Ditto what everyone else has said, I wouldn't be without one. You can also use it to make small batches of whipped cream. Great for those times when you just need a couple of servings and don't want to haul out the stand mixer. Saw a helpful note in Cooks Illustrated a few days ago that suggested dipping it in a small container of soapy water and giving it a pulse or two for easy cleaning. Kind of obvious, but somehow I hadn't thought of it before.

I have the KA with all the attachments, and I have to say that for me, it's just okay. It's certainly powerful and reliable and all that, but there are certain things about the attachments that don't suit me, but may not be an issue for you. For instance, the blade in the chopper has a fairly high clearance from the floor of the container, so it's not much good for nuts or herbs or other small items. I don't love mine nearly as much as I had expected to do, but a lot of that is just because of the way I cook. I don't make many thick soups, for instance, so while it's splendid for those as others here have said, that doesn't matter much to me. I think I only paid about $69 for mine from amazon, though--KA regularly has a biggish discount once or twice a year (usually after the holidays, alas), and then there was some kind of limited time amazon special running, too. But they are often available for less than retail, although never during holiday gift season.

I don't have one. I am only guessing: 1. It looks like a direct driven machine therefore it has no gears. 2. It looks like it has a universal AC motor, and not an induction motor. If so, the carbon brushes may need to be replaced. 3. If it is not doing anything, check the switch and the wiring that's entering the blender. dcarch

We have two, the Cuisinart with attachments and the Bamix. (We had to use up a credit at Williams-Sonoma by a deadline and couldn't figure out what else to get, so I decided to give the Bamix a spin.) I like both, but for different reasons---and much to my husband's dismay, decided they weren't really replacements for one another. I've had the Cuisinart for a decade, and I love-love-love it. I don't use the mini-food processor attachment, but use both the immersion blender and the whisk attachment regularly. We have a stand mixer but no other hand mixer. My husband's big pet peeve about the Cuisinart is that it splatters things everywhere, and one thing I don't like about it is that things get stuck in the blade, so the Bamix looked like it might solve those. Some differences - Bamix has teeny tiny little blades so they are very easy to clean, but also easy to lose - Bamix does not seem to splatter as much as the Cuisinart, especially with soup and such things. - Not much gets caught in the Bamix blades, whereas with the Cuisinart, for some foods I have to keep stopping it and freeing the blade. - I have not successfully gotten the Bamix to whip egg whites, though it says it will do this (tried all the attachments!) The Cuisinart does this in a heartbeat (but there will often be bits of egg white on the wall...) - Bamix is a pain to clean overall because you must unplug the entire mixer and bring it to the sink to wash---it's all one piece. The Cuisinart, in contrast, lets you pop off both the whisk and the blending attachments and wash them individually. I almost never take the actual motor/plug piece anywhere near the sink. - I find the Cuisinart more comfortable to hold, but I suspect that's a personal thing. - Bamix is slightly easier to store because it has less bulky attachments, but I've never had a problem storing either. - Cuisinart whisk does a better job with small quantities than Bamix whipping attachment---Bamix seems to need a critical mass of liquid to get into its stride. So I think either could work...Cuisinart is half the price so I might pick that, but there are things I like better with the Bamix, too. (I'd intended to re-home the Cuisinart but changed my mind since it's still the better tool for some things.) I think the Cuisinart is quite similar to the KA and the Braun, too. For me, these replace both a blender (we have one but haven't used it in years---only rarely makes an appearance for frozen drinks) and a hand mixer, which I really don't miss. My favorite thing about our new kitchen is that we had the wiring on our 1950s stove fixed, so it now has an electrical outlet right in between the burners---perfectly positioned for the immersion blender!