The DC14 I have cleans excellently, and picks up dirt after even a thorough run w/ my Kirby G4 or Miele Solaris w/ SEB217 PN. You must have either had a bad experience or are way over exaggerating; they're newer machines and other newer machines probably do outlcean the pre-DC17, 25, 28 models.
You don't know the sales trick. The machine that goes last always picks up dirt after the vacuum that goes first. I recently taught this gimmick to an unknowing sales person at Best Buy who was pushing dyson's DC28 to me for $600 [before in store savings and discounts]. Allowing him to use a DC28, which he set to low, and vacuuming a rug area thoroughly. I then, after he decided he was finished and the rug clean, asked him to go over the very same area he just vacuumed with a DC14, also on display. Big surprise for him. The dirt bin in the DC14 picked up more dirt on and in the rug after just thoroughly using a DC28. He was dumbfounded. As I walked away from him and looked back at him, he was looking at me as though I was from the corporate office and there to test him on his knowledge, skills and abilities to sell Best Buy products. He must have figured he just failed. The rule is this: A rug can hold its weight in dirt and still look clean to the human eye. Go over any rug, even 7 times back and forth, and then use another vacuum, any vacuum presuming it is working properly, and the last vacuum will still pick up more dirt. Why? Because vacuuming, regardless of brand and model, never removes all the dirt all the time in a any rug/carpet. 
This simple FACT sold many door to door vacuums for many years to unknowing homeowners and vacuum customers. The trick is older than dirt itself but is still used and quoted as prima facia evidence of proof of better performance. Except it isn't. Why? Because it never ceases to amaze the unknowing victims like yourself.
BTW, back on subject, the DC33 is a budget dyson upright model. Selling retail at $319 before routine savings at most retailers of as much as 20 percent off. For those who remember, this was the exact same price for DC07 All Floors sold on sale at Wal*Mart in 2004 and 2005. The same price that caused the great feud between dyson and W*M. Why? Dyson said it violated dyson's MAP and had a hissy fit over it. Leading to the conspicuous absence of new dyson vacuums from the W*M shelves for a few years until dyson and W*M kissed and made up. Hard economic times since that falling out call for tough [read lower] pricing of products, even obviously for the once mighty dysons and its now obsolete and defunct MAP policy.
Carmine D.
This message was modified Oct 11, 2010 by CarmineD
