The 660 is the one for a large room. A 25.8cm blade, four speeds and a chrome glide bar that tilts the head through 90 degrees, so the airflow can be aimed at the ceiling to circulate a whole room rather than blown at a person.
The 633DC is the quieter idea. Its DC motor gives 99 speed steps instead of four, which means it can be set genuinely low for a bedroom, and it weighs 2.2kg against the 660's 3.3kg. However, it does not tilt as far.
Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator
25.8cm blade, four speeds, a 38-watt motor and a fully adjustable glide bar giving 90 degrees of tilt. 380mm tall, 3.3kg, 54dBA, detachable grille for cleaning. Five-year warranty. Owners rate it 4.7 at The Good Guys.
Four speeds is the limitation. The lowest setting is still a real breeze, which some owners find too much beside a bed.
What We Like:
- 90° tilt on a glide bar
- 25.8cm blade, the largest here
- 54dBA, the quieter of the two
What We Don't Like:
- Only four speeds
Vornado 633DC Medium Air Circulator
23cm blade on a 40-watt DC motor with 99 speed steps, 305mm tall and 2.2kg, with a detachable grille. Five-year warranty. Owners rate it 4.6 at The Good Guys.
Its listed noise figure is 58dBA at maximum, above the 660, but the point of 99 steps is that it almost never has to run at maximum.
What We Like:
- 99 speed steps from a DC motor
- 2.2kg
- Genuinely low settings for a bedroom
What We Don't Like:
- No tilting glide bar
Side by side
| Vornado 660 | Vornado 633DC | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $250–300 | $250–300 |
| Blade | 25.8cm | 23cm |
| Motor | 38W | 40W DC |
| Speeds | 4 | 99 |
| Tilt | 90° glide bar | Fixed head |
| Oscillation | No | No |
| Noise | 54dBA | 58dBA |
| Height | 380mm | 305mm |
| Weight | 3.3kg | 2.2kg |
| Detachable grille | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years |
| Owner rating | 4.7 (260) | 4.6 (110) |
Owner ratings are from The Good Guys, with review counts in brackets. The Good Guys also lists maximum airflow of 2783m³/hr for the 660 against 739m³/hr for the 633DC, a gap much wider than the blade sizes suggest, so those figures are better read as an indication that the 660 is the bigger mover than as a precise ratio.
What actually differs
Speed control. Four steps against 99. This is the real difference between them and the reason the 633DC suits a bedroom. A DC motor can be turned down to a whisper; an AC motor with four taps cannot.
Tilt. The 660's glide bar lets the head point anywhere from straight ahead to straight up. Aiming a circulator at the ceiling is how it moves a whole room's air rather than pushing a draught at one person, and the 633DC's fixed head limits that.
Size. 380mm and 3.3kg against 305mm and 2.2kg. The 633DC fits on a bedside table; the 660 wants the floor or a wide shelf.
Neither oscillates. This surprises people coming from a pedestal fan. Vornado's design pushes a focused column of air that bounces off the far wall and circulates back, so the machine stays still. It works, but it does not sweep a room the way an oscillating fan does.
Warranty. Five years on both, which is unusual for a fan and the same across Vornado's range, including the smaller 460 at around $179.
Who each one suits
Vornado 660 suits a living room or open space where the job is to keep air moving through the whole room, and where the tilt gets used.
Vornado 633DC suits a bedroom, a desk or a nursery, where the lowest setting on a four-speed fan is still too much.
FAQs
Why don't Vornado fans oscillate?
The design aims a concentrated jet of air at the far side of the room so it circulates back around. Oscillating would break up that column, and the column is how it works.
Is a circulator better than a pedestal fan?
For moving a room's air, yes. For cooling one person sitting in front of it, a pedestal fan with a wide oscillating sweep is more direct. They solve different problems, which is covered in tower vs pedestal vs circulator.
Can they be used with an air conditioner?
That is one of their better uses. A circulator moving cooled air around an open-plan space lets the air conditioner run at a higher set temperature for the same comfort.
Are the grilles removable for cleaning?
Yes on both, which matters more than it sounds: a fan that cannot be opened collects a felt of dust on the blades within a season.
