Simplicity Synergy X9 or G9?

[heritageIIhd]

I have narrowed the vacuum decision down to the Synergy Premium or Standard (X9 or G9).

I like the Rattlesnake color of the Premium, but the only other difference between the two seems to be a light that illuminates as dirt is being sucked up, to let you know it's working.

Is it worth it to spring for the extra $140ish for the Premium?

 

[heritageIIhd]

PS, why is it so hard to get someone to want to sell me the Premium? I've been to two Simplicity dealers and both only stocked the Standard -- you ask about the Premium and it's like you've asked them for a kilo of cocaine or something.

 

[GM1982]

I could be wrong, but in my experience at least where I live, the Simplicity/Riccar dealers seem to only stock a few of the models (mostly mid-line) I think at that price point and dollar for dollar, customers wind up going to the Miele Upright. I have always been lead to the Miele by shop owners.

 

[heritageIIhd]

One nice thing about the place I went to is that they were low pressure. They haven't tried to upsell me or change me over to anything else. However, the last place I bought vac parts at was always telling me the old car salesman song and dance: "Your vacuum is crap, this one is better."

I got told a Kirby Heritage II was garbage, and I should buy a Royal. Because that's what was on sale that month. LOL.

 

[mieles7]

Riccar has a comparison between all the tandem air vacuum,s on their website which might help. I think the premium also has a longer hose.

 

[mieles7]

Sorry, forgot to post link.

http://www.riccar.com/ftp/whitepapers/Comparison-TANDEM_412.pdf

 

[blackheart]

Premium vs standard

Looks like the G9 offers a larger post motor filter and a dirt sensor

 

[eurekaprince]

According to Consumer Reports surveys of people who have recently bought vacuums, Simplicity is not the most reliable brand in the category of uprights, unfortunately. Here's a quote and some stats from their website:


Kirby was among the least repair-prone brands of upright vacuums, while Rainbow was among the least repair-prone brands of canister vacuums. Hoover and Electrolux were the most repair-prone brands of canister vacuums. That's what we found when we asked more than 102,000 readers who bought a vacuum between 2008 and 2012 about their experiences. The graph shows the percentage of models for each brand that were repaired or had a serious problem. Differences of less than 4 points aren't meaningful, and we've adjusted the data to eliminate differences linked solely to age and use of the vacuum. Models within a brand can vary, and design or manufacture changes might affect future reliability. Still, choosing a brand with a good repair history can improve your odds of getting a reliable model.

And here are the percentages....

Kirby: 3%
Dirt Devil: 6%
Bissell, Kenmore, Eureka, Dyson: 7%
Hoover 8%
Oreck 9%
Electrolux and Panasonic 10%
Simplicity 11%
Riccar 12%
Brand names that are not on the list mean there were not enough responses for that brand to offer a significant statistic. It will be interesting to see where Miele uprights place once there are enough statistics....

 

[kirbyloverdan]

I was an

authorized Simplicity dealer and they were very reliable . I only had one back for a user broken fan on a supra light . Consumer Reports is very UNRELIABLE as many vacuum experts will tell you . Ignore anything they say and use it as a reference ONLY .

Being in the vacuum industry for my entire life and owning a store and over 400 vacuums I think I am a tad bit more qualified then consumer reports . Lets see CR open a store sell and repair vacuums .

Yes they had 102,000 report but how many reported for each brand ? It could have been 2 people for Simplicity and they could have a grudge against them that survey is very flawed along with their testing IMHO .They are not the bible of products .

Derrek , you`ll get better information from people from this site than CR could ever give you . [this post was last edited: 2/3/2013-01:00]

 

[heritageIIhd]

Ended up getting the Synergy Standard. Didn't seem worth the extra $140 for the Premium, or the hassle of ordering it, since our current vacuum has been crap for a while and the house was starting to get a mess.

Also picked up a Simplicity Jill canister. We have a fairly small house and the Jill is great for steps, the laundry room, etc., places where you don't want to have to try to squeeze the upright into.

I was able to get both for less than the price of the Premium alone. Plus, the wife loves pink, so the Jill was a color win as well.

Got extra bags and filters for both. Did a bunch of cleaning last night, very pleased with both of them -- we'll see how it goes over the long haul!

Thanks guys for the recommendations.

 

[swiveltop]

Congrats on the new Synergy,You will love this machine, Especially since you may never have to replace the belt, I opened the hood on my X-9 just to take a look and was surprised to find a serpentine belt with a tensioner,just like you would find on a car,belt was still perfect after several years.

 

[lunchboxsean]

I know a Simplicity Dealer

This is the vac shop where I get a lot of my parts and it's also where I get some of the stuff they don't want to handle. This particular dealer hates selling the Synchrony or the Synergy because of the dirty air motor. I have only owned one Synergy and guess what was wrong with it... The dirty air motor. He only sells Symmetries and Freedoms but he sells a ton of them and they rarely come back for anything other than bags, belts, filters and the occasional bag door latch. And believe it or not, the Synergy actually retails higher than the Miele uprights at around 1050 to 1300 dollars depending on the model (according to their website). I would go with the Miele S7580 if you're really in the market for a super premium, state of the art upright vacuum. Or... a Sebo X5!

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Your Simplicity dealer

Hates the dirty air motor ?

So why doesn't he mind selling the Freedom with the dirty air motor ?
There are many dealers who won't sell the TOL models because they don't want to spend the money
and are not good at selling TOL vacuums because they just want to make a quick buck .
When I had my store my Simplicity , Miele and Royal dealers loved me because I stocked the entire line
and sold mainly the TOL models . I hear this too often and it's always because they are too cheap to spend money on the TOL models . The Synergy is on of the best uprights out there way better than the Miele in my opinion .

 

[lunchboxsean]

That very well may be. I'm not him, so all I know is what he tells me. If I had to guess, I might say that a dirty air motor on $250 light weight vacuum may be more acceptable than a dirty air motor on a $1000+ premium. Again, unfortunately, I don't know.

 

[GM1982]

I don't think the consumer wants to spend $800+ on a Simplicity TOL ,when they can get the same kind of vacuum with metal base plate, longer hose, swivel, no switch to change to tools...all for about $500-700. The Miele S7 models outsell.

 

[mieles7]

The Simplicity Synchrony, Synergy, and 7 series all have metal base plates standard, and the Vibrance doesn't require a switch to be turned for attachment use. From what I have read on this site, Miele parts are very expensive and take a long time to ship. Besides, Miele S7 bags are about $19 with 4 bags, while the Synergy's bags are $17 for 6. I was very skeptical of Riccar until I found an 8900 for $30. The cloth bags filter well, and the vacuum has great agitation.

 

[GM1982]

You can find Miele bags cheaper than retail price if you look around on the internet. I found two boxes of Miele bags for my canister for $15.... Simplicity is a quality vacuum, however, I find the Miele Upright more convenient, quieter and user friendly... a little more bulkier to some, that I will mention. In terms of parts or shipping, I cannot really comment... I do know they are based in Princeton NJ so I cannot be that bad.

 

[heritageIIhd]

I got lucky, I guess -- not to be gauche and talk pricing, but I paid $650 brand new for mine. The other dealer in town wanted nearly $900 for the same thing.

It was a pretty fair deal.

 

[sebo_fan]

Cheaper Miele bags

Dont forget - there are still oodles of sellers out there who are selling the IntensiveClean dust bags before the self sealing HyClean bags came on the market. As with what GM says, I find the IntensiveClean bags to be just as effective as the HyClean ones; even more so if you have either Active Air Clean or HEPA filter cartridges added. I have a habit of hoarding the IntensiveClean Miele dust bags and shopping around for them online as opposed to the more expensive HyClean series.