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February 2009. The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra -- "America's most popular air purifier," according to reviewer Ed Sherbenou of Air-Purifier-Power.com -- scores dismally in tests by two independent organizations. One of them, Air-Purifiers-America.com, says the Quadra succeeded in eliminating only 30 percent of the airborne particles in the test room. Virtually every expert who's at all familiar with the air purifier market rates the Quadra very low. To be fair, many owners line up in defense of this machine. For its price, any other machine would be a better choice, including air purifiers by IQAir (*est. $750) and Alen (*est. $400).
Although The Sharper Image is no longer making the Ionic Breeze Quadra, it can still be purchased at various retail sites. There's also no shortage of reviews for this air purifier. The Quadra is included in Consumer Reports' 2005 roundup of air purifiers, and is independently tested against a dozen or so other machines by Air-Purifiers-America.com. We also found a thorough (and somewhat exasperated) review of the Quadra at the enthusiast site Air-Purifier-Power.com, a write-up at the retail site AchooAllergy.com, and some owner reviews on Amazon.com. (Comments about the Quadra appear to also apply to two cheaper Ionic Breeze air purifiers sold by Sharper Image, the Midi and the Tabletop.)
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Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
For many years, Consumer Reports has continued to test The Sharper Image air purifiers, and has leveled charges against the company for selling ineffective air cleaners. Consumer Reports and The Sharper Image have battled in court for years, with Consumer Reports emerging as the victor, even while The Sharper Image maintained that its air purifiers are effective. The Ionic Breeze Quadra is not included in Consumer Reports' most recent air purifier review.
Review: Air Purifiers: Filtering the Claims, Editors of Consumer Reports, Oct. 2005
Air-Purifiers-America.com tests air purifier models in a test room with a laser particle counter, which measures the air purifier's ability to remove allergens. In a comparative test of 14 air purifiers, The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra performs dismally, removing only 30% of airborne particles in the vicinity of the machine.
Review: Air Purifier Performance Test Results, Editors of Air-Purifiers-America.com
Reviewer Ed Sherbenou -- who has forgotten more about air purifiers than most people will ever know -- nearly throws up his hands at the prospect of reviewing The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra, noting the thousands of adherents and detractors of "America's most popular air purifier." After cutting through verbiage, he bestows an overall score of 70, making the Breeze one of the lowest-rated air purifiers on his site.
Review: Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra, Ed Sherbenou
AchooAllergy.com has little good to say about The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra. They criticize its lack of a fan and a quality filter. They also voice concerns about the ozone it produces. Editors allude to the fact that they tested the Quadra, but do not offer specifics on their method of testing.
Review: Product Review: The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze, Editors of AchooAllery.com
5. Amazon.com
The owners posting at Amazon.com line up on both sides of The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra divide, some giving it rave reviews, and others calling it noisy, ineffective, and hard to clean. Even some of the owners who are pleased with the Quadra say it's overpriced.
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IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA Air Purifier - Air Cleaner with with Gas and Odor Filter - HyperHepa Technology
 from Amazon.com New: $895.00 In Stock.
Average Customer Review:   |
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