your perfect blend.
In the case of the S55, its major features are a safety locking system, variable speed control, and 4 pre-programmed blending settings.
Comparison of Prices in the S-Series
Prices is the main consideration when purchasing a product and should be equal to the value of the actual product.
Here is a summary to give you an idea of prices of the various S-Series models as bought through VitaMix and Amazon:
The price of the products speak for themselves and the value of the S-Series blenders reflects their quality, convenience, reliability, reputation, and popularity.
Purchase of reconditioned S30, S50, and S55, is this possible?
Many customers who have a tight budget cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars for the Vitamix S-Series, but they have a practical and wise alternative.
Vitamix offers reconditioned versions of the S30, S50, and S55. Currently, only the S30 has an available reconditioned price advertised by Vitamix.
To briefly give you an idea of the reconditioning process, it is usually second-hand models or defectively manufactured items which underwent repair and reconditioning to restore their quality and appearance so that the company can resell them.
Generally, as is the policy of most companies, it usually takes about 6 months after the initial launch of a new item before the reconditioned items are offered to consumers.
You don’t have to worry about the quality of the appliance, since it is certified and reconditioned properly by the authorized certification team at VitaMix.
An intensive inspection is done and the product is diligently restored, so even if it is offered at a discounted price, the quality is assured by VitaMix.
For the S50 review, it is still in the process of reconditioning which started in April 2015, whilst the S55 is not yet subject to reconditioning policy.
What else can you expect?
The Vitamix also offers a trade-in purchase but, this payment option is not yet available for the S-Series.
You can also check in on their site or on Amazon to learn more about the latest promos and practical payment alternatives.
After-sale services for the VitaMix S-Series (S30, S50 & S55)
Warranties are crucial to the customer and for the repair and maintenance of the appliance.
All of the S-Series models are backed by a 5 year warranty and a 30 day trial policy in which if the customer is not satisfied with the product he is allowed to return it.
Furthermore, if there are technical failures or defects on the product, the customer retains the right to a full refund of the purchase price of the product.
The VitaMix company, as well as other online shops, offer an 8 year warranty for an additional cost.
The coverage of this warranty applies to technical failures, normal wear and tear due to household use and product defects, as long as the damage has occurred within the 5 or 8 year span of the warranty.
In addition, some companies also offer insurance or an extension of the warranty of up to 3 years to have your blender regularly maintained and the motor checked.
How to clean up and wash?
Proper cleaning and sanitising of your home appliances is important to prevent dust, dirt, and other pollutants from contaminating the blender.
To start with, you will have to clean the tamper, blades and containers as soon as possible after you’re finished using the appliance.
The S50 and S55 are easy to clean, because of the built-in water resistant machine components and the top rack of the appliance was proven to be dishwasher-safe.
This also means that you can clean the S50 and S55 without having to worry about the effects of pouring water on the equipment.
As for the S30, the cleaning is a little more complicated, because you have to unscrew the blades to clean the threads after using the blender, since some food particles seep down into the threads.
Diagram of the Vitamix S-Series: Detail by Detail
It is important to know the different parts of the blender so that you can clean the appliance properly and should there be need for repairs, you will be able to pinpoint exactly the where the problem lies.
- Measuring cup (Found in the middle of the lid)
- The Lid
- Jar
- Gasket
- Blade Assembly
- Collar
- Motor and Base Unit
- LCD Display
- Stir Button
- Chop Button
- Mix Button
- Puree Button
- Liquefy Button
- Ice Crush
- Off
- Pulse
The VitaMix S-Series has advanced control settings for speed. These controls differ between the S30, S50, and S55 models. Furthermore, there are pre-programmed functions which make the blending efficient, fast and automatic
Motor and Base Unit
Generally, the useful life of a blender is about 5 to 10 years, depending on the conditions of usage of the appliance.
The VitaMix S-Series is guaranteed to provide high-quality performance, continued function throughout perpetual use and a durable motor unit.
The ability to grind and chop for periods of time exceeding 1 to 2 minutes is derived from the robustness of the motor.
Many blenders often require repairs and normally the cause arises from overheating of the motor.
The VitaMix S-Series is sure to provide you with the most favorable feasibility, practicality, and versatility of the VitaMix blenders.
Because of VitaMix’s expertise, they are intimately experienced in and familiar with the strong and weak points of their blenders. Thus, the VitaMix team has already come up with a brilliant solution by building the motor unit of the S-Series with quality and high-end replaceable parts.
Blade Assembly
The sharp edges of the blades can grind the food into small, fine and smooth and is perfectly suited to deal with both liquids and solids.
No particular speed is required for any kind of food in order for you to meet the desired blend consistency. The longer you run the blender, the finer the texture of the food or beverage.
There is also no need for blade removal when cleaning the S50 and S55 models, unlike the S30, where you have to unscrew the blender first to disassemble the blades and clean the threads and gasket thoroughly.
Gasket
The gasket is responsible for firmly holding the blades in place so as to stabilise them when in use.
With regards to the S50 and S55, it is not necessary to remove the gasket or blades for cleaning purposes, but in the S30, the blade assembly should be unscrewed to clean, particularly if an accidental leak has occurred while blending.
Speed Control Functions
All of the S-Series models have variable speed controls with 10 different settings, but differs when it comes to the programmed settings installed on the blenders.
Vitamix S30
The S30 has no pre-programmed settings and only the pulse function is present on its speed controls.
Vitamix S50
The S50 has 2 pre-programmed settings in addition to the pulse function, which are “Smoothie” and “Power Blend”.
Vitamix S55
While the S55 has it all! Apart from the pulse, Power Blend, and Smoothie functions, it also has additional, more advanced controls, which are “Frozen Desserts” and “Dips”.
Noise produced by the S-Series models.
Usually, when a blender is operated, it causes a loud noise from the spinning blades and the vibration of the motor. This is typical of most blenders.
Some of these appliances can be considered as too noisy, because of the quality of the brand, whereas the S-Series are somewhat quieter when operated, even though you can still hear the spinning of the blades and pulse of the motor.
Conclusion
If you are looking to buy a model from the S-Series range, what would be your best investment? Seeing as they are more or less in the same price range, you will be well rewarded for going with the S50.
It has more functions, makes clean-up a whole lot easier and will soon be available in a reconditioned version, should your budget not allow a new one.
You cannot really go wrong with any of these models, but the S50 does have a little more going for it, overall, than the other two.