The new Thermador freedom series is sold mostly as separate, stand-alone units. So each of them will have their own compressor. The installations I've seen look phenomenal & they have integral & replaceable filters for ice/water. SZ has been out there on the cutting edge for a long time. However, they have a lot of excellent & growing competition. It will be interesting to see if SZ upgrades the technology or if they're content to give away market share. The Liebherr's have the separate compressors for the freezer & refrigerator. They also offer integral & replaceable filtering for ice/water which SZ still does not provide. It's difficult to justify SZ, as much as I love the looks & name. We're redoing more of our kitchen this year & I'm glad we're delayed because it gives us more time to wait & see the new Liebherr 36" (due in a couple of months) - which would compete head on with the SZ 650. If the fridge is close in functionality/features/looks: well if it's already less expensive than the SZ 650 ($6499 from 2006, believe the price has gone up a little since that quote) it will be difficult to go SZ.

I hope so, xedos. This was definitely a first-world issue, no question, but ouch. We had many issues with the cabinet designer. But back in 2003 when the kitchen was planned there were basically 2 high end built in options -- SZ and Viking. Also Monogram. My cabinet dimensions were standard for both at the time. Cannot fault the fit on this really. Instructions said a 25" cabinet would allow it to fit flush. But having seen the design of the frame, which is about 36-1/4 or so to cover the cut out, I don't see how that would work.What's interesting is that the Miele door is much slimmer than the SZ. It doesn't protrude as much. And having the grill hidden on the bottom makes a difference in the look -- at least for me. It's very neat. I spoke to the dealer about the water filter. When the time comes, I spend $60 on a bypass. End of story. We have a very good water filter on our well pump so it's not needed on the fridge.

Peter NJ makes a good point ("the trend is simple, classic instruments - dials and needles that evoke the early days of aviation. What I think this says about style in general is a return to authenticity. You don't try to hide your cooktop or oven.... So why try to hide the fact that you have a dishwasher?") I totally agree, and I'm also a total sucker for that trend. Witness my Fratelli Onofri range--before buying it I actually had them go open the box in the warehouse and make sure the one they were selling me had the analog clock, not the digital one. Seriously, if this were the appliances equivalent of an al-anon meeting, I would have to get up and confess: "Hello, my name is Ideagirl, and I'm such a sucker for vintage looks that I spent hundreds of dollars more for THE EXACT SAME RANGE because the stores that sold it for less only had ones with digital clocks." HOWEVER, here's the aesthetic reason we got integrated controls on the dw: because they don't seem to make dishwashers whose external controls look like simple, classic instruments. The controls are plastic, digital, etc. If they made a dishwasher with external controls that looked like the instrument panel of a 1938 biplane, I would have had to physically drag my husband away from it... except I wouldn't have, since I would've wanted it too. But they don't, at least not in any price range I would ever pay attention to. So, since those dw's don't seem to exist, we got something that looks classic in a different way: an Asko 5233 with the "towel bar" handle. It doesn't have ANYTHING on the front, not even the manufacturer's name. Looks classic enough for me.

I have had a Bertazzoni 36" gas range with 5 burners for about 7 years now and I absolutely hate it. It replaced a 5 year old Thermador which kept breaking down. When it worked, the Thermador oven was fantastic and the temperature incredibly accurate. My Bertazzoni is quite the opposite: the oven temperature is not calibrated, unless I have a thermometer in the oven, I have no clue what the temp is, I cannot rely on the outside knob, it's inaccurate. My cakes are often burned on the outside and raw on the inside. The bottom of the oven has been curling up, it seems quite flimsy. The igniter broke twice and now, I cannot use the broil setting because it will not ignite. The top burners are ok, the largest one (2 part) is practical for very large pots (we are a large family, we often utilize larger pasta pots) but it still takes for ever for water to boil. Cleaning the burners is quite challenging, especially if liquids boil over. One of my oven lights burnt 2 years ago and no one was able to help me purchase a new one. Customer service at Bertazzoni suggested I go to a lighting shop for a bulb, they were not able to sell me a replacement one. I did just that and was told by 3 shops that they do not carry this type of light bulb. All in all, I would not recommend this gas range. I am now in the market for a new one, does anyone have any recommendations?