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132 of 136 found the following review helpful:
 Holy cow, what an awesome vacuum!!! Dec 20, 2010
By Some dude
Ok, so... I'm a guy. I'm a 29 year old married guy. I'm a 29 year old married guy who thought that $300 for a vacuum was, well, a really dumb idea. I was under the impression that all vacuum's were more/less create equal. You know, you plug 'em in, they pick up crumbs, pick up cat/dog hair and that's about it, and if you're lucky, you get a chance to scare one of the cats with it. They're all just utilitarian tools that suck up stuff and are all the same... Well, they aren't... and I'm shocked to be saying this, very shocked indeed...
So, here's my thesis: If you have hardwood floors and a few rugs and a desire to suck up everything, then get this bad boy. It'll change your life, my friend. No, scratch that... it's blow your mind...
Ok, here's the deal:
First off, it's light. LIKE, REALLY LIGHT. And on top of that, it's on casters that aren't fixed in place, thus allowing the cannister to move in any direction, unlike the old vacuums of yore that could move pretty much just forward and back maybe had a swivelling wheel on the front.
Secondly (and in no apparent order), this thing's got (for lack of a better phrase) a variable rate sucky thingy... you can set this thing to suck just a little, or suck a whole helluva lot. I really don't know why you'd use this, but it has pictures of curtains and other delicate stuff, so I'm guessing it's kinda like that gentle-wash cycle on the washing mashine that I've never used. Nevertheless, as a guy that loves stuff, I like knowing that I can customize my suction.
Next Up! It's quiet. Dunno what else to say... so I'll paint a picture for you: Take one of those high-peformance motorcycles: they're loud and annoying. Now take a moped which is quiet yet equally annoying. Now your old vacuum is that Kawasaki Ninja that passed you on the highway at 230 mph, and this awesome Miele is that moped, humming along at 35 miles per hour. They both do the same thing and will transport you from A-B, but the Moped won't make you look like a jerk doing so. I guess what I'm getting at here is that it's pretty quiet.
Ok lets move on to LOOKS! This thing just looks cool. It looks like something a Storm Trooper would use on the Death Star if the auto-vac's (that I'm assuming the Empire had) all broke down at once.
PERFORMACE: Like I said before, if you've got hardwood floors and a few area rugs, then this thing its totally gonna rock your world. The main head attachment moves up and down and rotates thus allowing you to practically lay this thing flat to get all the way under the couch (that's where our cat and dog hair seems to take refuge).
AIR QUALITY: Unlike most vacuums out there, this thing leaves the world a better place than when it found it. Not only does it suck up anything that'll fit into it's hose, but it's got some sort of super-filter that, I'm fairly certain, cleans the air as you suck stuff up. I've yet to poke around inside the cannister for fear of learning it's secrets, but I can honestly say that not only are your floors and furniture going to be cleaner but you're house-air will smell more pure.
In summary:
This thing looks cool.
This thing works very well.
This thing looks like a Storm Trooper
This thing will totally suck up everything you put in front of it.
If you've read this whole review, then you're probably gonna get this thing. And you should.
EDIT: I've since gotten divorced... but put up a fight and kept my Miele... it was well worth it...
112 of 115 found the following review helpful:
I am in love :-) Nov 24, 2009
By maggda
The best vacuum I ever had! Quiet, light and powerful. Switching between hardwood floor and carpets is as easy as switching the flip with the one foot. It is perfect. We were laughing with my husband that the more expensive model must be brewing coffee or offering the massage because it is hard to imagine even better performance :-)
Oh and one more amazing thing. I ordered it on Sunday and I had it delivered by Tuesday! Free shipping!
348 of 372 found the following review helpful:
Terrific lower-priced additions to the Miele canister vacuum line Nov 17, 2009
By hyperbolium
Miele is a family-owned German manufacturer of home appliances. The company's philosophy of continuous improvement ("Immer Besser") has made them a favorite throughout the world. Their products don't have bargain prices, but provide value in high quality design and manufacturing that results in superior performance and durability. Miele was founded in 1899 and began producing vacuum cleaners in 1927; their vacuums have become favorites of professionals worldwide, including many top-end hotel staffs.
The Miele S2 line of canister vacuums is new for 2009, offering the quality and many of Miele's standard features at a lower price. There are three S2 models, all sharing the same 1200-watt base vacuum. The canister has six power settings and a standard air filter that catches 94% of particles down to 0.3 microns. The Olympus model is the lowest priced of the three, and features a floor/carpet combo head (SBD350-3), non-electric hose and a telescoping wand. The Delphi model substitutes a power head (SEB217-3), electric hose (SES116) and electric telescoping wand (SET220). The Titan model retains the power components of the Delphi and adds a parquet floor brush (SBB-3) and active HEPA filter.
Note that all three models can support the power hose and brush, but only the Delphi and Titan include it as part of the package. Similarly, all three models support the active HEPA filter, but only the Titan includes it in its package. If you don't currently need a power head you can buy the Olympus and add the power components later; you'll pay more in the end, but you won't have to buy power components now that you may not need for a few years. The non-electric combo head works well on smooth flooring, is usable on short-pile carpet, and is difficult to use on deeper-pile carpet.
Like all Miele vacuum cleaners, the S2 is well designed and manufactured in Germany. The vacuum has a range of 29.5 feet from the end of the self-retracting power cord to the tip of the brush. The unit is light (under 10 lbs), nicely balanced and moves easily in any direction on its casters. The top-exhaust design allows you to vacuum easily with the canister standing up, such as on steps. The motor is surprisingly quiet, particularly at the lower power levels. The six power levels allow you to switch from floors and carpets to shelves and tabletops without accidentally grabbing objects or papers instead of dirt or dust.
The S2 cleans very well and is a pleasure to use. The base has notches in which the hose can be parked, one for when the base is on its wheels, one for when the base is standing. This is a great touch, useful for temporarily standing the hose while you move a piece of furniture, and helpful for storing the vacuum in a closet without breaking down the hose and wand. Perhaps the only weakness of the S2 is the "varioclip" for tool storage, which rides somewhat uncomfortably on the hose rather than more naturally on the base. Changing the filter and bag are each a snap, and an indicator tells you when the bag is full.
Finally, what compromises does the S2 line make from the more expensive S4 and S5 lines? The most obvious changes are to external components: a few parts, such as the bumper strip that surrounds the canister, are made from hard plastic rather than softer rubber. The operating radius is a few feet shorter (due to a shorter power cord), and the accessory brushes use some lower-cost materials (nylon versus natural bristle brush, plastic instead of metal). Inside, the S2 canister uses Miele's "CleanAir System" construction, while the S4 and S5 canister use its "Sealed System." Miele doesn't offer a detailed comparison of the two, but one might assume the latter system provides an extra measure of dust capture that may be more appropriate for those with allergic sensitivities.
The changes made to lower the price of the S2 line will make small differences in daily use, but shouldn't compromise the vacuum's core ability to clean. Those who are especially sensitive to dust should consider the HEPA-equipped Titan model, or stepping up to the S4 or S5; those with less stringent needs will find the S2 a terrific entry point to the Miele line of high quality vacuums. If budget is no issue, look at the S5 line, but if value-per-dollar is a major consideration, the S2 line will bring you Miele's engineering and manufacturing prowess at a more affordable price. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]
58 of 60 found the following review helpful:
The Best Vacuum I've Ever Owned May 08, 2010
By goonius
After struggling with a crappy upright for years, and a hand-me-down ancient Hoover canister for even more years, the Miele Olympus is a breath of fresh air. Literally.
When I began to notice that the time I spent vacuuming had doubled because the old Hoover spat out so much fine particulate matter that the whole house was eternally covered in dust, I began my ploy for marketing this expensive piece of German machinery to my significant other. He eventually conceded, and I've even caught him red-handed as he sneaks in a vacuuming session here or there - just for fun. And when you're really cleaning things, it does make vacuuming fun. Almost.
I went to our local store, tested one out, decided that the main floor attachment it comes with is rather shabby, added a Parquet Floor Brush (at an insane 75% off discount) and a HEPA filter, and I was on my way.
This is one of the best features of the Miele vacuums. The all have the same motor, and the same suction power. Most of them (save for the cool-looking, wonderfully equipped, but Power Brush-incompatible Neptune) can be almost endlessly upgraded. The Olympus, while being a very bare-bones machine straight out of the box, can be upgraded with the far-superior horse-hair attachments (it comes with synthetics), can be upgraded with a (rather expensive, but really neat) Turbo Brush, which rotates with the wind created by the awesome suction, or you can do one better and upgrade the Olympus to a power brush, making it essentially the same machine as the Titan. What I love about this, is that you can buy the parts as you need them - and perhaps more importantly, for many of us - as you can afford them, rather than plunking down a whopping $600 or more in one fell swoop.
Furthermore, you can upgrade the filtration system from the 'Clean Air' which is essentially a thin piece of cloth, to the HEPA, which filters out even more particulates - for those of us with allergies - and has deodorizing charcoal. Not that you'd need it, necessarily. One look at the Miele bags, which filter before the air ever reaches this secondary filtration system, and it's immediately clear there's not too much that could make it through these dual barriers. The bags are multi-layered thick material, and each comes with a spring-loaded valve, into which the hose plugs. Thus when you turn off the machine or go to replace the bag, the bag is already sealed off and no dust can escape. I think that's right fancy.
The vacuum itself comes with 6 power settings, each indicated by a little image of what surface they are appropriate for vacuuming. The lowest is a dusting setting, the last three are hard wood floors/tile, short nap rugs, and high pile carpeting. The vacuums motor starts up slowly, and this has taken some getting used to, because I'm used to vacuum motors just roaring to life. Even once the motor is going full-tilt, it's amazingly quiet. On the lower settings, it's like a whisper, at the higher settings it's at least half the volume I've come to expect from a vacuum. Most of the noise of the vacuum actually comes from the speed with which the wind travels through the tunnel. Depending on the surface you're vacuuming, the attachment you're using, and the setting, this can be quite loud and high-pitched.
But, as one might expect the suction is amazing. After the trial run with this vacuum, I realized that even when I've mopped in the past, our floors have never felt so clean, so free of debris. There are places in our house, along the baseboards, which I just assumed were discolored from 50-odd years of dust, and the Miele sucked the dust right out. Voila! I use the crappy floor attachment to do out area rugs (we have predominantly hard-wood floors and tile) and the rugs are cleaner than ever. It's a bit of a battle, without the power brush, to keep the suction needed to pull the dirt up from trying to consume the edges of the rugs. But with no power brush, it's not like it mangles them or anything.
The canister itself glides smoothly along the floor. There are places for each of the three dusting/furniture attachments around the beginning of the hose to allow easy transition from one attachment to another, and another location on the rear for when I need to store the parquet floor brush. The latter is less of a help, because removing the attachment often triggers the cord rewind. And speaking of the cord, it is about 6' too short. I do miss the longer cord from the old Hoover.
The two last things of note are that the tubing of the Miele is crush-proof, so if you're a klutz and occasionally step on it (like me!) it won't get all mangled up. The hose can also be removed, as can every other individual part. Thus you can effectively dislodge accidental objects - like those pesky baby socks that always seem to hide under the sofa in an evil plot to ruin my day. The old Hoover made it impossible to retrieve such objects, once they became lodged, without the help of a garden hose. And another thing that matters a great deal to me is that the air discharges through the top of the machine, so it doesn't stir up dust bunnies before you make your way over to them with the hose. Every single detail of this vacuum has been thought out carefully and effectively executed. I guess that's what you get when you buy from a company who makes a product to last, without foreign slave labor, whose workers are unionized, and paid living wages. You'd think America would do well to take a lesson from modern-day Germany.
We've had this machine a few months now, and have used it more than once per week. The only significant drawback is the cord. Everything else is overwhelmingly positive. It's made the job of cleaning a messy house of toddlers a more manageable, less stressful task, and you can't even put a dollar amount on the value of that. It is pricey. But maybe that's just because I've become so unaccustomed to paying the 'real cost' of a well-made item. Cheap junk from China will spoil you that way. So, bottom line: I think its been worth every penny and then some.
143 of 156 found the following review helpful:
 Think carefully before you buy this Jul 24, 2010
By Maggie
I am not in love with this vacuum. I purchased it because I have back problems and it is lightweight. I also wanted a hepa filter. I have wood floors; no carpet. But now I'm sorry that I did; unfortunately I wanted to support my local business, and they have a no return policy. Before you buy, consider the pros & cons below.
Pros
lightweight
Suction is good
Effective Hepa filter (Consumer's reports)
The cord winds up nicely inside the machine
The swivel wheels make the canister easy to pull around without any dragging.
Cons
*I feel the combination rug/floor attachment would damage my floors...it's got wheels, a rubber blade, and hard nylon bristles. I usually use a brush attachment on my wood floors...well, Miele has two available...one around fifty dollars, the other around seventy. What a shock! I was able to find a generic brush for about twenty.
*My biggest gripe is the handle...it's hard, thick, long, with a pronounced curve. Even though I have large hands for a woman, I find it uncomfortable to hold. The angle is perfect if you are cleaning the floors, but very awkward if you are trying to clean say blinds or anything over three feet high. It forces you to bend the hose, which doesn't work too well because the hose length is five and one-half feet. So you have to keep up the pressure. You cannot connect attachments directly to the hose...you must attach them to the handle or to the end of the wand.
*Since the hose is rather short, it's a problem if say you want to vacuum out the car. Miele sells a car kit for about one hundred fifty dollars. You can also buy a substitute 10 foot hose...on this website at the time I am writing this it is one hundred dollars.
*The wand is sturdy metal and rather heavy. This is fine for cleaning the floors, but say if you want to clean something up high, the weight makes it awkward and uncomfortable for any length of time.
*The cord is too short.
To sum up, this is not a "total cleaning solution," unless of course you want to shell out more money for special attachments and then find the space to store them.
Update
To make this vacuum more useful, I purchased a generic 20-foot extension hose that attaches to the Miele handle (note: not the cannister, but the handle). For about fifty bucks, it came with a carrying bag, floor wand and brush, and other typical attachments. It's great because I can vacuum several rooms at once with the cannister staying in the kitchen. Also, I can easily vaccum stairs...just drag the hose around instead of the whole vacuum. I found this baby at an online store that specializes in central vacuum cleaners. It's made me much happier about my Miele purchase.
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