I'm not a fan of enamelled tops at all which deterred us from the Wolf. We just ordered a 36" DSC on Saturday. We won't be moving in our new home until end of March so won't be able to give you any experienced info on it. The salesman sold both Wolf and DCS and other higher end brands and said in his opinion the DCS was better than the Wolf. I didn't ask him to explain as we were in a hurry and decided long ago that we would be getting the DCS. DCS is also having a promotion, if you buy a 36" or larger range you get free dishwasher drawers. We are also excited to be getting those as well.

This is related so hope it's ok I'm posting this under this post. We are putting in an induction cooktop (KitchenAid as of now) in a new island for which we are ordering stock cabinets.We want to put in a 3 drawer base unit with the top drawer for cooking utensils. I can't find a cooktop that requires a small enough clearance. Currently these cabinets and a small filler piece would give me 4-7/16. With the Kitchenaid I need 5-1/8. My friend's builder put hers in with less than a 5-1/8 clearance and put a heat shield underneath. I don't want to invalidate the warranty by not adhering to Kitchenaid's guidelines.Right now the plan is to cut out an inch from the toe kick and add another filler piece. It will look different from the rest of the kitchen because now I will have a gap between the top of the drawer front and the counter. Any advice is appreciated!

I have a 36" cooktop over a 27" oven. The oven isn't actually in a cabinet proper: it sits on the plywood base built by my GC for all the cabinets, and then he created a face panel, with the appropriate size hole for the oven, and had it sprayed to match my cabinets. There's a fair bit of panel on either side of the oven, but I really don't mind: I didn't want those spice pull-outs, and wondered about making a couple of 3" tray slots, but realised the space needed internally for the hinges would make it pretty awkward to use, and I decided that offsetting the oven and getting 6" for a cabinet would look strange (in MY kitchen - that's a personal thing). So, I'm happy with my panels. I got my tray cabinet in another place in the end. I think you have to decide for yourself whether you want/need symmetry on that wall, or whether you can live without using that space for anything. In my case, it also means any subsequent owner can opt for a larger oven if they want to.

I've never missed a bottom element in the Gaggenau, but I don't use it much for baking. When I have, I've been well surprised at how well it does on convection only. I wouldn't want to be without a broiler in the house (I have another oven for that), so it's good that you have a choice of them with broilers. I have the 24" Gaggenau induction with the knob. It's been six years or so, and they haven't brought it in yet, so I wouldn't hold my breath. It's probably just about paying for UL (Underwriter's Laboratory) testing. At the time I did my kitchen, a lot of members here were self importing induction, so there was lots of good advice. It's not expensive. You just have to find a seller who will ship it to you. Mine came by FedEx, and FedEx took care of the customs arrangements for a $5 fee, at the time. The seller hadn't double boxed it, the box was thrashed, and there were a few small dents in the stainless frame. Under the circumstances, I chose to consider it character, rather than a problem, and my kitchen design is busy enough that it doesn't show. So, what you need to do is be sure it'll pass the building inspection, get a letter from your homeowner's insurance okaying it, and understand that there's no warranty. I did check with the local Gaggenau service to make sure that they'd be willing to repair it if necessary. As far as they were concerned, it was no different than one bought here. They warned me that the current difference could throw the clock off, but, in fact, the unit was made for 50 or 60 amps. I assume it's sold in the Middle East or maybe all their units are dual current. All of that wasn't a problem--my insurance agent took care of getting the insurer's approval. Their only requirement was that the installation be done by a licensed electrician. If any 24" induction were available in the U.S. at the time I purchased (several had been the previous year), I would have seriously considered getting what was sold. I wasn't that thrilled with the controls for the 30" models I'd also been looking at, however, and when I first saw that there was a 24" Gaggenau (I was reading the booklet for the 36" one for a friend, and there it was in the same book), I was sold. Then it was just some whining and whinging about how to get it, and a major success. :) I'm not trying to talk you out of your other choices, or even recommend bringing in your own. Just telling my story. Since the Gaggenau is the same as your 36" minus the pair on one side, I'm sure you know how the big double ring works with your pans. I couldn't say about the others. If they don't have a big double ring, I'd give them a go by. I think the auto on for the hood is a gimmick. You should turn your hood on ten minutes before you start cooking anyway.