I have the older Wolf without bridging. It is 3+ years old and has plenty of power.

Not sure if the new model has the same wattage. My big burner has 4000 watts and will heat a pot of pasta water faster than any gas unit.

My only issue - I have a defective LED and when I turn it on, it interacts with the cooktop and the buzzing is much more noticeable. Some day, I will fix it.

Wolf only has one timer- I am fine with this but others might like the individual timers.

I will let others comment on the other brand.

Induction rocks!

a2gemini (I'm a gemini, too): Can you please explain what one timer vs. individual timers means in practice? Do you set the timer and choose just one of 5 burners that the timer will shut off? Thanks!

KG - I think SJ explained it. I am fine with only one timer with mine.

When I was looking at the Bosch flex, I was told that the element default was flex - so I could put a pot anywhere on that area. If I want to use the flex area as 2 separate burners I would have to switch the flex off. Most of the time I don't need more than 3 pots on the cooktop at once, so having the default as flex doesn't seem like a bad idea. Maybe I am missing something? Or do most users have 4 or 5 pots going at once most of the time?

Sherri, What I understood of the Bosch flex is that people generally want to start with one hob and link another, if necessary, not start with flex ON and unlink the hobs, as people use one burner more often than they use the two together. Did I understand you correctly??

Does anyone feel strongly about having individual controls for each hob/burner, versus centralized control, as in the Thermador? My salesperson last week said he felt having individual controls meant that it would be far less likely that I would lose my ability to cook should a control go on the frizz.

Any thoughts on that?

Another question: does anyone have a glass cooktop without stainless steel edging? Are you finding it highly vulnerable to chipping?

I had been planning to purchase a model without any SS trim, but read on Amazon for a specific brand that people were getting chips when they went with the untrimmed model; I assume that can be generalized for all glass cooktops? How careful does one have to be? I would prefer to not worry about crumbs and bits collecting at my cooktop trim.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far. I am realizing that, like any other appliance, one NEVER gets every feature they want!

just a couple of comments:

the wolf for $2300 is a great price!! we bought our miele about 4 years ago and paid $3,000, so that is an awesome price!!

we love the miele 36". have had no problems., love the individual timers and the boost. we don't get any crumbs in and around the unit., which is amazing unto itself, but nothing "sticks" and i can get everything out and cleaned. there is basically no SS, so no scratches.. the red doesn't bother me at all, i think its kind of neat to see the electronics, but that just me :)

good luck!!

My cooktop has stainless trim at the top and bottom, but not the sides. I'm careful, but not what you'd call super-careful and I haven't found the side edges "highly vulnerable" to chipping. We have no chips after 1-1/2 years of daily use.

Thanks sprtphntc and sjhockeyfan325: I really appreciate your comments.

sprtphntc: do you find the wattage on the Miele sufficient? Ever want more?

kitchengirl, I think you are right, people do seem to want to have only a part of the flex hob operational initally, and it would be nice to be able to override the preset, but for me it is not a big issue. You do not need to turn the flex off in order to use one portion of the hob but I suppose it would be safer to do so, and switching it will probably become automatic quickly. I like the idea that there seems to be more flexibility on pot sizes.

sherri1058, I got the feeling from Bosch flex induction posts that users felt they HAD to turn off the linked hob, and thus were annoyed about it, but on the other hand, I thought that induction cooktops sensed when a hob was not used, it shut itself off… so I'm not clear on this at all.

Kitchengirl, is there somewhere you can go for a demo? I was at one appliance store that had a working model. The flex on is the default, so you can put any sized pan on the flex zone. Essentially, because it is a flex zone, it thinks it is only one hob..... So if you were to put a 2nd pan elsewhere on the flex it would also heat to the temperature that you had set. Remember that because it is induction only the pot heats up. Does that make sense? If you wanted to ensure that the unused part of the flex would not react to a pan placed on it, you would need to ensure that the flex is off.

I have a feeling that if Bosch chose Flex off as the default, there would still be people that would complain.

Thanks, sherri1058 — I understand what you're saying. I'm beginning to think a lot of new users of induction aren't that knowledgeable / haven't read their manuals! I think I will check to see if I can read a manual online. I haven't read a positive review of the Bosch, yet it has many features I'm looking for...

Kitchengirl, I think Bosch generally gets good reviews for its cooktops, just not sure about this particular model. Is that because people didn't do their research? Dunno, but the negative reviews don't stem from poor performance, rather it seems it is from having different expectations. I know that sjhockeyfan loves her model. I agree, if you know what to expect you are less likely to be disappointed, and would encourage you to read the online manual before you decide. I also like the specs of this cooktop, I've read the manual and for the money it seems to have most of what I am looking for. Sometimes I wonder if I am overthinking everything, I mean I have bought numerous appliances in the past and have found out and become used to (most of) their features during use. I am planning to put one into my kitchen, but since I am months out, I cannot do anything more at this point than hope it is reliable, which makes it the right choice.

I do love mine, but mine is not "flex" or "freedom" or any of those things. There are a lot of people on GW who love their Bosch "regular" induction cooktops.

Has anyone read about health risks of cooking with induction? I know everything can be spun to be a risk. But I was searching for specs on a model and came across several articles about the emissions exceeding safe levels defined by the Swiss government and European Union, unless you were 12 inches away from the cooktop. Also pacemakers were incompatible with some models. Concerns sounded like those from cell phones and high tension wires. I love induction but didn't consider this.

kitchengirl: i never feel the need for more,, so for us its fine....

htc: there are many threads on GW about the health risks and most/all have been debunked. you basically have to be on top of the unit to have any side effects. as far as pacemakers, if memory serves, i think the same is true, but check that to be sure..

htc: Can you say where these articles were from? Was there any science to back up the claims? We have used induction in our showrooms for years, and Europe has been using induction tops for MUCH longer than that. IMHO it's inappropriate to spread what is likely misinformation on something like this without science to back it up...

sherri1058: I pretty much agree with you: reliability is key for me, but neither the online reviews nor Consumer Reports always gives one a clear bottom line, at least for me. Negative reviews may overly influence me.

But re. the function of appliances these days: I think many digital interfaces are way over-designed with too many layers to go through to set it -- that's what I want to avoid on my oven choice!

sjhockeyfan: Thanks for your input -- I appreciate it. Most of the negative comments have been from the Benchmark flex users, I think. I am trying to "gang" purchases as much as reasonably possible, but expect that will still mean 2-3 brands, at minimum (Bosch cooktop and/or side swing oven + DW, for example).

htc2015: I was given links some time ago (sorry, did not save) that assured me that there were no significant health risks, except some potential risks to a pacemaker user. I am hypochondriacal and have had cancer, so I took this seriously.

Hi Joe, not sure what is bunk vs reality, why I posted. The Swiss and EU do have guidelines. At this link, which cites research, it isn't conclusive since no hob specific, large scale studies were done. There were other citations on google, which like all web things, validity needs to be assessed. However, I didn't stop to realize the technology has emissions, like a microwave and cell phone do. Some manufacturers document certain pacemakers are not compatible. No sales person asked if anyone who cooked in my home had a pacemaker. So I am glad I am getting informed prior to purchasing.

Kitchen girl, glad you are doing well ! Thank you for sharing you had looked into this, too. Nice to know you didn't find any concerns.

http://www.bag.admin.ch/themen/strahlung/00053/00673/03156/index.html?lang=en

BTW, I am seriously considering the new Wolf 36 inch induction top. Has anyone considered or purchased it? Bosch Benchmark is nice, like the timer features, but my gut says Wolf will stand behind theirs longer. I am a tad gun shy after a horrid washer/dryer experience with LG, so I may be letting the marketing on customer service over influence me. (I also found their double oven on serious clearance which makes it in my budget).

htc2015: I am looking at the Wolf now and likely have given up on the Thermador (no linked/flex hobs, one main control for all the hobs), although it has several other very nice features. Wolf's linking of 4 hobs is pretty unique, I think. It also is well-priced relative to other higher-end brands. Fire power is a little lower, but maybe compensated for by the 4 linked burners?

Thank you for your kind wishes.

Kitchen girl: I haven't been able to cook on the BB live to compare. I am not sure if the power makes a huge difference. It appears high enough to sear. At Wolf, the chef did a low simmer in a small pan and there was good heat control. In another thread someone from Wolf said there are smaller heat increments at the low end, and larger at the high end, to offer the widest arrange of temp settings in their 1 - 10 options. BB has more than 10 temp settings, and individual hob timer settings. Wolf only has an overall timer, which doesn't shut off the hob. This all said, I liked the Wolf bridging, ease of use and client service. The distributor here is known for great service, and post install you can go back for cooking sessions with a chef on how to best use it. I can't find similar for Bosch, Thermador in my area. However, if it never breaks, you don't need all that service, lol. So still a bit torn!