I have been using the 36" Miele for about a month now and am pretty happy with it. I was also worried about fingerprints and the like, but the cooktop is very easy to keep clean and it gets A LOT of use. I just let it cool down, then I give it a shot of Sprayway Glass Cleaner (you can get it at Costco - best stuff around), wipe with a microfiber cloth and it looks as good as new. I have not used the timers yet. I have reprogrammed it to have 24 heat settings (from the factory set 12), very easy to do, and allows you even greater control. The MAX boost is more that sufficient. As far as buzzing, it depends on the power level and/or type of pan being used. Miele threw in some quite spendy DeMeyere Stainless cookware, which is made for induction, and it DOES buzz on the higher settings (7 and up). If you are using any type of hood, even on the lowest setting, you will not notice it. I have also used a Staub Enameled Cast Iron Cocotte and a Lodge Cast Iron pan and had NO buzzing at all. The reponsiveness is excellent.

I've used both in showrooms, so can't speak to cleaning. I loved the knob on the Gaggenau enough to think it was worth importing the smaller one from Europe (mostly for the smaller, but if I didn't like it better I would have gotten the Miele). The Miele is great, but the thing I found really annoying was operating the controls. You have to hold your finger in the right place, and wait for the controls to respond. If you put your hand down the wrong way they do something funky (can't remember now, but I think it turned off). You have to hold the control rather than tap tapping, which is counterintuitive. Not that this makes the Miele bad! But the Gagg is cool.

With the knob, you slide it like an air hockey paddle toward the element you want to control and pull it back to center. It's much quicker to do than to type. Then you turn it. It registers very quickly and you can turn from the top level around to the bottom, like on an old fashioned electric, instead of having to go back down.

Re buzzing, clad pans are more likely to buzz, and pans with very little in them. It's the cookware that's buzzing, not the unit.

My demos were in different showrooms, so conditions were different. Miele is very quiet (fan noise). Gaggenau is quiet, but I don't think it's as quiet.

The wattage difference between the two is probably sufficient to be noticeable, on an objective basis, but probably not so much while you're cooking. That is, if it takes an extra half minute for your water to boil will you notice? On a superhigh heat application, like wok cooking, you might care. For that, duration of max power is as important as wattage.

Thanks so much, baver and plllog!

Any Gaggenau induction owners who can chime in about the magnetic Twist-Pad control? (That's my biggest hesitation about the Gagg over the Miele.)

Anyone?

i have cooked on the thermador and gaggenau, thermador is also a touch pad, and i prefer the knob. touch pads require more precise finger placement, and clean, warm fingers. if you are in the middle of other prep, you have to clean your hands before making an adjustment. with the gaggenau knob, you only need touch one spot with a finger, then twist with a towel or apron. it also makes it easier to obtain the power setting, rather than trying to touch the halfway point between numbers.

Hmm, good point, foodie! I did not think about operating it with greasy hands. You're right, the Gagg Twist-Pad should be easier... I think I'm feeling better and better about going with the Gagg. Thanks!

I am considering the 30" Thermador or Miele. I have heard (unconfiremed) that the Miele controls can be influenced by the heat from the nearby pans, i,e, the controls may fail. With regard to the Thermador, does it have pan size recognition. Will a 4" pot work on an 8" hob or burner?
Does any induction other than Thermador have the silver surface?