Mike/Mixman - Well, I can't say for certain that compared to the current Miele C3 canisters that the full sized Tacony canisters are just as quiet. But, I don't find it that loud, & if it IS louder, it's not by much. The real noise comes from the powerhead, it does make quite a racket! And yes, the powerhead neck does swivel on the Tacony powerhead. Having said that, I think Miele's powerhead necks on the SEB228 & SEB236 may be slightly nicer swivel than the Tacony powerhead. But, IMHO, the Tacony powerhead is the better choice. Why? Well, you can take the brushroll out by removing 2 screws & taking the bottom plate off, & the entire powerhead is easy to take apart & service & repair. Anyone who has ever owned a Miele SEB236 powerhead will tell you that thing is a nightmare to take apart, it's WAY too overengineered & complicated. Then there's the metal brushroll, & the fact that the TOL powerhead has a dirt sensor & more height adjustment positions. And finally, I like that the Tacony powerhead has a powerhead neck cord on the outside of the neck, NOT thin, brittle wires like Miele's powerheads use that break way too easily & too fragile to withstand regular putting in & taking out the wand. My problems with my S558 Miele Red Velvet was the powerhead neck wiring & the cordreel, & although I might buy another in the future, those 2 areas would make me hesitate to buy again.
Mike/n0oxy - The Miele C1 canisters are just as sealed as the C3 canisters, don't buy into Miele's marketing BS! Their sleazy little tactic to claim the C1 canisters aren't a "sealed system" is on the C1 body, around the bag chamber, there is no seal where the bag door meets the body like the C2 & C3 series have, it is just hard plastic there on the C1 series. However, that would affect suction & airflow, NOT filtration, since the bag door tube carries all the dirt into the bag before the air can escape & go into the pre-motor filter & then into the HEPA filter. Ask a dealer to install a HEPA filter into a C1 & run a particle scanner on it while he's demonstrating it, it will go down to zero just like other Miele canisters. GoVacuum.com did a demonstration video back when the C1 series came out that shows this, I will see if I can find it on YouTube. The reason why Miele makes the claim the C1 isn't sealed is they want people to upgrade to the C3, & I think it's a shame they make their dealers lie just to make them more profit.
Rob