Hello Jimmy P/OT:
 
Good questions and still in process of determining the benchmarks.  Some are very easy:  It's easy to see when the HOOVER WT is used on my wool carpets:  The pile is refreshed and not matted down.  Even the Eureka and RICCAR (with metal brush rollers and beater bars) don't have the same effect as the H-WT.  Curious to see how the Oreck does.  I have no doubt that the Oreck will perform marvelously on the bare ceramic floors (about 75 percent of the house).
 
Also, the HOOVER has an embedded dirt finder.  It was not uncommon after using the dyson DC07 pink, which was extremely difficult to push and pull and constantly gave me the ratcheting noises, to use the HOOVER and have the red light appear as I vacuumed the same areas just vacuumed with the dyson.  Not so with the Eureka and RICCAR (both old vacuums).  Curious to perform the same procedure with the Oreck and HOOVER and see what happens.
 
Then the other usual signs.  How much of the pet hair gets into the bag without wrapping around the brush roller and sticking to the underside of the vacuum.  THis is an excellent test on wool rugs, in particular.  Especially in the hot dry climate of the desert which is inclined to static electricity.  The dyson was miserable.  THe HOOVER better.  But the Eureka and RICCAR are the best because of the metal soleplates.
 
And the coup de grace.  A good and dear friend here in Vegas has the DC07 Animal.  She is married to a Brit.  She loves her dyson.  I have asked her to use the ORECK too and will want to get her reaction.  She has two floors, rugs and bare floors and two dogs.  Her dyson is slightly more than 2 years old.  
 
Attachments are out.  None on the Oreck.  And you're right this is the bottom of the line Oreck not the top of line XL21 hence the $149.  
 
If you have any suggestions, let me know.  
 
Carmine D.

Hello Jimmy P/OT:
 
The ORECK comes with 2 genuine papers and I bought a package of 8 more.  Plenty to do the tests.
 
Carmine D.

Quote from old-timer on 04/23/07 at 3:45pm:

 
Jimmy P/OT:
 
An indy here in North LV agreed to give me kapoc.  Although I think my lab's hair is more difficult to vacuum up.  The indy sells new Miele's and RICCAR/Simplicity's.  He has a back room full of dysons taken in on trade.  
 
Carmine D.

Quote from HARDSELL on 04/23/07 at 7:03pm:

 
HARDSELL:
 
I've used the ORECK XL for several days now and I can say with absolute and unequivocal certainty that you are as wrong (or dishonest) as you can be.  Quite in contradiction to your criticism of ORECK it has performed superbly on my medium pile looped wool Mohawk carpets, our area rugs, ceramic tile floors and numerous throw rugs.  Both cleaning and grooming the rugs and restoring them to their new look and feel.  My ORECK XL cost $149, it is the bottom of the line model, and no giveaways.  I also paid the $29 shipping and $16 for 8 additional bags.  As I mentioned, my dear Wife and I are so impressed with its performance she ordered one for her Mother for a birthday gift.  
 
If an ORECK can clean and groom my wool Mohawk medium pile carpets, and the dyson DC07 pink cannot, in comparison I recommend the ORECK over dyson for rug and floor cleaning without reservation.  
 
As I mentioned, I plan to loan the Oreck to a good and dear friend who has been a DC07 Animal dyson user for the last 2 years and quite satisfied until she encountered  a recent dyson glitch/problem.  As I mentioned, she is an engineer.  Aerospace.  I look forward to getting her reactions too.  And I will share those with you unless she wants to do so herself.  
 
Carmine D.

Quote from Trilobite on 04/29/07 at 9:59am:

 
 
Hello Trilobite:
 
It did but that was not the shortcoming on my carpets.  It is the dyson brushbar nozzle design.  Self-adjusting.  However on medium to high pile carpets when you realease the handle, the head "falls" into the carpet.  This condition causes 4 main and 1 minor problems with DC07 and DC14 dyson uprights: The constant ratcheting noise which means the brushbar is stopped (and not doing its job); difficulty in pushing and pulling across the rug; excessive rug nap and also pet hair wrap on the brush bar (English yellow lab); and huge build of of pet hair on the soleplate and undercarriage of the dyson.  Why? THe vacuum is rubbing across and into the rug, plastic on wool, dry desert air, static electricity and pet hair on the rug clings to the vacuum.  The minor problem is snagging of the dirt by-pass hose on the carpet and loosening/coming off.
 
The ORECK XL exhibits NONE of these problems in daily use.  Ever the slightest amount of pet hair on the soleplate and this is my pet's worse time of the year for shedding.  Vice September when I owned and tried to use the DC07 pink (not punk  ), which is the least time for her shedding.
 
I've bought 2 Orecks already.  Contemplating 2 more in the next few days if I can get the price deal.  The special is on the hotel edition.  I suspect Oreck overbuilds them in anticipation of sale.  When they meet the Hotels' needs they sell off the overage and donate a portion of the proceeds to charities.  In the current case, the Humane Society of the US.  A worthy cause especially in light of the recent pet food recall in the USA.  Dozens of pets died, more are ill.  Very timely and relevant act of charity and generosity by Oreck.
 
BTW, I was in conversations with the dyson HELPLINE on several occasions.  It suggested various work arounds which did not work.  And recommended that I return the DC07 pink to the retailer for a refund.  The technician said the dyson DC07 pink will not clean my carpets.  I documented these facts and circumstances in writing and provided to dyson.  And received a nice apology and assurance that my findings on the DC07 pink would be considered in future product design and development.  I'll do the same with the Oreck: Document my XL results and send it into Oreck.  
 
Carmine D.