Introduction

Does the 5300 bridge the gap between Standard and Next-Gen?

The Vitamix 5300 appears as if it tries to bridge the gap between the Standard C-Series and Next Generation G-series with it's updated motor and low-profile container. But does it really?

In the box, both of these machines come with a Motor Base, Low-Profile 64-ounce container, Getting Started Guide and Low-Profile Tamper. The 7500 also comes with a DVD and Cookbook (The cookbook has a ton of chef-inspired recipes). They have 7-Year Full Warranties from Vitamix, that include free two way shipping if you should need to use it. Before we get started, I'd just like to mention there are links at the top of the page to the Blend Guide full review of both of these machines if you would like a closer look after reading this article!

Container, Lid and Blades

Even though these blenders are from different Series, they share the same container.

Both the Vitamix 5300 and the Vitamix 7500 machines share the same Low-Profile 64-ounce Container that house 4, 4 inch stainless steel blades, that are soft to the touch. The blades are designed to not be razor-sharp like traditional blender blades, the benefit of 'dull' blades is that the machine will blend consistently for years without relying on sharp blades that dull over time. The blades are designed to throw your ingredients in a vortex around the center of the jar and force the ingredients downward onto the blades to ensure there is a consistent blend throughout your mixture.

Motor Base, Power and Interface

Same interface on the motor base, different engineering and hearing.

This is the area where the real differences are shown in these machines. But first, I'm going to go over the similarities. 

Both the Vitamix 5300 and the Vitamix 7500 have the same interface, a pulse feature, 1-10 variable speed knob for fine-tuning blending speed and an on/off toggle. They both also feature 2.2 horsepower motors, but the 5300 sounds like a diesel garbage truck (98 decibels), while the Vitamix 7500 sounds more like a subway (88 decibels). In a large area (where a garbage truck or subway should be) these could sound similar, but in the acoustics of your kitchen that could have a big difference.

The reason for this difference in noise is the design of the motor and case around the motor. The Next-Generation cases are designed for increased airflow and noise dampening. The C-Series machines are designed around the standard cases around the motor which perform just fine, but lack the sound dampening capabilities of the G-Series machines. Either of these machines will wake up your family while your making your post early-morning workout smoothie though.

Additional Notes

Clean up

Clean up setting is useful, but do still give it a quick manual scrub.

Both the Vitamix 5300 and the Vitamix 7500 are able to "clean themselves", by adding warm water and a small amount of dish soap to the container and turning the machine to low then gradually increasing the speed until the container is clean. Some Vitamixs have a "Self-Cleaning" preset that makes this easier, but I'd still advise giving it a quick scrub with a sponge. While running this preset or running the machine is a good way to break up large leftover contents in the container, it also could lead to the container becoming cloudy from minerals latching to the side of the container over time. The best way to prevent this, is to simply use a sponge and clean the inside of the container like you would anything else.