Just a note about ease of cleaning. I had a Viking sealed burner that, like so many others in the market, the stainless surface runs right up against the bottom of the burner. Pretty much the definition of "sealed". After the first year of use, there was a good amount of splatter that was permanently baked on. I'm not talking about spills.. just basic splatters. During the first year, we were religious about cleaning it after every use and still some splatters just got on and wouldn't come off. There's was also an aluminum collar around the burner that was impossible to clean. With open burner ranges and cooktops, the top is either all cast iron like on the bluestar range or there is a enameled bowl around the burner. After a year of heavy use, our Bluestar looks brand new after simply spraying on some SS safe cleaner and wiping. I will grant you that after a serious spill, I've only had one (knock on wood) you do have to pop the top and clean underneath. The good thing is, once I did that, all was well. That happened a couple of times when we had the sealed cooktop and for 2 weeks after, some of the burners wouldn't ignite or would keep clicking due to the spill getting into the ignitors. On the Bluestar burner, the ignitor is located on the inside of the inner ring which is rarely if ever touched by spills. Even if it is, it's exposed so I can spray it with a can of compressed air or hair dryer to dry it out.

Cambereno - No, it's not the shape that classifies the Bluestar burner as open. It's the fact that it's, well, open. A sealed burner is all-of-a-piece with the range top; there is no open space underneath a sealed burner. Part of the heat distribution of a Bluestar burner is due to its shape as you said, but also because the open burner style allows oxygen to flow under and around the flame. The Viking open burners will have the same advantage of oxygen flow, and the advantage that food and liquids will fall through rather than burn onto the surface the way they would on a closed burner rangetop. Having said that, many people prefer the sealed burners' cleanability cause when food or liquids spill out of a pan, it is right on the surface. There's always two sides to that cleanability discussion. Some like that an open burner arrangement means you can take the tray under the burners to the sink, or even better, line it with alum. foil and just throw the foil away when it is soiled. Others feel they'd rather just wipe around a sealed burner and not have to carry anything to the sink. I have a sealed burner range now, and it's fine. However, on my next range, which will be years off (assuming my current one continues to work), I will get an open burner range. I am tired of the burn-on food, I've also decided I don't like the appearance of the sealed burners, and I have experienced the uneven pan heat shown in the Eurostoves video to my frustration. Having said ALL that, I can cook up a storm, my food comes out great on my sealed-burner range, and no one but me notices anything about the uneven pan heat, and would call me a whiner if I spoke of it. So, are you near a Viking showroom where they'll let you cook on one? That would likely help you decide.

You can fry chicken on a 8K burner. My grandmother made the best fried chicken on a smaller gas burner. I have posted this link before about cooking myths but #2 relates to fat absorption. The Food Lab's Top 6 Food Myths It is based on this article. The best way you can compare simmers is the same way you compare maximum heat. It is by knowing the BTU rating on the low end. Any other way incorporates additional variables that muddy the water. deeageaux makes the point very well comparing a large chile vat to a 2 qt sauce pan. Temperature ratings are irrelevant. It is the power(BTUs). There are some simmer burners that will not require a double boiler for delicate sauces. There are many different amounts of heat that manufacturers call "simmer". Know the number so you can make a meaningful comparison. I used to work in a food lab and have cooked for many years on all kinds of ranges, gas and electric and there are work arounds for every situation. I would choose based on what you use the most. In my case I use the low end of burners all the time and when I need heat, I pull out the cast iron and my 15K BTU burners will produce a 500 degree surface with a little preheating. If you do a lot of large stir fries requiring high BTUs, and need simmer you can pull out a simmer mat or copper simmer plate. One consideration with a gas oven is that in general they will put more heat into your kitchen due to the ventilation required for combustion of the gas. This is compounded if the oven is poorly insulated. I would definitely look at how manufacturers treat their customers. Any appliance can have problems, but it is how you and your concerns are treated that make the difference.

Seeing that nobody has responded, I'll give it a shot even though I do not have one of the SC models. Looks to me that NXR's new"SC" line is just a rebranding of its lowest tier "Entree" line of stoves (with standard flat-capped sealed burners) which has been marketed through big-box stores like Home Depot. The new designation seems to be a line aimed at sales through vendors like eBay, NewEgg, BHG, and etc. As between an NXR Entree/SC and a Viking, it is pretty much a Hobson's choice. For most of the last decade here, Viking has had a truly bad reputation and, judging from the recent posts here about Viking equipment, service and support, it has not improved much since being absorbed into the Middleby group about six years ago. Here's the thing about NXRs (and the related brands like Thor Appliances and Kucht) having "a lot of problems." The thing is that these stoves are all built on mature, even old-fashioned technology. Rather like buying a knock-off of an old Willys jeep which uses off-the-shelf parts. Not a bad idea if you have a use for the 4wd, off road functions and have the time, skills and interest in DIY maintenance such as cleaning carburetor jets, re-tuning for altitude, etc. That's what you do with old tech. Getting an old tech vehicle would be a bad idea when what you really want is a Camry-like, comfortable daily driver for commuting, highway trips and errands. When you want that, why get a vehicle for ranch work for which you need the time, DIY skills and interest to do the required maintenance? I've had my NXR DRGB model for going on seven years now.. It has the dual stacked burners. The present model equivalent in NXR's current product lines would be the "Pro" line which is sold by the likes of Costco and Dvorson's. That said, I've had only a few niggling little bits of work over the years i've had it. I replaced an oven ignitor, found and fixed a loose connection in the wire to one of the oven lights, replaced worn-out silicon rubber stand-offs on the bottoms of the stove-top grates, adjusted the burner flames when our utility company varies the quality of the gas delivered (as it does), and occasionally cleaned out burners that get gunked up as a result of that and food spills. The biggest expense was $30 for replacing the oven's glow-bar ignitor when it started to weaken. Old style glowbars can and do wear out. I regard it as normal maintenance, like replacing spark plugs of my old truck. The part cost $30 at the local appliance parts warehouse (would have been a few dollars less on Amazon). Took me 15 minutes to replace the glow bar. I followed another NXR owner's writeup -- see the old thread titled "[If Susan fixed her nxr oven ignitor u can 2![(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/if-susan-fixed-her-nxr-oven-ignitor-u-can-2-dsvw-vd~2288437)" For somebody without the time, skiil and interest for such DIY self-service, this could have been a frustrating and expensive experience. First they would have to had to find somebody willing to work on a little-known brand. They would have to pay for a diagnostic visit. The servicer would then order an OEM part (which would cost five or six times what the otherwise identical generic Frigidaire part costs), and then charge for another trip to install it. You see how that would lead to angry postings about the stoves?