wekick, I do have a thermometer, and tested it alongside the repair guy's. Turns out the problem was that one of the baking elements would not kick in after the temperature dropped. The oven would preheat, the temp would drop when I put something in, then it would take forever to reheat/ie cook. Since one element was working it seemed hot and the repair guys never stuck around long enough to see it wasnt coming back up to the temp. They finally saw it about 4 visits in, replaced the data cable and other parts. Didn't work. Next visit they found an unplugged fuse looking thing (pardon my lo-tech) and tried plugging it in. Didn't work. Next visit they noticed its prongs were broken. By then we were convinced we had a lemon. Even the repair co thought we should just replace it. But Wolf said they needed one more try to replace 4 more parts, and the customer service rep there said they just have to honor the warranty, but weould expedite sending the parts. That was the last straw and my hubby got on the phone to them too. At this point they've agreed to replace the range . . . we're hoping that goes thru and we can start using it . . . we'll see

deeageaux- "the rest is not really at the front of the luxury class" Luxury class? What does that have to do with cooking/baking? If perceived "luxury" is important, many will get a Viking(name recognition) or a La Cornue(exotic, expensive and beautiful) or hire a cook. On this forum, posters often compare Wolf, Bluestar and now the Culinarian. Many are derisive of Wolf, even calling it a play stove. They seem to be zeroed in on one aspect of cooking, a higher BTU burner. All are great ranges but have strengths and weaknesses. If you know how to cook, you probably would be happy with any of them but there might be some features that would mean more to you than others. I have had a Wolf DF for about three years and love it. It replaced a Dacor DF that I had about 7 mos and never worked right. I'm sure some other ranges are great too but just don't get the "press" on this forum. Very few people have cooked extensively on more than one of these three ranges to compare directly. It is much more complex than one issue for most people. If having the highest heat were the only issue, save yourself some money and buy a Wok burner @ 75-125K. You would really have some heat then! I have also heard of people hot rodding the Wolf to produce higher BTUs. Wolf also makes a 22K wok burner(separate cooktop) that focuses the heat in the center like a real wok burner if you stir fry a lot. The BTU rating is actually a calculated number determined by each company with no supporting independent testing available for the consumer to look at. The Culinarian is self rated, @ 23K. This might be useful though for a faster time in heating water or stirfrying. I would also consider Bluestar(@ 22K) as I like the configuration of the burners(star shaped) and there are different sized burners on that range. I have plenty of heat with my Wolf though and rarely keep it at top heat. If I am searing steaks, I use cast iron which holds heat and sears great. I often here posters here say that the flame is directed outward with a sealed burner on the DF, but after I have used it, I think it is splitting hairs and have cooked on open and sealed burners. If you turn the burner on with no pot in place, and bring your hands in, you can feel the area where the heat rises. I don't find the heat going around the pan but you do need to have the flame adjusted correctly. The only issue might be on very small pans on the regular burners, but if I need to use a small pot, I use the small burner. Most of the time the smallest pan I use is 7 inches in diameter. I make caramel in it and have no problem with the sides of the pan over heating. I love the low end simmer on the Wolf DF. There is online a test, linked below, comparing the Wolf AG(not DF), Culinarian and Dacor simmer. They did not include Bluestar. I did the same test on my Wolf DF on all burners and only the simmer burner had a even the sightest area of discoloration the size of a fingernail-the regular burner had none. The proof is in the pudding though and I can hold mashed potatoes and rice and it will not burn. But here again if you get a Culinarian or Bluestar you can get a simmer plate if it is too hot. Some people also have a preference for sealed or unsealed for cleaning purposes. Either works for me. I really like the Wolf oven because of the different modes(conv. bake and roast) and being able to direct the heat and being able to use the digital thermometer. You can buy a digital thermometer though and you can manipulate the heat by hand if you need to. The Wolf or many electric ovens also have the third element(European or true convection) which is useful if you do a lot of multirack baking in keeping the heat even. I don't find a huge difference between gas and electric baking, contrary to what you usually hear. Some might find to be the temperature of the door important if you have small children or don't want to stand in front of a hot oven. the Wolf stays very cool. You might prefer one of the AG ovens if you want to use an infrared broiler and the Culinarian has the rotisserie feature. The Culinarian and Wolf DF are both self cleaning. You can read about many of the features on these ranges but you have to figure out what is useful for the way you cook. You may also want to consider service, both the quality and availability. I haven't had to have service on my range so can't comment. Next kitchen I might get two different thirty inch ranges. One of them would definitely be the Wolf DF though. Here is a link that might be useful: simmer test

Sorry, just took a look at this thread again and noticed your question...by the time I got to Miele, I had decided on induction, so I didn't give the Miele an actual test drive. I did give it a pretty thorough inspection at the Miele place, though, and thought it was a very sexy range -- and the performance seemed very similar to the Wolf dual fuel. I say that b/c the Miele also has the stacked burners, which I really liked, but the BTUs are higher than Wolf (which top out at around 16k, I believe -- Miele was closer to 20k or so -- I can't quite remember). The Miele ovens on the 48" range were very nice -- the smaller one is a speed oven, and the bigger one is a regular convection. The speed oven wasn't a big plus for me personally, since I really wanted a steam oven as a second oven, but there are people on this forum who love their speed ovens. One thing I really liked about the Miele oven, which Wolf doesn't have, is the burst of steam option, which is great for baking (you can program up to 3 bursts of steam for up to 6 min. each during cooking). I didn't care that much about the MasterChef options on Miele, but again, others love these. At any rate, the Miele seemed very similar to the Wolf, I liked the steam option on the oven better and liked the Miele burners better (also, if you're interested in a grill, theirs was excellent and seemed very similar to the Wolf, which I think is the best in the business). If I had stuck with a range, I would have been very tempted by the Miele.

Actually MUA is not required by Code everywhere, only some areas. Regardless of Code requirements, the OP needs to do MUA with 1200 cfms because that much suckage carries with it the risk of sucking back CO into the house, i.e. backdraft. It's a serious risk because with that much cfms pulling air out of the house, other exhausts will be pulled in, like from the water-heater, furnace, chimney and dryer vent. That backdraft is bringing poisonous carbon monoxide into the home. You can get away with no MUA with an exhaust that is 400-600 cfms and if your house is drafty and not a newer super-insulated house. But not at 1200 cfms. At 1200 cfms, cracking a window will not be enough. You will need to install an MUA system. Either add that to the expense of your renovation, or choose a different cooking setup. People not willing to install MUA is a main reason why people forego the 60" ranges and their exhaust requirements, and opt instead for a 36" rangetop and separate ovens.