We have a 48" Bluestar rangetop with 4 burners and a 24" char broiler. We love it. The char broiler is fine, but the burners are great! The even heat distribution from the star burner is evident when you season a wok. I started using a new wok on our temp stove (15K ring burner). The sides seasoned nicely, but the center of the wok remained unseasoned for 2 years. After a 2 weeks of stir fry on the Bluestar the entire wok is a lovely black. You can see the same effect when boiling water. With a ring burner you see a ring of bubbles, with a star burner the entire bottom of the pot is bubbling. If you care about such things is a personal descision. Yes, the 22k burners, on high, will burn things. However, properly setup you have a wide range of heat available. When you add the ease of removing or elevating the grates I have not had any problems with the burners being too hot, or not hot enough. I have 3 22k burners and one simmer burner that really is a small pot burner. This is the perfect setup for the way we cook.

Working regularly on the Wolf open and sealed burner rangetops, I've encountered a variety of cleaning "situations". First, as ZMMN mentioned, the griddle is unbelievably easy to "clean". The key is not to strip the seasoning off. The seasoning, much like a cast iron skillet, is what makes the surface resilient to sticking and easy to cook on. Simply scrape with a dough cutter (a few bucks from L&T or rest. supply) and steam with a wet paper towel while the griddle is still hot. Maybe 2 times a year I'll strip it down some, but with the stainless cover or optional butcher block insert you really don't need to make it "shiney". Side note, the sealed is a little cleaner because the trip tray is top side and can be taken out to clean. On the other hand, the open burner griddle can get residue in the corners of the drip area. Next, the Wolf "open" is actually semi-sealed so you won't have much drop down (except with the griddle). I think that makes it easier to clean for food spills. Conversely, with the single burner cap on the sealed rangetop, I think this unit does better with liquid boil-overs. Either way, if you'll wipe off the residue and then rinse or quick wash it before cooking on it again you'll be in good shape.

I'm not deeageaux, but numbers of us here have purchased NXRs. There are several long and detailed threads discussing the pros & cons of the brand. Well worth reading if you are interested. Basically, the NXRs are the least expensive pro-style range you can buy in the US. Deeageuax was initially a pretty harsh critic of the early NXR's because of suspicion that it might be cheap Chinese crapola. For the most part, I think he agress \that NXRs have been pretty fine stoves for the money. And "for the money" is the critical phrase here. I think Deeageuax will agree that the NXRs are aimed at a different market segment than the Blue Stars. Think of the Blue Star as a Dodge diesel pick-up while the NXRs are more akin to a Subaru Forester or maybe a Hyundai sedan. Maybe a little less extreme than those differences, but you get the idea. Actually, I think the NXR does compete with some pro-style ranges but the competiton is with the sealed burner premium brands like Viking and Dacor and Maybe DCS rather than open-burner ranges like Blue-Star and AR. Again, I invite you to read the long threads (some going back to 2009) which are pretty informative. I've been happy with my NXR for the year and half since I got mine from Costco, but it does have some limitations that may or may not matter to you. Basic differences between the NXR and Blue Star --- other than price --- different tops (cast-iron on the Blue Star but plain stainless steel on the NXR), differnt burners (BS with potentially higher-powered open-star pattern burners, NXR with "dual stacked" sealed burners) and oven size (Blue Star has one of the larger oven capacities available in a 30" range -- can fit a full size 16x26 sheet pan) while the NXR is more akin to the ovens in Electrolux ranges. Also, Blue Star has something of a fanboy cult following which the NXR lacks. (But, come to think of it, I don't think I've run across fanboy cults for Hyundai's either. That may be an advantage to being a bit down-market.) Actually, for me, with a $2k stove budget, the competitors for the NXR were induction ranges and GE Profile gas ranges. Except for not having a self-cleaning oven, I like my NXR more than its predecessor, a GE Profile dual fuel. While most reviews of the NXR have been very postive --- kind of a Subaru/sensible shoes crowd --- there have been some complaints. Most of the complaints about the NXR seem --- so far --- to be the result of shipping damage and uneven warranty service. Experiences have ranged from just fine to abysmal. Read bmorpanic's woeful saga of trying to get the company to fix or replace an obvious case of shipping damage -- a tale bad enough that recently got her stove bought back and is getting a Dacor. There are plenty of us who haven't had such problems, but caution tells me that I would buy a small brand stove only from a vendor like Coscto who has an absolute satisfaction, full money-back guarantee. I do not mean to suggest that Blue Star has been immune from these kinds of warranty problems. Do a search and you'll find that there are some postings here from very unhappy owners,

I’ve used Barkeepers friend without any issues. Those black marks would probably be removed with it. Almost a year with my all gas 30” range and I love it more every day. The oven may be the best oven I’ve ever used. I’m baking pizzas on a steel in it in 3 and a half minutes. Using a Combustion Inc. Predictive thermometer I can see how crazy evenly it heats too. Stove top is wonderful too, just wish it had another 21k btu burner with the triple ring. So even and hot. My copper pots sing on it. The LED is more fun than you’d think too!