Ladies and gentlemen, this may be the ultimate battle between vacuum cleaner technologies. This is shaping up to be the thriller in the living room. First, let's take a look at our contenders: the Oreck Classic XL and the Dyson DC07 Animal Vacuum Cleaner. Weighing in at a featherweight 8 pounds, the Oreck Classic XL (Extended Life) is surprisingly lean. This taut little vacuum is completely without pretense. Even the on-off switch is just a simple rocker switch. The Oreck doesn't come with any attachments. Descended from industrial vacuums, the Oreck Classic XL vacuum is completely dedicated to vacuuming floors, carpets and rugs. If you want to vacuum other things, you can get an Oreck handheld vacuum. Sometimes the Oreck and Oreck handheld vacuum are packaged together. The Oreck collects dirt and debris in a traditional bag.
Now, let's look at our other contender the Dyson DC07 Animal Vacuum Cleaner. This is a brawny 18.5 pound bagless vacuum that collects dirt in a sizable transparent chamber. The Dyson's claim to fame is that it uses a "Root Cyclone" action to generate forces of up to 150,000g's to suck up all the dirt. The Dyson has a handle that detaches and becomes a hose which can be topped with a stair tool, a large brush or crevice blade attachment. The attachments snap right into recesses on the sides and back of the machine. The Dyson also comes with a low-reach floor tool attachment that has an agitator attachment. We also used a Dyson DC14 Animal Vacuum Cleaner for our tests. This vacuum cleaner is functionally the same as the DC07, but has a slightly improved ergonomics for emptying the canister.