I agree with dross, but will add some small details. Both have apparent advantages and disadvantages, and although the Miele does seem very interesting it is quite a bit more expensive and doesn't have a track record yet. I'm also deciding between the two, but I'm leaning towards the Miele (80% sure at this point) right now. I need to do some renovation to the laundry room to fit either machine and given my slow pace in doing these kind of projects I'm hoping some more history on the Miele comes to light before needing to order either machine. To be fair the W4840 is the top of the line big capacity whereas Bosch 500 is their mid level. It's probably more fair to compare the Bosch 500 with the Miele W4800 or the Bosch 700 with the Miele W4840 at some level. Some of the things I've noticed as differences between the W4840 and 500 are: Spin speed: Miele 1400 rpm vs. Bosch 1100 rpm. This equates with a g-force difference of 370 g for the Bosch and 600 g for the Miele. At some point you can't spin much more water out of clothing regardless of g-force, but I'd expect the Miele to have a noticable difference. Temperatures: -----------------Bosch----------------------Miele xxtra-----------150F + 3 min @ 170F----------N/A Sanitary/Boost----150F-----------------------158F Hot---------------125F-----------------------140F Very Warm---------N/A------------------------122F Warm--------------95F------------------------104F Cold--------------60F------------------------86F Maybe it's just how we are use to doing laudry with our Asko and now Danby, but more often than not we do cotton whites at 140F and colors at 104F so the Miele's temps line up with our past experience and comfort level. Also don't some emzynes activate around 104F? If so, it's nice to have that as your "warm" wash option. Profile Wash: The Bosch does this directly, whereas the Miele you need to plumb your washer to allow this. It appears the Miele will do a profile wash but you need a way of either filling it with cold water only, or having the cold go to both the hot and cold inlets or maybe start the machine in one setting and then changing it within 6 minutes. If you need to do a lot of profile washes, the Bosch is a better choice. Hinges: The Bosch washer has the hinge on the left (like most all big american FLers) whereas the Miele it's on the right. Since your dealing with new construction it's not a big issue. Down the line if you want to replace your washer with another brand your choices are VERY limited regarding other large washers which are also right hinged. Weight: The Bosch weighs around 220 lbs whereas the Miele is about 290 lbs. Manufacturers don't add weight for fun and to increase manufacturing costs, shipping costs and installation hassle. This added heft is not doubt heavier duty components and I'm guessing a much heavier and more stable outer tank. As dross said, there isn't a track record yet, and the Miele might even experience some new product hiccups, but the Miele appears to be built like a tank. The Miele does have their waterproof system as you mentioned. It is not as extensive as seen on their dishwashers with inner/outer concentric hoses and a valve at the water take off. I believe it will pump the water out if a leak occurs internal to the machine. I don't view this as an acceptable level of protection (particularly for upper floors) to justify not installing a simple manual shutoff and a drain pan. If a supply hose bursts it won't protect you and if the power goes out it can't work. Given it's limitations I don't view it as providing enough to be viewed as an advantage vs. Bosch. Dryer: My pair aren't going to sit side-by-side so matching equipment isn't an issue. For a lot less money than the Miele you can get a very good dryer with more capability. If you buy the Miele dryer have the venting designed so another dryer would work there as well. The Miele puts the vent outlet out the back on the lower left corner (as viewed from the front). Every other dryer I know of has their rear outlet more or less centered in the back. A very bizarre design decision on their part. However, if I end up going with the Bosch, I would consider their dryer.

Got the washer. It's great. Clothes get cleaner, dry faster, and it's so quiet you can barely tell it's running. (I do wish that the end-of-cycle signal was louder - I'd like to be able to hear THAT upstairs.) With the pedestal, it's a great height, and the pedestal even works well for storage. Also, the 120V hasn't been a problem at ALL. This machine uses so little water (yet still washes great) that it can still heat up the water QUICK even with the smaller heater. Even on the most aggressive cycle (Sanitize + Extra Soil + Extended + Sensitive) it's still much gentler on clothes than my old TL on Delicates. The controls are just simplified enough that they don't confuse anyone else in my house, and aren't missing anything significant to me. I'm still considering a new dryer. Will need either a left-opening or hamper-style door. Also, I want a real moisture sensor (instead of the simple temp-based system my old dryer has). A drum light, reversing tumble, and a real countdown timer (with good estimating logic based on moisture) would be nice too. Unfortunately the T9800 doesn't have the timer. Right now, I'm using Persil Sensitive, 1/4 to 1/2 cup in the main wash and under 1/4 cup in the prewash. Also 1/2 cup DWV in the fabric softener compartment (for cat odor). I've tried using LCB a couple of times - 1/2 cup on the Sanitize cycle for whites REALLY blasts the stains out. And there's no residual odor like there was when using LCB in my old TL.

A couple of sanitary cycles with LCB did the trick on the gaskets. Only thing I had to so was on 1 cycle, I took a cloth to wipe the upper part of the gasket, threw some old towels in (to make a higher water load) and the gaskets are perfect. Inner, Outer, Backside of inner, etc. I must have done 6-10 loads of Sanitize, with 2 of them using dishwater powder and the rest LCB. Next is the outer drum. LCB did break up the top layer of whatever was on it. Assuming it's BioFilm, etc, any other suggestions on what will cut it without any mechanical agitation....Just short of me opening up the beast. I did not have citric acid on hand, so I used up 5 packets of descaling powder I use on my coffee machines. In removed very little bit of the biofilm when using this.. I need something that will do it ~ALOT MORE~ . Trying to see if I can get this clean chemically before I attempt to open the panels up..to get access

Thank you for replies, they're highly appreciated. Our apartment is on the first floor. I've been to hhgregg yesterday to see LG and Duet in person. I liked both but still not 100% sure, they looked like plastic toy, especially LG's display and pedestal seem made of flimsy plastic. HE5tv vs. Duet, which one is better and why? (if I'm not mistaken, they're both manufactured by Whirlpool?) Does anyone own them, how do they work? Did you have to take to the repair? How often did it broke? How long have you owned them? Sorry for too many questions, I just want to rely on consumer reviews not a product description.