There was a very recent thread that referenced this. I too am interested in the DCS single oven but was also concerned about the 3.5 inside. One of the respondants mentioned that she has Fisher and Paykel ovens that state they are 3.5 (I think) inside but she brought her pans with her to the showroom. Though the overall cu in are stated to be less; she has just as much room in them as with an oven with larger stated cu in. The F&P ovens met her needs overall and she has been using them for awhile and is very satisfied. FYI... the poster cooks and bakes ALOT! Try bringing your pans to a showroom and see what you think. I"m going to do that when I'm ready.

I'm the one with the F&P ovens that are the same size as the new DCS. Remodelfla is right that I recommend taking pans that you want to use to the store to see if they'll work for you. They may be fine or they may not...But check before you eliminate an oven from the running before seeing if that issue will really matter to you in everyday use.

I can't say for sure, but it seems that larger (more cu ft capacity) ovens can probably only be taller, since they are all 30" wide...So if different in width, it couldn't be by much. Will the extra height do you much good? It might for multi-rack cooking, if you will do more than 2 racks at a time, which I never have, or have found the occasion to want to. We fit a 23 pound turkey just fine in ours for Thanksgiving, and I can do 2 racks of casserole dishes, roasting pans, bread pans, etc.

Best wishes on finding just what you want!

thanks for both of your thoughts. It's probably not that much difference in usable space, but I think the new DCS also have lower wattage for baking/broiling than the older ones. Not really sure what that means, though. Any ideas?

The specs I found for each on AJMadison.com says the old one has these wattages:
Bake: 2450
Broil: 3500
Convection: 1900

While the new one has
Bake: 1500
Broil: 4400
Convection: 2500

So only lower on Bake. I hope someone else chimes in, because I have no idea what this means in practical terms! ;-)

I did some searching and apparently the higher wattage could mean faster preheat and better recovery after the door's been opened.

Here is a link that might be useful: link discussing oven wattage

thanks for researching..I have no clue what the wattage means. Are you still thinking of getting the new DCS? If not, what else are you considering?

I saw the new DCS today, and was actually disappointed in their racks.. I was expecting full-extension glide racks like in the Monogram ovens. (Do you want to share why you're not liking those?) Instead, the racks only come out 3/4, so I don't see a real advantage there. I am going to try to get them to let me stick with the older model of F&P to replace mine, hopefully, getting it from one of their dealers.

At this point, I'm wondering if I should have gone with Monogram. If the racks are important to you, Electrolux has wonderful full-extension glide racks, too, but they come out for self-clean, and there is no temperature probe in the oven, which I like to have. Wolf and Dacor each have one glide rack, I think.

My if-cost-was-no-object choice would have been a Miele oven. GREAT reputation for customer service, quality control in construction, and performance accuracy. I'm not a fan of the touch panel control, but a very nice oven, and no longer that much more expensive than most of the others.

The other thing I've thought of while looking at this issue for you, and for myself with the recent developments with my oven, is that even though I don't know that it's too small inside, if it ever needs replacing the overall size of the DCS might limit your choices for a new one. I see that most other ovens are too large to fit in the rough opening of the Fisher & Paykel, so would be the same with the new DCS. Maybe if you plan for that and leave some flexibility in the cabinet...a filler or something...it would be OK.

The only reason I didn't want monogram was that a few different appliance guys told me that this is one of the first rounds of ovens actually made by GE. They don't think they will be as good as previous models that were made by DCS or whomever made their appliances.

I'm thinking of the Miele but want to weight whether jumping to that price point is worth it. Right now I'm contemplating the Elecgtrolux Icon (which may have a temp probe), the Thermador and the Miele.

Any thoughts on how the thermador rates against these choices?

With regards to the size, I was under the impression that all the ovens are 30" on the outside but that it's the usable space on the inside that is different. Is that not the case? ARe DCS/FP really actually smaller all around?

DCS and F&P dbl ovens require a 48"+/- rough opening in height, where others seem to require over 51".

I don't know anything about Thermador, except that some of their models are new and that their customer service seems to have a lot of complaints.

I'm pretty sure someone complained that the Electrolux Icon doesn't have a probe, and examining literature and photos, I can't see any reference or evidence of it.

I don't think you can go wrong with Miele. I looked on universal-akb.com and the non-self-clean version, which many prefer, is less expensive than the DCS. The self-clean is $200 or $300 more, which, when you're already talking about $5000, doesn't seem like a lot for how happy Miele owners seem to be.

I think I said before that DCS made Monogram gas burners, not ovens. The way I understand it, Bosch made their previous models, and GE, who had been making their own Profile ovens, make the Monogram models that are in their 4th year on the market. I had a GE Profile electric range in our last house and it was great. No problems and excellent performance. GE isn't new at the oven-manufacturing biz, and they seem to be consistent. I found that most appliance salesmen weren't reliable in terms of specific information or as far as their recommendations when compared to research of real cooks and appliance owners here...But you are certainly entitled to decide against any appliance for whatever criteria you choose. I spent a lot of time on researching ovens, so understand it's tough. :-)

Also seriously considering the Miele but there is a long thread about people that have problems with it. Why can't there be one perfect oven??? this is driving me crazy!

What did you end up with?

When I was looking, I decided on Fisher & Paykel, which I've had for the year we've been in our house. It happens to have problems with the porcelain chipping and pitting in the bottom of the ovens now (particular problem to this oven, not to the brand or model), so F&P is replacing it. They've offered the new Fisher & Paykel model, which is quite a change in style and which I'm trying to see in person. I'll probably have them go ahead with that, unless I see it and really don't like it, in which case I might have them try to find me one of the discontinued models that will be an exact duplicate of the one I have.