I really like Orecks.
Like Sebos, underneath, they're basically all the same as each other across the model range. Any Oreck XL will do an excellent job - very light, deep reach with bruch into pile, huge capacity, with outstanding air flow. Rubbish at doing edges though.
They're very light - you can do stairs realy well with it.
I wouldn't bother with any of the solid body models. In Britain, some Vax commercials are essentially Oreck XLs.
=================
Geeky bit: American commercial cleaners LOVE Orecks. Go to a massive hotel in Vegas, and you'll see armies of these things. They're light, cheap, have huge capacity, easy to repair. Why? Americans love 'dirty air' cleaners - they blow, they don't suck (like a Kirby, Royale, and a whole bunch of other legendary American cleaners). They blow air into the sack, rather than sucking it through the sack. This matters, because a Sebo (for example) is dragging air through layer upon layer of crud drawn from the carpet. All the air must be drawn through every increasing amounts of dirty material. But a 'dirty air' system blows the muck onto muck, and the air can still easily escape through the huge fabric bag. This means that air flow remains higher for longer.
I really recommend the original bags too - expensive, but airflow consistently impressive, and great for asthmatics and such like.
