I could certainly be wrong but from the sound of your post you sound like someone who has "aspired" to have a SubZero fridge not necessarily for a functional reason but to have the brand. It sounds as if you're going all out - two Miele dishwashers, etc. - so why not just go for the SZ? If you think about all the people who have been keeping their food chilled without investing in SZ, there has to be something people "value" about SZ other than it's functional ability to keep food chilled or frozen that would make them pay the premimum price. Could be appearance, appeal of saying you have the brand, etc. In any case if you want one and want to spend the $ go for it. It seems you can count on repairs with any brand these days - kind of like luxury auto brands. Just because you spend alot doesn't mean it will be trouble free.

I cant comment as to the monogram, but we have had the KA in for 3 months and have no major complaints. Its been fairly quiet. The water on the door comes out through a filter and it tastes good enough, that I have considered getting rid of the bottled water delivery. We dont use tons of ice, but the icemaker capacity is very large compared to my last kenmore. I paid about 5500 and couldn't justify spending 7000-12000 on the sz even though the one w/the glass door looks amazing. As to the lights looking cheap, I dont know what the lights should look like, but throw a few items into the fridge and I dont think you'll notice at all. My only complaint was on the door shelves for the fridge side. The fronts come up fairly high and items dont come out as easily as I would like, but I have gotten used to it. Good luck.

I have the exact same problem - and I have been going back and forth with sub zero customer service for months. They do their best like help find a tech and give a small manufacturer credit for the service call (though I still pay the lions share). They try to stand behind their products but it’s a C at best. Caveat being that I suspect a lot of it is in installers and dealers fault for which sub-zero can’t necessarily take all the blame. But honestly at the end of the day; I’m stuck with a 5500 unit that has now had a few expensive $$ service calls which can be heard throughout an open plan house AND even from outside the front door. The techs always say the same thing when they come to the house - that’s how it’s supposed to sound. I get between 52-58db at 10‘ distance from the unit. I have 2 friends with these units and they are silent so I guess I got unlucky - just wish sub zero would even sell me one at their cost - I’d pay for the install. I’d say buyer beware/find a really good dealer before taking the plunge. My sub zero fridge is silent (though has trouble with the air filter system) and my wolf stove’s control module failed after about 150 uses. So I haven’t had great luck with them.

Hi L G, We ended up with all True for the bar appliances. In the living room bar, we ended up doing the True ice Maker and a True beverage center. We opted to put the ice maker here, as opposed to basement bar, since we figured we would use it much more often in the main living area as opposed to basement which is more used for movie watching and parties. So far that has turned out to be a good choice, since with two small children, we aren't hosting as many parties (yet). For the basement bar, we went with a True refrigerator, a True dual zone wine refrigerator, a True freezer, and a Miele dishwasher (Lumen, I think - I can get the exact model if you want). To be honest, so far this bar hasn't gotten a lot of use but we are still settling into the house, and I think it will be great once we are a little bit more up and running. It's been nice having the extra fridges for the beverage and wine storage. Overall we are happy with the selections. The quality and aesthetics are great. As someone recently posted on one of the threads, the True ice maker isn't "whisper quiet". You can hear it filling up water, clearing out drain, and dumping ice into the chamber periodically throughout the day. I honestly don't really notice it, and without basis of comparison, I imagine it's similar if not better than other ice makers due to the nature of the operation, but if appliance noise is a concern, I would definitely try to check out one and see if you are comfortable with the noise level before committing to one. But we've been very happy having it, and having it near the living space means it gets used a lot, and it's super nice making a cocktail and having a fresh supply of clear ice right by everything. Hope that helps, if there's more information that would be useful please let me know. -joe