No insight here. In general, you will find SZs competitors will have a feature here or there that they use to differentiate their products. Personally, I don't think a built-in filter is that big a deal.

With our SZ 680, I installed an GE in-line filter under the sink - where the water line taps into the main cold water pipe. Very easy and inexpensive compared with the 'built-in' ones. I think it was about $20 from Home Depot.

(Reminds me - I need to replace the filtering element one of these days...)

I too installed an undersink filter-much better and less expensive than the built-in ones. If you get the standard-size units, there are dozens of different filters available with lots of different capabilities.

But do you even need to filter NYC water? It generally wins every comparison test for quality and taste. I found it excellent when I lived there for a several weeks.

Here's a link to the system I use.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water filters and cartridges

Thanks for the response. We are just starting the comparison shopping, and you all make great points. We do have great water here in NYC but my husband is not convinced. I think we also wanted a way to get cold water, rather than regular tap water temperature. But I think your advice is great. I guess that's what ice is for :)Thanks!

You can get an undersink chiller/filter/dispenser thingy. That's what we're planning on. We tend to make a mess with the in-door fridge dispensers anyway, and think ice cube trays are fine.

FWIW, subzero is revamping their lineup next year. My dealer told me that the next round of models will have filter/water in them (depending on model).

heimert - don't hold your breath, especially if you are doing a kitchen now. They're comming but not as quick as they think or say. New rollouts are almost always late and if they're not (dacor DW) they have high failure rates. Also, you probably don't want the first model of a new generation appliance anyway. Bugs/quality control issues to work out you know.

FYI - they are also going to bring a DW to market too.

fori where would I look for US chillers?

I'm not holding my breath--don't have time to. If I were, I'd be waiting for the 36" liebherr. Anyway, just thought I'd pass along the info to the OP.

I haven't shopped seriously yet, Tucgran, but I saved this link as being recommended by someone here (they liked the product and the vendor). A few appliance stores also carry them and I think Insinkerator makes some.

If you're in Tucson, I bet you can buy 'em on street corners. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: one online vendor

fori yup in Tucson thanks for LOL

Oops - I didn't fully follow the original question. To get a dispenser in a SZ, one has to get either the 42" or 48" S/S model. (The 685 and 695.) Makes my point about the filter rather moot...

I would give my SubZero for NYC water running out of our taps! I agree with cpovey- good stuff!

And...wouldn't really want to trade my SZ, either!

Well, no offense to SZ, but I am a frequent visitor to a recently built kitchen with a monster side by side SZ and the dispenser has a nasty habit of breaking glasses when it dispenses ice--it really gives you ice cubes in copious bulk when set to cube mode! I broke a glass with it myself and after being mildly teased about what I trouble caused was told that it happened quite frequently and to please, please stick to plastic (rather lexan impact proof) glasses only! The other thing that happens is that if one isn't careful, the stream of water is so strong it goes all over the front of the fridge and on the floor.. Obviously this may just need tweaking but you get the picture that this is a new unit and this feature just causes a mess. Shooting from the hip I would say that it's one more thing that could break down the line too. Oh yes, btw this fridge is getting it's water from NYC water shed so who knows...maybe this celebrated water likes to come out of a normal tap:)

Shooting from the hip I would say that it's one more thing that could break down the line too

This is common for all dispenser models.

SW, I agree, this is the one thing that is really annoying and disappointing about the SZ side by sides. Ice comes down the chute like meteors out of the sky. We no longer dispense ice into delicate, thin-walled stem ware. The trick seems to be to hold the glass up against the top of the dispenser rather than setting it on the bottom. That way the cubes don't hit the rim which seemed to be the way the glasses were breaking: chipped rims or chunks broken off from the top/sides. With reasonably sturdy "every day" glasses we haven't been having a problem (the ice doesn't typically punch a hole in the bottom of the glass :-)), but shouldn't have the problem to begin with for what this monster costs.

"To get a dispenser in a SZ, one has to get either the 42" or 48" S/S model. (The 685 and 695.) Makes my point about the filter rather moot..."

A filter would be handy just for the ice cubes. We can put a brita on the tap, but it's a little hard to screw one on to the ice maker.

We had a 48" Sub Zero side by side in our old house. It had
an ice and water dispenser in it. We detested the ice and water dispenser. It was the most poorly designed dispenser we have ever used. Pretty, but a waste of money and space. In this house, we are going with Sub Zero again (loved the fridge) but filtered water at the sink and a separate ice maker.
On our old one, we had a filter installed for the the SZ in the basement below the kitchen. It hooked into the water line. Just make sure you don't use a reverse osmosis filter on a SZ - I can't remember why, but SZ said that it can wreck your fridge.

After adding up all the places where we wanted filtered water, we put in a whole house unit instead, and our water tastes great. It was more cost effective and we don't have to constantly change filters--the unit automatically backwashes itself.

We also put in an undercounter clear ice maker (SZ) instead of an icemaker in our SZ freezer. I have hated ice made in a freezer for years, & have never wanted an ice or water dispenser in the door.