I have the 36" Bertazzoni cooktop. I'm very happy with it. I've never used 6 at a time, but have used 5. I originally planned to get a Dacor 5 burner, but found the Bertazzoni was about $500 cheaper. I have that huge Le Creuset dutch oven right now on the simmer burner. It does take up a lot of room, but I can use the burners around it with smaller pans - I couldn't use my seriously huge Le Creuset frying pan next to it, for example. I tend to move pots around from burner to burner: do the initial cooking on the front, then move a pot to the back to finish, while I work on the next thing, for example, and for that I really love the continuous grids. I have had no trouble stir-frying on the left hand burner, but I'm only cooking small quantities (if I cook a Chinese meal, I make lots of small dishes to share, not one huge one). I got a second simmer ring to use on the inner ring of the double burner, because I make a lot of sauces and often use both simmer burners. (I emailed Bertazzoni in Italy to ask about it and they sent it to me for free, which was great customer support!) I'm running it on propane and am very happy with the results. It's incredibly easy to clean - really, just a 'light duty' white scrubby sponge, water, and polish it off with a microfibre cloth. I like the knobs at the side, because I was concerned about pans of boiling water catching on them and scalding me. Over-reaction perhaps, but I'm pretty safety-minded. I know some people prefer all 6 rings to be equal in power, but it hasn't been an issue for me - in reality, most cooking is done at lower temperatures anyway, unless you fry a lot. That's about all I can think of right now, but if you have further questions post again and I'll try and address them. I really think, dollar for dollar, the Bertazzoni is a very good price with great performance. We cook everything from scratch, every day, so it's been well used. 2 years old now.

deeageaux- "the rest is not really at the front of the luxury class" Luxury class? What does that have to do with cooking/baking? If perceived "luxury" is important, many will get a Viking(name recognition) or a La Cornue(exotic, expensive and beautiful) or hire a cook. On this forum, posters often compare Wolf, Bluestar and now the Culinarian. Many are derisive of Wolf, even calling it a play stove. They seem to be zeroed in on one aspect of cooking, a higher BTU burner. All are great ranges but have strengths and weaknesses. If you know how to cook, you probably would be happy with any of them but there might be some features that would mean more to you than others. I have had a Wolf DF for about three years and love it. It replaced a Dacor DF that I had about 7 mos and never worked right. I'm sure some other ranges are great too but just don't get the "press" on this forum. Very few people have cooked extensively on more than one of these three ranges to compare directly. It is much more complex than one issue for most people. If having the highest heat were the only issue, save yourself some money and buy a Wok burner @ 75-125K. You would really have some heat then! I have also heard of people hot rodding the Wolf to produce higher BTUs. Wolf also makes a 22K wok burner(separate cooktop) that focuses the heat in the center like a real wok burner if you stir fry a lot. The BTU rating is actually a calculated number determined by each company with no supporting independent testing available for the consumer to look at. The Culinarian is self rated, @ 23K. This might be useful though for a faster time in heating water or stirfrying. I would also consider Bluestar(@ 22K) as I like the configuration of the burners(star shaped) and there are different sized burners on that range. I have plenty of heat with my Wolf though and rarely keep it at top heat. If I am searing steaks, I use cast iron which holds heat and sears great. I often here posters here say that the flame is directed outward with a sealed burner on the DF, but after I have used it, I think it is splitting hairs and have cooked on open and sealed burners. If you turn the burner on with no pot in place, and bring your hands in, you can feel the area where the heat rises. I don't find the heat going around the pan but you do need to have the flame adjusted correctly. The only issue might be on very small pans on the regular burners, but if I need to use a small pot, I use the small burner. Most of the time the smallest pan I use is 7 inches in diameter. I make caramel in it and have no problem with the sides of the pan over heating. I love the low end simmer on the Wolf DF. There is online a test, linked below, comparing the Wolf AG(not DF), Culinarian and Dacor simmer. They did not include Bluestar. I did the same test on my Wolf DF on all burners and only the simmer burner had a even the sightest area of discoloration the size of a fingernail-the regular burner had none. The proof is in the pudding though and I can hold mashed potatoes and rice and it will not burn. But here again if you get a Culinarian or Bluestar you can get a simmer plate if it is too hot. Some people also have a preference for sealed or unsealed for cleaning purposes. Either works for me. I really like the Wolf oven because of the different modes(conv. bake and roast) and being able to direct the heat and being able to use the digital thermometer. You can buy a digital thermometer though and you can manipulate the heat by hand if you need to. The Wolf or many electric ovens also have the third element(European or true convection) which is useful if you do a lot of multirack baking in keeping the heat even. I don't find a huge difference between gas and electric baking, contrary to what you usually hear. Some might find to be the temperature of the door important if you have small children or don't want to stand in front of a hot oven. the Wolf stays very cool. You might prefer one of the AG ovens if you want to use an infrared broiler and the Culinarian has the rotisserie feature. The Culinarian and Wolf DF are both self cleaning. You can read about many of the features on these ranges but you have to figure out what is useful for the way you cook. You may also want to consider service, both the quality and availability. I haven't had to have service on my range so can't comment. Next kitchen I might get two different thirty inch ranges. One of them would definitely be the Wolf DF though. Here is a link that might be useful: simmer test

I played with both the Wolf AG and the Miele 48" ranges yesterday. I have been selecting between the two and my last range was a 36" Wolf which I loved and would buy again regardless of the chipping concern I have heard here. I should note that I brought this up with the sales person and they noted that this was a historical issue that Wolf has addressed and that the wall ovens had the majority of the issues. I know that some folks here still have a concern, but based on all of my research on the forum, looking at several Wolf ranges that are in the family (to see if they have an issue) and talking to sales people, I decided not to make that a real factor in my decision. That being said, here is why I decided to go with the Miele over the Wolf (I should note that we have not bought yet). The Wolf is a beautiful range and I personally would get the DF over the AG. My biggest issue is that the design is old and has not kept up with their technology in the M series ovens. The new design only really has better burners over my old one which was a 2004, otherwise there does not seem to be any difference. I really don't understand why they can make such a nice M series oven and they don't put this cooking technology back into their flagships $10k+ ranges. This is where I think Miele excels. From what I can see, they have taken their wall oven technology and created a range around it. I don't see this as unproven, but rather a combination of cooking capabilities they were already producing in their highly rated lines. I played around with the 48" range and was impressed on how well it worked and easy it is to turn on the oven, etc. The interface was very nice. I really wish I could do the 48" in my house because it gives you two real ovens, plus a microwave and and warming drawer. If you are space constrained, it is awesome because you don't need another place to put in a microwave (a 24 to 30 inch appliance). The only reason why it won't work on my end is that it is killing too much wall cabinet space, but perhaps I can find a way to fix that! The Speed Oven was the cooking appliance we used the most as it heats very quickly and also cooks very fast. I admit that I am into technology, so it is very hard for me to swallow buying a range for over $10k and realize that they are not putting the technology from their ovens in the range, that you are getting a very basic oven in comparison. If Wolf had put the interface from the M series oven in the range, it would have been a very different evaluation on my end. Good luck with your selection, as I really think either are a great choice and I would be happy either way.

We purchased a Thermador 48” Dual Fuel range with 6 burners and an induction unit and double oven. Model PRD486WIGU. originally wanted a Wolf, but was told it was going to be about 9 to 12 months. Contractor suggested Airport Appliance who said they could get Thermador in 4 months which at the time would accomodate our remodel schedule. Turned out Thermador took 9 to 12 months, depending on the appliance, to deliver all appliances. Rude Thermador Customer service, hours wait to talk to someone, required 100% payment upon order. had our $25,000 whole time. Airport Appliance not much better. Lied about delivery times and deposit amount. Have had 3 service calls on range in first 6 months with burner issues. In my previous home we had a 48” Thermador cook top which we were pleased with which also influenced our decision to go with Thermador again, but never again! I dont recommend Airport Appliance either. Good luck however you decide.