We are in th same position - trying to decide between Advantium 240 (Cafe or Monogram) & the Meile Speedoven Chef Series H4044 BM..

These 2 are relatively the same price range (with builder discount) but the Meile has the better browning from what I've read.

That's the main thing for us is that we are trying to replace a toaster oven & microwave - so we can't compromise in either performance category.

We have an Electrolux speed oven and it makes a fantastic second oven. It is also a great microwave and easy to use - just punch in time and hit start for basic microwaving. I didn't look at the Miele (we are in a small town and that would require a trip to Atlanta) but I understood the microwave to be less intuitive (scrolling thru menus, etc.). As my husband uses the microwave every morning to cook oatmeal or turkey bacon, he got a huge vote and he voted for easy to use.

I have used it as an oven multiple times (we have been in for about 2 weeks) and it works fantastic. Haven't tried the speed oven for anything other than chicken tenders and cinnamon rolls and those turned out great too. I love it (and the companion oven)!

One practical difference between the 240v Advantium and the Miele speed oven is that the Advantium is 30" wide, and the Miele is ~24" wide. There are also rules against under-counter placement of the Advantium (it gets too hot) that don't apply to the Miele.

We were leaning toward Advantium, but the size difference made the Miele a better fit in our kitchen. Have been very happy with Miele -- but might have been just as happy with an Advantium.

In the end, it also matters what sorts of cooking you want to use this oven for. If you get a chance to actually use each one (in a store or a friend's house), that might give you the information you need to decide.

thank you for the input! i've cooked only in the advantium in the store. baked cookies and reheated leftovers (chicken/rice). all with great results. didn't try anything else though. haven't cooked in miele myself but the miele rep baked nasty cookies! (they were refrigerated cookie dough and the fat that is used in them makes them fall and flatten)

am going to hopefully try cooking in miele next week so will let u know!

and we are trying to replace microwave and toaster oven too.

Hi - I'm not sure the speed oven will replace your toaster oven. MW, definitely. We have the low-end Miele, whatever it's called. It does not have scroll-through menus, just punch in time and you can optionally change level too.

There are a lot of buttons to press, and the learning curve is slow: the book they send is the worst manual I have received for anything ever. Still, I have learned more about using the thing and I do like it. It's a second oven for me; my other is a 36" gas. That's a large cavity so I like sometimes to use the smaller. I don't actually know how to compare energy consumption - apples and oranges in so many ways.

The 24" Miele cavity is very large for some reason. I've cooked two chickens in it a couple times, believe it or not. What I love about the electricity is, of course, that you can set the oven to come on and cook for a given amount of time: in you walk to a cooked, ready-waiting dinner. So wonderful! If I've put meat in to cook later on I've first stuffed the oven with ice packs to cool it down so as to be slightly less scary having meat sitting around uncooked. But I digress....

I haven't used the Advantium so can't comment. I was set on it until I learned that it cannot go under-counter. This is apparently something you cannot slip with with so we were stuck with the more expensive Miele.

A good piece of advice I received here is to plan cabinetry right next to the speed oven to hold its racks. You will be changing them out, probably, with some frequency so having something to hold this nearby is very helpful if you want to avoid an expensive unused box. I built a 4" drawer right underneath the 24" Miele, which just slides right into a 24" box - very easy. Underneath that I have another drawer for MW (i.e., glass pyrex) containers -- it all works out very nicely, all tucked underneath the counter.

But I still have a toaster oven out on the counter and it gets used every time anyone toasts something. You might be able to get the Miele to make some toast-facsimile but it would take vigilance and probably turning of bread, etc... a real pain. I'm definitely not willing to go there. I like that my toaster oven has a timer and shuts off appropriately. But I have enough counter space to afford this inefficiency.

If you're tempted by the lower end Miele, try to see a real live one; it seems significantly different from the high-end one though I've never seen them side-by-side.

Just for size reference, I just put a full 15 3/4" d pizza pan into the Miele. It hits the door, but fits.

thank you all--very helpful indeed!

I don't think either of these will make a good toaster.

I think both of them make good 2nd ovens.

Its also worth noting that the 120v Advantium may not be as reliable / durable as the larger and more powerful 240v versions.

Of course, this may have been fixed in current models, but I remember that many of the online complaints I read were referring to 120v models, a while back.

So, apart from being slower and not browning very well and perhaps less reliable, its fine. Great...

I think it has been - actually, the 240v Advantiums were redesigned a few years back to make them more like the 120v versions (with larger interior space, shelves, and a convection-oven function with a conventional heating element).

The A120 sells better which may account for more online complaints. HD and Sears have the 120 on the showroom floor but not the 240 since they're more expensive and may require customers to revamp their electrical wiring (and almost always will if dealing with the over-the-cooktop version), and are less expensive. Nonetheless, the 240 is unquestionably the way to go if you can accommodate the electrical requirements.

Hi,

Ok, maybe I am the only one to have this problem,but how tall are you? I did all the research before buying and essentially have your number 2 config..turns out that I am essentially too short to safely use the speed oven as an oven without risking burns to my arms taking dishes out when it is still hot. I am 5'1". So what I have is a very expensive microwave. If I was doing it over again I would do double ovens and relocate my warming drawer and just have a regular microwave. I really wanted 2 ovens. Your number one configuration would be good though

5' 8" - and I find the Advantium 240 over-the-cooktop speed ovens a few inches too high either comfortable insertion/removal of food or being able to see food through the window whilst cooking (especially since you need to lean over the countertop to reach it). I can't speak for the built-in oven stack since I don't know at what height the warming drawer is, whether there's nothing, one slim drawer, or two drawers or a cabinet below it. I use the microwave or speed oven the most, so i want that at a convenient height. Ideally, I'd go with just an oven below, preferably with a side-hinged door for easy access, or at least one with glide-out racks (or both!), and move the warming drawer elsewhere. Worth noting the Advantium has a warming-drawer function.

I have the Miele Chef Speed Oven and find it to be a good complement to my Blue Star RNB 30. I find I don't use the Miele as an oven very often as also have a Breville convection counter top oven. But when entertaining having one large and two convenience size ovens is very handy. We use the Blue Star for nearly all of the oven applications -- broiling, baking.

Can anyone advise on the interior dimensions of the Miele 24"? Thanks so much.