@ jchcwh2624 - Thank you for your concern. I am really not that strung out about this...just following a thought through to completion. Even if i end up not Importing maybe someone else will find this info useful. I saw the wolf in person and it is beautiful, the patterning is very nice. I was not live so i could not play with the controls but they look easy enough. Its just, i am seeing this other cooktop right now, and well, she's really cute and we could be getting serious, i don't know, but i want to see where this takes us. As to the actual cookware, if i get true bridging or zoneless i am looking at the Gaggeneau 13" x 21" Teppan Yaki pans. If i don't go that way i guess i am searching for cast. @ a2gemini - i would take a collection of hand selected pans vs complete set of and brand any day. I have a few favorite pans that i will lose to my induction (no matter what model i get). You probably have a few favorites depending on the job, i am envious but also excited to take the same journey. @Anyone importing or thinking about it. So to get the info i needed i talked to the same place that issues permits for electrical work... the person i talked to first did not know and sent my up the line. I was given a list of North American companies that do certifications. I was also given a phone number for one the inspector know was local to my area and had done this sort of thing in the past. I was not able to talk to anyone at Inertek, sort of. Inertek is a multinational and contracts out to many different companies in many countries for testing. I did talk to 3 companies that do certifications on inerteks behalf. Basically certification is $175/hour with a 2 hour minimum... they charge for driving time so you may be better off to bring the items to them, i am. You also pay a $10 fee for each sticker (one per device certified) . You also pay federal tax. I was told they take credit card only (MC or Visa). This is for Canada, but i was told the prices are set by a regulatory board or something, so he price should not very from one company to the next, at least on a per country basis. The test is standardized and it is a pass every part or fail. The bad news is that as part of the testing they upload you serial number in to their system so there are no retakes. Your cooktop either can or can not...there is no try. The good news for me is AEG has products in Canada, and most of the products i looked at are built to use both electrical circuits. This post was edited by Noctua on Thu, Apr 4, 13 at 23:09

Klaa2 has summed it up perfectly. The noise levels seem to vary widely, even with the same model/manufacturer. Our 36" Thermador hybrid makes very loud clicks at low temps and hums loudly at high temps, so much so that they can be heard in other rooms. We finally received the free Demeyere cookware from Thermador last week, but unfortunately the noise levels are the same. Thermador's customer service has asked us to write to them fully explaining the many efforts we have made to correct the problem. We have done so and asked for a replacement unit. We have also had a problem with the large center hob. Our unit requires cookware that almost fills out the entire space to activate the outer ring, which is not practical for normal use. (In effect, the current situation means we have 2 small induction hobs and 1 medium one.) Thermador agreed to replace the hob, but sent the wrong part to the local repair folks to fix this problem, but hopefully that can be resolved with a new cooktop. So far we love the way induction cooking works and are optimistic that the noise and hob-sensitivity issues can be resolved. If they can't be resolved, then the U.S. consumer may once again turn away from this technology, which would be a shame.

It's a 309X purchased locally. The dealer has been wonderful to work with even with all the issues we did the proper ventilation cutouts in the front and the rear to ensure good circulation What are these? Ours is installed above a shallow 4" deep drawer. There is no obstruction to the the fans or intake vents. We just came back from a quick trip to a different local appliance store that has the Diva on the floor. The salesman was an idiot - need I say more. I've forgotten more than he knows just from the research I did here and at the Induction site. The de Dietrich definitely cooks faster and dh likes the H warning for hot plates, too, which the Diva on the floor didn't have. The salesman tried to talk us into an Electrolux but couldn't tell us why that one other than price. We had to pull teeth to get him to look up the Viking and Wolf models. I walked out and told dh I just had a bad feeling about the place. I did write the GW website on a slip of paper and pass it on to someone else looking at appliances who I felt was getting a load of BS, though, so the trip wasn't all together unsuccessful LOL.

Thank you ALL for your responses. Each has helped clarify add'l thoughts I've had and brought up new ones! I THINK I've made a decision about what I need to do. As of this moment, I'm going to buy a 30" black glass induction cooktop - 4 burners. When I want to use one of my non-induction pans, I'm going to use a heavy-duty gas, 12,000 BTU portable unit that runs on Butane (1 hr. of continuous high BTUs usage; 2-3 hrs. for medium)! It's clear that my needs for those won't be often, but it WILL solve most of my issues that were bothering me and I won't have to give ALL of my favorite pans away that I so feared. And I'll still have access to BOTH induction AND gas (my original duel-fuel passion)! The reviews for this particular 12,000 BTU gas unit were outstanding and it's cost is less than $50 for the privilege. I was considering the Bosch Flexinduction or the highly praised (by reviewers) Frigidaire FGIC 3067MB. But, now I've noticed here the Bosch 800 being discussed for less $$ than the Flex if one doesn't need the flexible pods (which I don't, really). Frigidaire has about all the goodies EXCEPT individual burner timers at around $1100 or so with just terrific reviews on amazon - an amazing price point. Can anyone point out some detriments of these three that I may not have noticed or be aware of? What would all of us unknowing people do without all your input and kind help??