Robatoy wrote:

So, I'm told that a cyclone is the way to go. What do we know about
those things?

Three months ago, I put in a JDS 3100ck.

I wish I went to a cyclone years ago. Easy to empty, fantastic
performance, and a canister filter from the get go. I've emptied ~ 200
gallons of material from the drum and I'm still on the original bag
under the filter. This unit has a filter beater that runs on a timer
each time the DC is shut down. It seems to work very well.

Without my ceiling height limitation, you can probably get a similar
performing unit for a few hundred bucks less than my unit, as there is
lots of competition.