FWIW, I really love our FP wall oven. It's a true convection. We've had it a little over four years and have had no problems. I never thought we'd use the extra settings, but we have: settings for whether the heat comes all from the convection or also radiant -- and then whether the top and bottom of the oven provide radiant heat or just one of those. The convection heats up the oven pretty quickly, and then you can set it for "regular" bake if you don't want the convection feature. We had a rather large round baking stone for our previous oven and carried it around with us when looking for alternatives. The FP was the only one it would fit in (at least 4 years ago). It took getting used to the light being on while something was baking, but now we really like that feature. You can see how the bread is rising, the turkey is browning, and so forth. I can't speak to the current models, but I'd get this one again in a heartbeat. The only thing that's better for baking is our outdoor wood fired oven. And in a New England winter even that has its limitations!

I got an email message from skik2000 asking, "We are remodeling our home and are considering a combi. What have you been cooking in it? Do you think it provides superior results to regular ovens or is it the quicker cooking that you like?". There was no link in the email so here's my response: We've only had our Gagg installed for about 3 weeks. So far it's great, but we are still figuring out what works. Our steamed-roasted chicken was a little too steamed. The steamed eggs a little too soft. The first time we roasted salmon I cooked it too long. The last time it was divine. These problems are user errors in my opinion and part of the learning curve. Thus far, straight up steaming seems the most straightforward and has high caliber results and is F-A-S-T. Steam-roasting is a little trickier (how much steam and for how long before I go to dry heat?) and something I definitely want to master for steam roasted (starchy) veggies, chicken and more over this winter. Based on my experience thus far, my guess is that in the long term it will generally provide a faster, different cooking experience than a conventional oven. For foods that do well with the steam, the product may be superior and definitely more convenient. For foods that don't require steam, I don't think it will provide an advantage other than a quick heat up time and faster cook times because of it's small size, but time will tell. The oven does seem to heat up super fast (~4-8 minutes) and cook faster than our previous 1956 range and crappy rental ranges we've cooked on for years. I wouldn't recommend a speed oven if you are getting a steam oven because I think the size and heat up make it much faster anyway. I'm definitely enjoying the new flexibility the steam oven offers and think we will enjoy it's functionality for years to come. I didn't steam a lot of foods before either but see so many uses now that we have it (steamed eggs, rice, grains, a steamed 12oz filet of salmon in 12 minutes - it's fast food!, grains, beans, heat up left overs, more). BTW, we didn't pay full price. We got a 200 series model off of ebay for less than 1/2 of retail. It was NIB with 5-year warranty. So far so good. Selling points were ease of use, I liked the simple interface better the Miele, plumbed, side opening door which worked much better in our space, and it's reputation for being the gold standard of steam ovens. Hope this helps.

If you are not planning to use a micro regularly then I would strongly suggest a speed oven as well instead of a warming drawer. I rarely use a microwave and we went with Miele M Touch Wall oven, the CSO and the speed oven. I use the speed oven more as a conventional oven then a micro. It also has a broiler element. I have used the combi mode once as Speed cooking is not a priority for me at this point. I use all three ovens simultaneously far more often than I expected. Like others in the thread - the CSO is my work horse as it is very versatile .I can fit all of my baking dishes in the CSO and Speed oven except for a 1/2 sheet pan. I chose Miele over wolf as the M series was not yet available and wolf did not have a speed oven in their product line. Very happy with all Miele ovens. The 30" wall oven is very quiet which according to another thread is not the case with the Wolf M series. If you decide to go with two 30" ovens - the Miele side by side stacked with a CSO and Speed oven would look dynamite. I have the Wolf 36" induction with the 4 way bridge. I found my griddle is wider than a 2 element bridge and I use the 4 way bridge for my griddle. It heats extremely well. If you can test drive the cooktops - I would suggest doing that. I found differences in pot size recognition. I don't think you would go wrong with either Miele or Wolf.

We have the Wolf combi and love it. I can't comment on a comparison with Gaggenau because I've never owned the Gagg. I don't find having a water tank a big problem at all. Usually it doesn't require a refill during cooking. However, if it does need refilling the tank door automatically opens and the oven beeps until you refill the tank. I change the water prior to each use. I also usually empty and wash the tank after each use unless I'm using the oven again on the same day. The access to the tank is on the outside of the oven so accessing and refilling is easy. The tank on the Thermador is on the inside of the oven, which we didn't like. Also the Thermador oven is much smaller than the Wolf. I don't have any experience with the Miele combi oven. I think the Miele oven cavity is about the same as the Wolf and the Miele also has a broiler which the Wolf does not. Not a big deal for us but that depends on your cooking style. Good luck! MJ