Corey123
Washing Up
The Onyx Black Artisan is supposed to also have an all-metal tranny, according to the info on the box that it comes in.
Corey123,
I was at Kohl's today and remembered your comment about KA mixers. When checking the Artisan boxes, all of them read: "All metal construction and direct-drive transmission".
I checked also the Pro 600 series and Pro 5 plus boxes, they read "All steel gears direct-drive transmission".
When I read the Artisan box, I concluded that all the mixer parts are made out of steel. But when I read the Pro series boxes, I realized KA is very creative with their advertisement. The and on the Artisan sentence makes a significant difference since all KA mixers have direct-drive transmission but only a few models all steel gears direct-drive transmission.
The way the Artisan box has been written is misleading.
Corey123,
I was at Kohl's today and remembered your comment about KA mixers. When checking the Artisan boxes, all of them read: "All metal construction and direct-drive transmission".
I checked also the Pro 600 series and Pro 5 plus boxes, they read "All steel gears direct-drive transmission".
When I read the Artisan box, I concluded that all the mixer parts are made out of steel. But when I read the Pro series boxes, I realized KA is very creative with their advertisement. The and on the Artisan sentence makes a significant difference since all KA mixers have direct-drive transmission but only a few models all steel gears direct-drive transmission.
The way the Artisan box has been written is misleading.
I have both the Sunbeam Mix Master (with powered bowl) and a KA Pro 5 Plus.
The Sunbeam is a great mixer. Easy to load, easy to scrape the bowls, and it mixes pretty well. Beaters are a bit of a pain to clean. I have used the Sunbeam to make numerous batches of batters and cookies. Tried making bread with it's dough hooks once ... No. Great value for the $65? $70? it cost me new.
The Kitchen Aid is something else entirely. It's a messy beast to use, scraping the bottom of the bowl of sticky batter (think cream cheese) part way through a mix is a royal PITB. And the beater is no sweetheart to keep cleared either (think cream cheese). Overall the Sunbeam is much easier to use or mayhaps it's just that I grew up with a Beam.
But,
The Sunbeam seems to entrain air into what ever is being mixed. Not bad if that's what you want to do. And the Sunbeams beaters seem to be harsher on the materials being mixed than the KAs.
And the Sunbeam does not do bread doughs.
Bread ... I spent years kneading my bread, I figured it wouldn't be the same if I didn't labor over and sweat into it. I don't know how many loaves of bread I have made with the KA, Numerous loaves, and I still get giddy watching the spiral hook do it's work. Sadly the bread does not seemed tio have suffered from being kneaded by a machine.
One thing I don't particularly like about kneading bread in the KA is the amount of flexing of the bowl and lift arms. I don't think the dough is too stiff, ?
A neat thing about the soft start, if the switch is ON when the mixer is plugged in the motor does not start. The switch has to be switched off then turned to a run position for the motor to turn.
Ah yeah, the gears ... when I first got the Pro 5 the gears sounded rough and as though a gear had a burr. The more I run the mixer the smoother the mixer operates.
Best part of this mixer is I got it for $225 new from Sears.
" And the Sunbeam does not do bread doughs."
I don't think this is accurate. My new top-of-the-line Sunbeam Heritage has 450 watts, more than the KA Artisan, and comes with a dough hook. I'm not a bread maker, but I would imagine that although it might not rival the KA big daddy mixer, it probably does a decent job.
Corey123,
The Artisan boxes I saw at Kohl's state "All Metal Construction and Direct-Drive Transmission", none indicate "All-Metal Transmission"
I don't shop at Macy's, perhaps KA makes a special version for them?