I've had the Wolf DF 304 (30-inch range) since my remodel in 2005. So, for 4+ years, I've cooked on and baked in it. I love it for its looks and functionality. I'm very glad I decided to spend the extra $$ for this range...AND, I've never had a problem with it. It works perfectly every time. I have had questions about how to clean something, and found the Wolf people super helpful.

Good luck. I hope you find something you are as happy with.

Out of the brands you've named, the Wolf is the best. My advice, FWIW, is to get a Wolf, but save money by getting the all-gas range. You pay a big upcharge for the dual fuel. And, if you don't have the wiring set up for the electric oven, you'll have to pay an electrician to do that too. My experience with all-gas range is that its oven functions as well as, and sometimes better than, electric. People on this forum have reported that electric is better for baking, but someone said that unless you're a pro pastry chef, you won't notice the diff. Gas is better for cooking meats since it's a moister heat.

Of course, the Wolf dual fuel is a wonderful range. So is their all-gas range. I am just making this suggestion for the all-gas since it seems like you feel like your budget could rule out the Wolf for you altogether, and this would be an option.

@beth4 Thank you! I assume you have sealed burners? Or did you get a model with open burners?

@alwaysfixin We have a fairly substantial budget for it, but I want to have a back-up prepared "just in case." I'm far from a pro pastry chef, but for the amount that I bake pastries and the like, I believe I'd feel the difference. (Both sides of the comparison, of course.) I'm pretty heavily leaning the way of Wolf, and have been for the past few months, (Ah, the task of homebuying.) so I think if we really couldn't fit the dual-fuel into our budget, we'd(/I'd) most definitely seriously consider their all-gas range. (Semi-open burners as a bonus!) :) Thank you for the advice!

I do have the sealed burners and have been very happy with them. Easy to clean, easy to use, and I get all the power I need from the burners. I absolutely love the rear burner with the smaller 9,000 BTU output in the rear.....I use it for everything....all day simmer of soups and stews, melting chocolate, butter, etc., and what a fabulous job it does on sauces, and holding the sauces. That burner was a major surprise, as I never dreamed I'd use a burner so often.

We have an all gas Viking range. We bake a lot, and my daughter is a Cordon Bleu Pastry Chef. Gas bakes great. I wouldn't spend the money for dual fuel.

Open vs Sealed burners - to me no difference - both need to be cleaned. Since I'm the cleaner, I prefer open - you can take it apart quickly. Every couple of months I put the burner trays in the laundry tub, and spray with EasyOff. Gets them clean quickly.

@beth4 Great! I'm ecstatic to hear you love the lower BTU burner, it is one feature I am very excited about.

@doug_gb Thank you so much for the input! We've chosen to go with the dual-fuel as a first choice, but if the Wolf we'd really like it just out of our budget, we would absolutely look into an all gas version of the same.

The open vs sealed was a hard decision for me, initially, but I figure gas of any sort is, by far, a step up from what we currently have in our rental. (Coiled electric; doesn't even HAVE an oven window.)

May I ask how old your Viking is?

Another vote for the Wolf, but in the all-gas version. I have a friend who is a professional chef at a high-end french restaurant in New York. He went to cooking school in Switzerland and apprenticed in France. For his own apt. he bought an AG range which he said he prefers over the dual fuel. He believes everything comes out better with gas, even baked goods.

I myself cannot see spending an upcharge for the dual fuel; it just doesn't seem like a good use of money when there are so many others things in the kitchen to spend money on LOL! Just MHO of course.

As to the sealed vs. open burners, I think the Wolf AG is a good compromise with its semi-open burners. My AG range has sealed burners and there is always a little 1/8" brown ring around the burners that I cannot get off, even with a razor blade. Others have reported the same thing. My "next" range will have open burners, although who knows when that will be. Look, the little brown ring is not a big deal, no one notices it but me, but I just thought I'd mention it.

One more thing to add to my previous message...out of your list of choices in your OP, the Wolf range has those AWESOME red knobs. Don't laugh, but there was a thread a long time ago about people admitting to buying the Wolf range BECAUSE OF THE RED KNOBS. C'mon, admit it, don't those knobs just make you yearn for that Wolf...

@shannonplus2 LOL! I've seen many "But the red knobs!" threads in various places. I get the aesthetic, but it should always be secondary to actual performance, IMHO.

I've also read about the brown ring, and, at first, thought it might really bother me. But our apartment has these FILTHY stained burner trays, and I've come to just ignore them, after many hours spent trying to clean them.

Thank you for the input!