Check this test out. Very interesting.....
 
Who really has the most power?
 
Dyson DC07 All Floors
Hoover Wind Tunnel 2
Shark Infinity
Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2hAiKmkeoc

The video says dyson Ball video (DC15) but the dyson used in the video is a DC14.  Technical discrepancy?  
 
Carmine D.

I believe by calling it the Dyson ball video, they were referring to the steel balls used in the demo.  Nothing there really shocked me too much, but I would be curious what some of the other high end vacuums would do with the test.  This reminds me of the Electrolux demo using the same steel balls, but more of them.

Venson,
  Up to now dyson seems to have been somehow committed to going with strong suction backed by mild brushbar agitation.  I personally think they held on to long in trying to convince people that the aggressive brushrolls do to much long term damage to carpeting.  I believe very soon dyson will be offering an excellent choice for those who prefer the more aggressive brushbar and some here will have to completely rework how they address the product.

Personally, I've always thought the brush bar design of the DC07/DC14 was perfectly acceptable.  Given that it was designed to do TWO things (and not just ONE).  Those two ideals are:  agitate and groom a carpet effectively and gently, and TWO: allow excellent bare floor pickup by NOT taking up all the room in the brush housing - allowing for debris from a bare floor to NOT stick to the brushes.
 
Let's look at how some other manufacturers do this: The Hoover Windtunnel V2 for example.  Four rows of 'aggressive' brushes - tons of repair problems with the brush drive - HORRIBLE bare floor cleaning (almost non existent).
 
Then we have Bissell: brush takes up most of the room in the nozzle housing ("industry standard" size as Carmin would say) yet it doesn't clean the carpet as well as Dyson and does NO bare floor cleaning since the brush cannot stop to pick up debris.  It turns constantly, even when using attachments.
 
Next we come to the Windtunnel (self propelled) which Carmin would call the "number one vacuum".  Well, the double belt drive system is terrible. Any vac shop guy could tell you about all the "V" belts we sell, not to mention the melted plastic brush roller (at the "V" belt drive groove).  Good for bare floors?  Not.  Brush is too big.  Spilled chips stick in the brushes, rather than get sucked up. They fall out when you turn the machine off. Same with cat litter on a bare floor.  Sticks to the brushes rather than passes through.
 
I don't for one minute believe that the Dyson brush roller fails to clean the carpet well.  It raises the nap perfectly and the tremendous CONSTANT suction cleans deeply.
 
DC07's problem on Frieze rugs is simply due to the high seal the nozzle has to the carpet.  DC14 has no such problem, since the soleplate has an opening called the 'large debris pick up channel' which prevents the soleplate from sealing to the carpet.  Personally, I don't like it.  Not enough suction at the carpet level. Prefer the DC07's high vacuum seal to the rug.  But to each his own (and his own rug).
 
DC17 Absolute, designed specifically for American rugs, will be the ultimate Dyson.  There will be a REAL reason for a present DC07 owner to trade up to the new model.  I'm sure we'll have lots of used DC07's soon enough.  Just like when Hoover came out with the beater bar brush on the model 700.  People with Hoover 105's and 541's had a REAL reason to trade up.  
 
The only way the steel ball test would actually tell us something is: if they showed the test both before and after 8 ounces of bar-b-que pit ashes were sucked up.  The machine with enough airflow to continue to hold 5 steel balls would be the one that didn't clog.  No matter how good the brush roller, if the machine is clogged, no cleaning can take place.