Royal HD1400MX Review

Keep reading to find out how the Royal fared in all of our individual tests.

Performance Comparison

Shredding Quality

The Royal scores just above average in our hands-on analysis for this metric. Not too far below our top scorer, this device lost some points in relation to the micro-cut models because of the relatively lower security of cross-cut. Generally speaking, it was able to handle its claimed top capacity of 14 sheets, but it seemed that it had to strain in order to do so. We did inevitably experience one paper jam while using the recommended 14 sheet stack. If you're using the Royal for a big shredding job we would suggest keeping the stack size at 12, it is much happier in that range. Thick junk mail envelopes, on the other hand, presented no challenge, it ate these up with gusto. As long as you're complacent with the security level of cross-cut, you won't be disappointed by the Royals' shredding performance.

Speed

The Royal receives an average score in the speed metric. It threw down a respectable pace of 55 sheets per minute in our test for maximum speed. However, This is far off the 140 sheets per-minute pace of our top-scoring model.

Ease of Use

The Royal is one of the better scorers in this metric. It is just behind our top scorer, but far above our lowest. Its pleasantly large 6.2-gallon, drawer-style bin is very easy to pull out and empty. The entire front of the bin is transparent enough that it's easy to see how close to full it is, but not so transparent that it feels like a very visible pile of paper shreds is messing with your clean office aesthetic. A nice set of pivoting wheels makes it easy to roll around. This is quite useful if you want to hide it away somewhere and only roll it out for shredding jobs. The shredding slot has a lip that facilitates inserting paper from an angle. This makes it easy to shred documents while leaving the device under your desk and out of sight. The separate slot that feeds straight down into the shredding blades works great for more ridged items like credit cards and CDs. It has just three buttons, one on/off button and a pair of forward and reverse buttons for working through jams. We didn't find the forward button to be particularly useful, but it's always nice to have a little extra versatility. Three lights right next to the shredding slot indicate whether it is on, if it is overheating, or if the load of paper being fed through is too thick. The only reason the Royal missed out on the top slot is that it lacks some of the nice extra features that our top performers offer, such as a digital full indicator and safety sensor.

Noise

The Royal fell right in the middle in our noise testing. Its motor had a relatively harmless low-pitched hum, but the blades made such a noticeable and grating paper crinkling sound that the advantages of that low hum were completely canceled out. All in all, it is not the worst noise produced by one of our shredders, but certainly isn't the best.

Value

The Royal lists for quite a hefty price. Considering its performance this is a very poor value as similar performers are readily available for much less. Even at a discounted price, however, the Royal isn't a great value as there are still other models in this lower price tier that outperform it.

Conclusion

The Royal is a well-designed shredder that offers above-average performance in some of the metrics we deem important. However, its high cost and the presence of many equal or better performers in the same price range make it less attractive.