I am not sure Bosch is the best choice for a speed oven, and I a, a huge Bosch fan. I would search for reviews here and see what owners say. Is there a reason you ruled out the advantium?

Well, there are a couple of reasons I've focused on Bosch. The main one being that I get a corporate discount, but also because I mostly just want a microwave that doubles as a quality (small) oven. So the presets and combination modes don't interest me that much, and hence I'm not looking to pay a premium for them. I looked at convection microwaves too, but am not sold on those as legitimate ovens.

A have read through all the Bosch speed oven reviews that I can find on here. I see lots of complaints about the limited presets, but as stated I'm okay with that. It's also a bit tricky because the current models have only been around for a few years, as best I can tell. I could step up to a Miele or Advantium, but I'd be paying $600-$1000 more. Doesn't seem worth it.

Following as I'm looking for the same thing and thought a micro/convection was what I needed to get microwave that is also a second oven. The Advantium doesn't work for me because of door opening downward.

All of the speed ovens I've seen (Bosch, GE, Miele, Thermador) have a door that opens downward I'm afraid. Not crazy about that either.

My impression is that steam ovens aren't a great replacement for a microwave. Though it seems the results are far superior, the time difference is significant. I don't want to wait 30 minutes to thaw some frozen stock. Steam ovens are also quite a bit more expensive.

A 220v speed oven isn't a budget appliance. A Sharp micro and an Instant Pot to cook frozen meats will save you thousands.

I ended up calling Bosch and while I wasn't totally convinced the person I talked to had intimate knowledge of the products, she did confirm that the 120V 500 series would likely head more slowly, and (like the 120V GE) cannot run the oven and microwave simultaneously. Instead when the microwave comes on, the oven cycles off.

Given my claim to not care about the speed cook modes I probably don't care too much about the cycling of oven vs microwave. Heating more slowly is a bummer, but maybe not worth $500.

Just following up on this beemshake, did you have any issues with bosch 800 series speed oven? I am about to pull the trigger on the same model. Thank you!

Nope, perfectly happy with it. It's a bit weaker microwave than my old one (which was 1100w), but the extra few seconds to heat things doesn't bother me much. The sound when it goes off is nearly silent, so don't count on using the timer for anything. But we've used it lots as both an oven and a microwave, works great.

Nope, perfectly happy with it. My old microwave was more powerful (was 1100w), so it takes a few more seconds to warm things. And the sound is nearly inaudible, so don't count on using the timer for anything. But we've used both the oven and microwave plenty and it works great.