Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro Review
- Details
Avg. consumer rating = 86/100
Billed as the most powerful Dyson canister vacuum on the market today, the Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro is also something of a technical marvel. Like all vacuums from Dyson, this machine is bagless, however the Cinetic machines have a technology that requires no filter maintenance. All you have to do is empty it once in a while. It sounds fantastic, and it is, but it does come with a few potential downsides. We have noticed that Cinetic vacuums tend to be a little heavier and a little more expensive. So it’s really something of a tossup. It may be ideal for some people but not for others.
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Lots of power |  |
A bit heavy | |
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Suction release trigger | |
Dust cup door can inadvertently open | |
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HEPA level air filtration | |
Brushroll is not motorized | |
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Canister will right itself if tipped | |
Power cord is a bit short | |
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Includes many tools | |
No detangling technology | |
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Telescopic wand | |
Struggles on deep pile carpet | |
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Not too loud | |
Edge cleaning is not great | |
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Brushroll is easy to access & clean |
| Quick Specs | |
| Type | Canister |
| Bagged/Bagless | Bagless |
| Best for... | Carpet & Hard Floors |
| Pet Hair Features | Yes |
| Approx. Weight | 17.6 lbs |
| Power Cord Length | 21.6 ft |
| Motor Driven Brushbar | No |
| Warranty | 5 years |
WHERE TO FIND IT
The Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro canister vacuum can be found in Canada and currently costs $699 CAD. It can also be found in the USA but is less common. The more common unit in the USA is the Cinetic Big Ball Animal canister vacuum which seems to essentially be the same machine but with less tools (USA: Cinetic Big Ball Animal, 4 tools. Canada: Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro, 8 tools).
CONSUMER RATINGS
Owner ratings were found on several large online retail sites and are recorded in the table below. When a weighted average was applied to these figures the vacuum scored 4.3 out 5 or 86/100. You can view the score of all the vacuums we have reviewed in our vacuum ratings table or our vacuum cleaner finder application. You may also want to read Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal owner reviews on Amazon.
| Source | Consumer Rating | # Ratings |
| Amazon | 3.9 stars out of 5 | 2 |
| Best Buy | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 47 |
| Canadian Tire | 4.1 stars out of 5 | 49 |
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
You get the vacuum as well as 8 tools and two accessories:
Tools
1) Combo crevice/brush tool
2) Tangle-free turbine tool
3) Articulating hard floor tool
4) Pet groom tool
5) Stair tool
6) Reach under tool
7) Stubborn dirt brush
8) Carbon fiber soft dusting brush
Accessories (to right in image below)
1) Tool holder -attaches to the wand and holds one tool
2) Adaptor -connects universal fit tools with Dyson’s latest quick release catches
The tools can be placed on the end of the hose, the end of the handle, or the end of the wand.
CINETIC SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY
The top of the dust canister has two tiers of cyclones - there are 19 cyclones in total. This is more than one typically sees on a Dyson vacuum. Cinetic Science Technology uses small cyclones resulting in very rapidly spinning air which removes smaller dust particles than the more regular sized cyclones. However there is a problem - smaller cyclones have narrower openings at the end, and therefore clog easier. To solve this, Dyson made the tips at the end of the cyclones oscillate at 350 times per second thereby keeping dust and debris from clogging the openings. Dyson has tested this technology with 10 years worth of dust and there was absolutely no loss of suction. This, presumably, means that the cyclones do not clog.
The extremely efficient dust separation results in a vacuum that does not need its filters to be replaced or even washed, so no hidden costs or maintenance are necessary. In addition, the vacuum has what Dyson calls “whole machine HEPA filtration”. This is a very high level of filtration that removes the likes of tobacco smoke, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, mold spores, etc. from the air (read more in our article on HEPA filtration). This is especially beneficial in homes with those who may suffer from allergies or asthma.
CONTROLS
There are few controls on the vacuum but the essentials are there. One toggle on the back of the canister body turns the vacuum power on/off and another automatically rewinds the power cord. These controls are easy to access and easy to use.
There is also a trigger on the vacuum handle (ring-like device in image below). Pulling the trigger opens up a vent on the handle that bleeds off suction. You may find this useful if the cleaner head is becoming difficult to move or perhaps it is pulling up or sticking to an area rug. As this is on the handle you can also use it to reduce suction to tools that are placed on the handle or wand.
Note that there is no brushroll on/off control on the vacuum. Some vacuums (such as the Dyson Ball Animal 3) allow you to turn the brushroll off and this can be helpful when cleaning some hard or delicate surfaces.
CLEANER HEAD
The brushroll in the cleaner head is not motorized. This is what is sometimes called a turbine (or turbo) cleaner head. It is powered by the vacuum suction. It has stiff red bristles and soft black carbon fibre filaments (underside of cleaner head in image below).
Dyson has made canister vacuums with motorized brushrolls in the past but this requires wiring in the hose and wand (you have to get electricity down to the cleaner head). It isn’t that common and you will find many canister vacuums do not have motorized brushrolls.
The cleaner head does not have any detangling technology so it will gather hair/thread/etc. Fortunately Dyson has designed the cleaner head such that the brushroll is easily removed. A panel on the side of the cleaner head can be turned (it has a slot so you can turn it with a coin) and the brushroll can then be pulled out. After cleaning you can push the brushroll back in and twist the access panel in place with the coin. We’ve done it several times and it couldn’t be easier.
HOSE & WAND
We measured the hose at about 5 ft 6 inches but this is unstretched. It doesn’t stretch easily but you can get a few more inches out of it. The wand can extend to 3 ft 4 inches (and can be locked at many intervals in-between 2 ft 1 inch and 3 ft 4 inches). The handle that sits on the end of the hose can rotate a full 360 degrees, as well as up and down and even side to side.
CLEANING REACH
The hose and wand combined give you about 9 ft 8 inches of reach while the power cord is 21 ft 7 inches long. All combined there is over 31 feet of cleaning reach. This is a reasonable reach for a vacuum but it is not exemplary. For example the Dyson Ball Animal 3 upright vacuum has a 35 ft power cord and a 13+ ft hose.
When vacuuming in our living room we found the reach of the vacuum was insufficient to do the entire room and we had to unplug the machine and find another power outlet to give ourselves the coverage necessary. We did not have this issue with the Dyson Ball Animal 3.
POWER
Dyson states that this is their most power canister vacuum. It has 250 air watts of suction. By comparison the Dyson website says the Dyson Ball Animal 3 upright has 290 air watts of suction and the Dyson Ball Animal 2 has 227 air watts of suction.
NOISE LEVEL
We performed a noise level test using a digital noise level meter. The meter was placed 3 ft in front of the cleaner head on low pile carpet and the vacuum turned on. The peak decibel level over a 10 second period was captured. We’ve done this for a host of vacuums so we can compare noise levels side by side - a sampling of vacuum noise level tests is provided in the table below. Overall we’d say the Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro is not too loud.
| Vacuum Model | Peak Noise Level (decibels) |
| Shark Canister Pet CZ351 (max power) | 73.0 |
| Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro Canister |
73.7 |
| Shark Pet Pro ZU62 | 74.7 |
| Shark TruePet NV752 | 75.2 |
| Dyson Ball Animal 3 | 75.7 |
| Shark APEX AZ1002 | 76.1 |
| Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Upright | 76.2 |
| Shark Navigator ZU561 | 77.6 |
| Dyson Ball Animal 2 | 78.1 |
| Hoover ONEPWR Evolve (in Max power) | 78.3 |
CLEANING TESTS
Carpet Test – Low Pile
In our carpet test we created fine/small/medium size debris from ground cheerios, chili flakes, flax seeds and split green peas. This was placed in a 5 ft long row and the vacuum was passed over it (one forward pass) over about 10 seconds. Percentage pickup (by weight) was calculated. See test in video below:
We determined that pickup was 96.0 percent. Not bad – but we’ve seen better. The low front of the cleaner head had a tendency to push the larger green peas forward which contributed significantly to the weight of debris left behind. However, we also noticed upon close inspection that there was still some small and very fine debris left in the carpet (shown at end of video). We have tested some machines that leave nothing visible to the eye behind.
Carpet Test – Deep Pile
This was a quick test to see how the machine performed on very deep pile carpet (we used 1-inch deep pile white carpet). Movement was fine but we noticed that the brushroll would sometimes slow and in some cases completely stop. Remember that this brushroll is spun by suction and not a motor. This is probably not the best machine if you have extremely deep pile carpet.
Hard Floor Test – Tile
Using the same test parameters as the low pile carpet test, we performed a test on tile.
Pickup on tile was better than on carpet, as the larger and heavier green peas were entirely picked up (the low front of the cleaner head was not an issue on the hard floor). But there was still some lighter debris left behind. Pickup by weight was 99.2% which is quite good but it would have been nice to see less of the lighter debris left behind.
Hair Test
We placed long black human hair and short white pet hair on low pile carpet. The idea was to see how well the machine picked up the hair, and more importantly how much hair was left on the brushroll.
Pickup was reasonable and the machine did not get bogged down or stop which is good. However upon removing the brushroll you can see that it would require manual cleaning. There was quite a bit of hair wrapped on it. Some of the machines we’ve tested with detangling technology have virtually removed this chore (see our Hair Test of the Dyson Ball Animal 3), although many vacuums still do not have the detangling feature.
Edge Cleaning Test
Chili flakes were placed up tight against a wall and the cleaner head was run along the wall. One forward pass and one backward pass.
We’ve performed this test on many vacuums over the years. Some pickup everything, some leave a little behind, and some leave a large swath behind. The Cinetic Big Ball Animal left somewhere between a little and a large swath behind. Overall edge cleaning performance was a little below average.
WEIGHT & MOVEMENT
This is a “Big Ball” vacuum so it glides on a ball-like mechanism. This works fairly well and the center of gravity is located inside the ball so should the vacuum tip over (which happens with canister vacuums) it will automatically right itself. We’ve seen this work and it is handy.
The vacuum weighs 17.64 lbs which is a bit on the hefty side. You can feel the weight of the vacuum when moving the canister along behind you. It doesn’t move that easy on carpet and I found myself stopping, then pulling the canister ahead, then going back to vacuuming, as opposed to just vacuuming as the canister tracks along easily behind you. It does move easier on hard flooring though.
Given that the vacuum needs to be tugged along on low pile carpet we were interested how well it would move on deep pile carpet. We placed the canister on 1-inch deep pile carpet and to our surprise it moved just fine. However as discussed in the Cleaning Tests section above the brushroll struggled on this carpet.
The telescopic wand allows you to set the wand at the most comfortable height when vacuuming. Sometimes an upright or stick vacuum can feel too tall or too short. Not the case with this machine.
The cleaner head turns well and feels very light. The multiple degrees of freedom built into the vacuum handle also help with wand and cleaner head maneuverability.
DUST CANISTER
The dust canister is easy to remove and easy to empty. You simply press a red tab at the top of the canister to detach it from the vacuum, then to empty it you press another red button on the side of the canister and the bottom door opens. Hopefully all your dust and debris fall out but in our experience you will sometimes have to reach into the canister to pull out stuck-in hair, dust, etc. This is not uncommon with bagless vacuums.
The dust canister has a volume of 0.42 US gallons. The Dyson Ball Animal 3 upright by comparison has a 0.55 gallon dust canister. The Cinetic Big Ball Pro dust canister is large enough however that you should not find yourself have to stop frequently to empty it – unless you are tackling particularly large or messy jobs.
The dust canister is physically quite large and it looks like it should hold more than it does. The reason it does not hold as much as expected is that the Max Fill line is quite low (according to Dyson you should not fill it above the Max Fill line). I’m not sure why the line is so low – perhaps related to the dust canister sitting at an angle?
One problem we had (and owner comments reveal that this is a problem others have also had) was the dust canister bottom door sometimes falling open inadvertently. When we removed the dust canister from the vacuum, and before we got to the garbage bin, occasionally the dust canister bottom door would fall open and drop dust/debris on the floor. This is frustrating and appears to be the result of clip on the bottom of the door that doesn't always fully snap into place. We have even read that some owners have installed their own clip to keep the door in place.
WARRANTY
The Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro carries a lengthy 5-year manufacturer's warranty on parts and labor.
DYSON CINETIC BIG BALL ANIMAL MANUAL
The manual is not provided with the vacuum but you can find it online, and we have a copy of it here for your convenience. It is helpful in understanding how to assemble your vacuum and there is also information on features, maintenance, and the warranty. See the manual here: Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal Pro Manual
Nigel Russco has been reviewing and testing vacuums for over 14 years. He is a professional engineer and uses his review platforms to help consumers determine which vacuum cleaners are the best for their cleaning needs. Follow Nigel on facebook or view his vacuum review videos on the Vacuum Cleaner Advisor YouTube Channel.
