I have purchased at least 6 blenders in the last 3 years. The Hamilton Beach model has been the best so far and the least expensive! We love the 14 speeds as we make smoothies several times a day and it seems to handle the frozen fruit and ice very well. The glass jar and measurements on the side are very handy. It washes up well in the dishwasher and seems more durable than the Cuisinart that we just bought and paid more money for. The only downside is that the jar could be bigger to hold more, but with all the other positives, this is not a big deal for us.

... for a blender that can do what it advertises, because this HB 5425 Deluxe is not it. I don't like writing negative reviews, so I will keep this one brief.

Pros:
-Probably works very well for less power-intensive jobs, like mixing fresh (read: non-frozen) fruits and drinks with more liquid.
-Glass jar with a relatively smooth and easy-to-scrape-clean inner surface makes getting every last bit a lot easier than the ribbed, plastic-type jars.

Cons:
-Do not expect this to do well when confronted with large-ish chunks of frozen items, eg. ice cubes, frozen mango chunks or frozen whole strawberries, unless you plan on feeding them in one at a time (carefully) through the top of the lid while the machine spits back at you.
-Like most other multi-speed blenders, I end up using about 3 (one of them is the quick-clean speed for, you guessed it, cleaning). Maybe it's just me, but what is the difference between chop, grate, crumb, puree, and blend?
-Didn't do the job as well as my 5 year old HB that suffered an untimely demise after the base slipped off the counter top. Speaking of bases, the one on this new HB feels more like a $20 unit than a $50 unit.
-Wave action = do not fill it past 1/3, as the "waves" have a nasty habit of kicking up past the brim. Unless you like scraping up half your smoothie from the lid.

I absolutely love this blender. As a disclaimer, I only use this blender to make protein smoothies every morning with frozen fruit, ice, powder and liquids. It blends them perfectly everytime. You can really actually see the WAVE technology fiercely mixing the ingredients up and around to make sure every item is chopped evenly. THE ICE CRUSHING IS PERFECT. I always get the perfect little crystals each time, never any chunks or sticking. I bought this model to replace an Oster that was more expensive. I had to replace the Oster twice in 4 months after both of them broke. I finally decided to just go with another manufacturer. This Hamilton Beach is alot more sturdy. With my Oster model, the bottom of the glass portion wasn't wide enough and it always seemed a bit shakey on the base (like an upside down triangle). This glass container has a wide enough bottom where it sits in the base secure and locks in. It also looks great on the counter. I have a very modern, updated kitchen with black and stainless steel and this goes perfectly with everything else. Also, the glass container is very thick and doesn't feel or look cheap. I would definitely recommend Hamilton Beach over other types of blenders.

The blender works great and is easy to disassemble and clean. The lid fits in a little too snugly so it has to be pushed in firmly, but apart from that I'm pleased with the blender. Looks great on the counter, too.

I own the Hamilton Beach 54245 Black Deluxe Ensemble 14-Speed Power Plus Blender and I am very pleased with its performance. This blender has a blade-and-jar design (called wave action) that sucks the ingredients in for incredibly thorough blending, resulting in smooth, uniform consistency. It has a powerful (700-watt peak) motor that, combined with the wave action, yields excellent results. The motor carries a 3-year warranty. I use it mostly for ice shakes (usually the most demanding feature) and it crushes ice easily with no lumps left whatsoever. Its 48-oz glass jar secures easily on its sturdy base and is dishwasher friendly. Easy to clean and with no parts to assemble, this is my best blender to date. I highly recommend it.