I have a house with 36 stairs and landings, most of them carpeted. Much of the rest is wood floor, so I needed a canister vacuum which was light yet high quali

I have a house with 36 stairs and landings, most of them carpeted. Much of the rest is wood floor, so I needed a canister vacuum which was light yet high quality, and could handle a variety of attachments with aplomb. Being HEPA would be a benefit. I came to the realization that Dyson's canisters vacuums are terrible machines. They are (except the microscopic capacity DC26) amazingly heavy -- 20 pounds, have poorly constructed plasticy parts, are poorly maneuverable, are very leaky (this is what passes for HEPA?) and are noisy. Did I mention that the usable ones are unbelievably heavy? Does Dyson not understand what canister vacuums are used for? I thought: this took 5,127 prototypes to produce? I eventually bought what I think is generally regarded as the best vacuum in this category: a Miele. (In my case, a Neptune with additional Parquet attachment). Exceptionally quiet, only 11 pounds, entirely sealed with high quality filtration, durable, very powerful, and maneuverable. A very well thought out, obviously German machine. The difference between the two is very much like a BMW versus a Pontiac Sunbird. The BMW is obviously a more refined machine, but the Sunbird is the flashiest thing you'll find at Best Buy.