[Great68]

I recently bought the Blendtech Classic 570 from Costco to replace a 7 year old Hamilton Beach ($100) where the Bushing separated from the plastic drive gear.
I didn't really do a whole lot of research beforehand, it was a case of needing a new blender and seeing them on sale one day while shopping at Costco and just grabbing one.

While the Blendtech is super stout, I don't know if I got $300 worth of extra performance, I don't use it for a whole lot other than smoothies a couple times a week, it's not like it makes them taste any different than the HB did.
Every blender will struggle if you don't put in enough liquid.
I guess, if I never have to buy another blender as long as I live, then I'll consider it worth it. It sure is fucking loud though, like ear damaging loud. Good way to wake the wife up in the morning.

I heard that Vitamix ripped off Blendtec's jar design, and just lost a huge lawsuit to Blendtec over it.