Blender talk : Reliable blenders for healthy, vegans food preparation

I've been looking for new juice / smoothie  inspiration and this week I found it at Wholefoods market.

 We popped down to Cheltenham to visit a friend, who was saying how much he loves the GreenStar juicer we have, and how much he loves his Vitamix blender - and that Vitamix were demonstrating at WFM that day. Perfect timing - the Vitamix model  they were demonstrating was amazing , the smoothie I had was delicious, smooth and unusual tasting - beyond words !If I had an extra £500+ in my account OH MY I would not stop myself, I would have bought one then and there! With the 10 year guarantee though it seems you get your monies worth considering we've gone through 4 blenders in 5 months ( we've not had a blender for 2 months now & shaking my sunwarrior smoothies isn't nice- trust me !)

I love blenders as you can create so many things with them other than just smoothies that they're famed for . I'd like to try making raw soups , Houmous , dips , dressings, ice cream, my own flours, raw recipes and other things that require a good blender , like the Vitamix . 

I had a passion fruit, mango , apple banana & kiwi , will be recreating this one day  soon , as soon As I have a new blender ... Any recommendations for me please ? So far we've had a Kitchenaid Artisan which melted , 2 Phillips , and my parents Tesco one . So, Any ideas ? I think the Vitamix wins hands down!  ( They used them to make my smoothie at Wholefoods, and it was divine, as I said! )

I've been looking around lots, there are so many to choose from!  What are your favourite high speed blenders? I'd love to hear!