What is the quietest vacuum cleaner of all time, and what is the noisiest? "Discuss."

[frkirby511]

Sounds of Silence...!

No question, the Model G is exceptionally quiet; but so is the Model XXX. I would say the XXX and the G, even the Hospital G are about on par. I would say that they are the quietest.

I would also have to agree that the Convertable...the older models..well tuned....have a distinctive and wonderful sound - and though not the quietest, they are not the least bit annoying.

Also the Kirby 516 through to the Sanitronic, while certaily not quiet, have a very powerful sound that is almost musical.

No Kirby since then has come close to the sound of that later 500 series even though the later ones...especially the Legend and the G series do have a lot more suction.

 

[frkirby511]

Sounds of Silence...addition..

...forgot to add...

The Kirby sound I'm talking about is most apparent in the later 500 series with the hose attached and not the rug nozzle. No Kirby since then has reproduced this altogether distinctive sound.

Bruce

 

[bisonian]

Bison

... gets my vote for the loudest. Don't know about the Centurion, but the Mark I and Mark II can scream with the best of 'em. But the rheostat control makes it fun. Start on low, then ramp up, and your neighbors will swear there's a 707 taking off.

As for the Kirbys, no, they're not the quietest, but I find their lower pitch a lot less annoying than screamers like most Dirt Devils. The Kirby sounds more like a good quality power tool instead of a rabid kitchen appliance.

 

[tolivac]

The new Areos "Lux" Guardian canister sounds like a B-52 taking off in your living room compared to the older quieter model "G".I like the throaty roar of the Kirbys and Royals-and many other direct air machines.they use the smaller motors-they don't need 12A motors-the clean air machines do because they have to pull air thru all of those filters as well as the bag.Would like to find a Bison to compare with Kirbys and Royals.Still hunting for one.They sound like nice machines-would have been good competition to kirby.Kirby is the ONLY DTD upright vacuum.I have new canister vacs from Meile,Sebo and Riccar that are quiet.The motor mounts are a good thing that quiets them down.Otherwise the plastic bodies make a great sounding board for noisey motors to further amplify their sound.

 

[countryguy]

I have to agree that the Aerus 9000 (similiar to the Guardian) is very loud even compared to the Lux 6500 SR. I have a Lux 89 and it is super quiet. The Kirby is loudy but bearable and still quieter than the Aerus 9000.

 

[charles~richard]

Canadian Electroluxes

Yes, of course, I completely forgot about the Canadian Electroluxes. They ALL are quieter than their American cousins!

The ZB30 and ZB55 [et al] hum merrily along even quieter than the XXX; and the ZB88 and ZB89 are basically the same machine as the American G but with the LX/E/AE-style filter pad in the rear which makes those machines about as quiet as a Hospital G. Amazingly sweet sound!

 

[charles~richard]

Canadian ZB54

pretty, eh!

 

[charles~richard]

ZB89

Another Canadian beauty!

(And that's an old photo - when I had hair and more belly hahaha!)

 

[jaker15]

I know it's WAAAAY late

But the quietest I've heard is probably my grandma's Compact canister. It hums along in the background while you clean. Her Eureka ESP wasn't too loud, but ti wasn't quiet, either. It definitely had a musical quality to it!

 

[beerad]

Ahhhhh ok here we go..

Quietest vac I've experienced was a Taski

Also Hoover Connie model 854


And for the noisiest .......OMG....

It was a Red Dirt Devil featherlight lupright .

I've never heared such a scrrrrreaming , noisy vac as that one ,
I threw it away..

 

[kenkart]

Saniway..

Hospital G, Filter Queen and Apex Strato Cleaner are all very Quiet.

 

[poconovacman]

There truly are very few machines as quiet, nor as musical sounding as a metal bodied Electrolux or a Hoover Constellation. As far as uprights go, the Electrolux uprights (Discovery style) are very quiet too.

Noisiest definitely goes to many of the cheap plastic bagless machines sold in retail stores these days.

 

[suckolux]

My Electrolux XXX to me is such a serene sound, just a purr, the sucking sound at the hose is louder than the motor. My friend's Dirt Devil $39 special, that makes me want to die.

 

[jaker15]

Glad to see some replies!

Well, you guys sure know who to revive a dead thread!
I have to agree, all new plastic vacs are terribly loud. I don't mind 12 amp motors, just as long as they're the older style. You know, the ones that are quiet and run at a normal speed? lol. I think a good example of a decent 12A motor is probably the earlier Panasonic-made Kenmore canisters. They are the closest in sound to a hi-performance Electrolux.

 

[parwaz786]

Quietest vacuum- Eco (Autosave) Numatic Henry vacuuum

I know whats louder than any Bissell or a DYSON DC07 Origin Derooted model!
the Proline UVC18 In my DP its a dam powerful and SCREAMING vacuum. You can hear it all the way down the road, and my road is like a 3 minute walk from top to bottom.

 

[floor-a-matic]

Quietest:
Any Electrolux before Super J
Eureka Dial-A-Nap
Filter Queen
TriStar EXL (with Ametek 115923 high-performance motor)

Noisiest:
XXX VortecCyclonic
Hoover WindTunnel
Dyson dc23
Electrolux Ambassador
Electrolux Epic 6500SR

 

[ultimatevacman]

The loudest has to be the Earlex Combi-Vac. Or a 1400W Kenwood bagged cylinder.

 

[kenkart]

Royal 801

Was rated quietest upright by Consumer Reports, and it really is.

 

[jaker15]

Royal 801?

I'd want to see that. Quieter than a Miele upright?

 

[KirbysNphones]

My Filter Queens and my Rainbow are pretty quiet, and as far as noisy, any cheap plastic vac like the Bissels,, and any other big box store vac.

 

[tolivac]

Noisey-the red Oreck Commercial upright the janitors here at work use!The Banshee vac!A new janitor staff member uses a Sanitaire that was ordered but never used until now--MUCH BETTER!!!!
At home--Any of my canisters are pretty quiet except the NSS M1-sounds like a Kirby in the hose mode on steriods-but love it anyway-eats anything it can suck up the hose!!Sometimes with a delightful loud "DING" thru the huge fan.

 

[jade_angel]

I've never heard a Royal 801, but the Royal 880 I just got off eBay is the only vacuum I have that my cats don't run from. They even run from the Filter Queen on low!

 

[eurekaprince]

Just curious: in what year did Consumer Reports test that Royal 801? It does not appear in the current rankings of upright vacuum cleaners.

In the current rankings of upright cleaners, all the tested Miele S7 uprights were the most quiet vacs compared to others.

 

[jade_angel]

The 801 is an old model, 1970s I think, so it's not surprising that it's not in the current rankings. Its current generation replacement, the Royal 8300, yells its head off. Does a heck of a job, but is really loud.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

the quiet compact

In my opinion my compact electra model C9 is pretty quiet . Whti a gentle hum of the motor and a little air noise .
Absolutely love it .Elelctrolux Model 89 is quiet to .
Filter Queen also .
Morden I would have to say Kenmore EVO bag less canister quiet not as much as a LUX or compact but still quiet in my opinion

 

[uksausage]

Quiet

I think the most quiet has to be my old filter queen and the loudest that prize goes to the Goblin/AquaVac wet and dry machines everyone knew you vacuuming when you used one of them

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Eric,

Is your 880 the one with the 350-watt (1966-70), 400-watt (1971-75), 3 amp (1975-80), 4.5 amp (1980-85) or 5.4 amp (1985-87) motor?

In late March 1985, the fan case on this and all Royal metal uprights changed from being all-rounded to partly-angled.

~Ben

 

[jade_angel]

Mine's the 3-amp version, and if I'm reading the serial number right, it's from 1977. I wish I had the 5.4A motor, but without the attachments it probably doesn't matter so much.

 

[s31463221]

Quietest and loudest

My quietest vac is either my model G or my model XII, they are very close! The loudest I have is either a little Bissell compact, or my Bison Centurion, that thing sounds like an airplane taken off, I don't fire it up too often as it totally terrifies my 9 month old son!

 

[2011hoover700]

My quietest would also be my oldest electric which hit 90 years old, my hoover model 541. My loudest is a hoover concept one model u3319, that thing often drowns out train horns. My loudest that is normaly loud (the concept isn't normaly so loud) is my kirby classic omega with a metal fan.