There have been a number of threads here at Houzz even recently on this topic if you'd like to search the archives. Most contributors prefer the convection steam oven if given a choice between the two you've listed. Speed ovens are redundant in a sense for many people who already have regular ovens and microwaves. Many people with steam ovens love them and use them a lot.

From my sense of things, the combi-steam oven is a steam oven with convection, and the speed oven is a convection oven with microwave assist. If I want steam in my oven I put a pan of water in it. Is it the same as injecting steam? No, but it’s close enough for me.

The speed oven - I’ve used an Advantium - is more of a ground breaker, and it replaces your microwave, so, bonus. It gives you the best of conventional, convection, and microwave cooking all at once, and it really does cook quickly. It could cut your dinner cook time by a lot.

I have neither, but were I to buy new ovens now, I’d consider the speed oven.

I know nothing about the speed oven but I did have an Advantium in my last house which was so-so imo.

with that being said, I now have the Wolf combi above the Wolf wall oven. I also had a Gagg combi in my last house.

if I only got to keep one thing in my kitchen..it would be my steam oven. It is the best...

@ILoveRed, tell us more about it. What do you cook, how does the combi-steam oven make it cook better?

I’m pretty sure Advantium is a speed oven - first one on the market I believe. What did you use it for? How did it disappoint?

Thanks for your input. We don’t often get feedback from people who have used both.

Thanks for the info!

YW

Thanks!

ILoveRed, are you able to describe for me what cleaning the Wolf convec-steam entails? I want to understand how messy it is to clean after using the steam or convection steam mode AND how hard/easy it is to clean up all the spattering etc from when you use it purely as a convection oven. Thanks!

Honestly, my dh cleans it.....because I can’t easily reach the back. Unscrew the screws (2) on each side, take off side pieces that hold the racks (or pans). These are very simple to remove and put back on. I run steam only for about 20 minutes to soften the debris. Cool off and wipe condensation from the bottom. Then he cleans it with a microfiber cloth and Bar Keepers Friend. Then I like to steam again and wipe out again. He probably uses a little more elbow grease than if I were doing it but it comes out spotless.

the instructions may say something else...can’t quite remember but this works well for us. here‘s pic of the inside..Embarrassed that it’s clearly due for cleaning. I probably clean every 2 months or so. But I wipe the condensation from the bottom after every use.

we had the Gagg in our last house. It was plumbed and required descaling...process and pieces were more complicated. thats why I like this oven better.

the piece to the left of the screw is for the temp probe.

Thanks. I've heard from others that it's pretty easy to clean but I think I'm strongly leaning toward the Miele. NOT for ease of cleaning, for sure. But because the CSO will stack over a conventional convection oven and it seems as if everyone but the showroom sales force has had or knows someone who's had Wolf blue porcelain chipping or crazing issues. I'd rather have a hard to clean, and even a bit unclean, oven coupled with one I can use vs an easy to clean CSO coupled with a convection oven that can't be used as I wait for someone to replace the liner....

I didn’t consider Miele because we have no local Miele service. But everyone loves it here so it must be a good oven.

good luck!

We have a Wolf CSO and it is used multiple times every day. It is hands-down the best decision we made for our kitchen remodel 4 years ago. Everything comes out great and it heats up so quickly, it’s awesome for steaming veggies, roasting a turkey and everything in between. It’s also much better than the microwave for reheating leftovers! We also have a Miele range with 2 ovens, yet the Wolf CSO is our go- to oven for most things. Cleaning is no big deal at all. I highly recommend it!

I have the induction, 42" sub zero, 30" oven and steam oven over it. I love it. We use it every day and would never have a home without it.

@Kathy Harrington Do you have the wolf induction and oven/steam? I'm debating between this or Thermador freedom with their oven/steam. Any input?

I have Miele conbi steam in garage about to be installed. Ruled out Wolf over still present issues with blue interiors crazing.

I have had no problems with either my oven or steam oven. They have been delightful to use. I wish they had more recipes and suggestions on how to cook with the steam oven. I also have an induction cooktop and after the warranty was over, one of the blowers below the burner broke and the part was no longer made. Wolf stood behind their product and I got a brand new unit for a small fee. I’m currently building a new home and am using Wolf/SubZero again although probably the range and steam oven. Good luck with your decision

Just realized I didn’t quite answer. I have an induction cooktop and a 30” steam oven above a 30” M wall oven. All amazing

I just got the wolf speed oven and so far so good. I just did a partial kitchen remodel and got the 36 inch all gas wolf so wanted a smaller electric oven for a 2nd oven or for smaller meals. I also was happy to ditch my countertop microwave. I had space in my cabinets to put the 24" oven in without a lot of carpentry needed. The24" seems to be the same interior size as the 30" model, only the outer casing is different.

At first I was a bit thrown off by the fact that the microwave turntable turns even when using convection mode but I've found that with the low riser its great for cakes and pies. They rotate as they cook very evenly. I haven't tried any of the microbake or microroast settings yet and the "gourmet" modes seem sort of silly, mostly just plain microwave.

@stillwatergal

im a bit confused. i thouht the Wolf convection steam oven did NOT have the blue interior. am i mistaken?

So angry about my purchase of the Made in USA 30" Wolf convection steam oven. I documented the problems in videos. The engineers need to be fired. What a mistake. Fraudulent representations of performance. Thinking I got a lemon, Wolf replaced it for me. Same problems. And I went to a showroom to test their models. Same problems: Be forewarned:

1. Temperature is innaccurate: After preheating for over 1/2 hour, the oven was between 40 and 25 degrees cooler no matter which temperature I selected. I never was able to get it up to 440, even in the TEST kitchen that sells these overpriced promises. Fraudulent not only because the temperature the oven registers is not accurate, but also because the booklet that comes with the oven clearly states the temp can get up to 445, which is NOT even a setting option.

2. "proofing" : nobody could answer the question as to whether the oven supplies moisture during proofing. The proofing temp was consistently MORE than the set temp.

3. "Steam" temp is purportedly available between 90 degrees and 210. Obviously, steam is not steam at 90 degrees. It's rain.

4. I am an experienced home baker. Croissants, kouign ammans, baguettes. You cannot bake bread in this oven. You can get a gluey, shiny soft mass of what had promise to be a lovely product. Bafflingly, The Gourmet Plus setting has you place proofed dough in a COLD oven in order to start steaming. (!) You know how stupid that is if you do any bread baking. Once the Gourmet Plus Bread and Pastry setting starts, condensation pours down the door for about 15 minutes until the oven (I suppose) goes to convection and never achieves a temperature (which I set to 440) adequate to make crust brown. The condensation pools on the bottom of the oven, so the oven can NEVER become a dry environment if you have used steam. Thus the claim that this oven is for bakers is ... inexcusable. Shameful.

5. The broiler does not broil. Never becomes red. You can make croutons if you like. Or light toast. Or just dry out some bread.

6. What does it do well? Large quantities of things that don't require much heat. It defrosts and bakes lasagna and the top gets crispy, but not as crispy as it would if you had a working broiler. I reheats leftovers perfectly using the automatic settings. It steams eggs to make masses of hard boiled eggs without needing to place them in a pot and dump out boiling water. It steams vegetables and fish. I did make a roast using the probe. That works. It does not adequately brown the roast, and you will never get a browned chicken, although it claims to do that. You can make anything you want that uses a very low temp. Like yogurt, or slow cooking pork shoulder. Custards.

7. What is confusing? Everything. Setting a timer for instance. Will the oven STOP itself after the timer has gone off? Sometimes, sometimes not. There is no instruction manual to cover how ANY of the the settings actually behave.

8. Disappearing clock. The clock only becomes bright enough to read from across the room when you touch it to do a command. As soon as you make a setting start, the clock disappears, and the timer font is TINY so you actually have to get near the oven to check on the timing.

9. I "think" you can set it to end cooking at a particular time, but frankly I don't trust it to ruin any more foods I have lovingly put together.

@Cheryl Lilienstein, is this the new Wolf CSO released last year? It's made in the US and not the V-Zug rebadged one? It's so hard to find information about these things. Thanks!

@Cheryl Lilienstein thank you so much for taking the time to write a detailed review. I had this Wolf CSO new in 2017 and loved it for years until we moved. Am considering buying a new one for kitchen remodel. The detail and content of your post makes me believe you are 100% accurate in your assertions about this product and therefore gives me pause about buying the same type/model/year that you did. Do you have any additional input about which specific model this is and when you purchased it? What does Wolf have to say about the proven inaccuracies of the temps and the settings? Thank you for any additional info you can provide.

Model number CSO 3050, so it's the 30" width which has a larger cavity than earlier models. Maybe the your earlier model was better? The first unit I purchased came in a box that stated "made in Switzerland" so not made in USA. You'd think that means "better" but maybe it's just a factory second from Switzerland. The second one was "made in USA." . The replacement unit behaved similarly to the first. After I complained again, Repair people came and replaced the controller, the broiler and the thermostat, and I think the temps are slightly higher than before, but I'm not risking trying to make anything that requires accuracy. The repair people agreed that the "flame" that indicates preheating is completed is useless. They used a test thermometer and also saw discrepancies between the registered temperature and their thermometer, even after replacing the thermostat. They could not get the oven above 430. Nor could they get the broiler to achieve anything like a broiling temperature. Wolf confirmed that the boiler element will never turn red. So it's not really a broiler ! (Considering it will never get "high", what does "low" "medium" or "high" even mean? A temperature would help here, but no. Your guess is as good as the oven's.) The steam function is slightly better after replacement parts. Less drenching. The Wolf repair people told me that they have received NO TRAINING on this model, and so they couldn't answer my questions regarding which function does what. Wolf similarly could not give me a technical handbook or more clarity about anything, even though they tried to unearth some info. They were very nice, solicitous, but not informative. I do think the Gourmet functions that use the probe work well, and it reheats with accuracy so there's something to say for the software intelligence? Roasted Chicken was cooked perfectly, although the skin did not become brown. Roasted pork, also good. Reheating frozen lasagna, perfect. Yogurt, perfect. And it makes nice cookies at 350 degrees, I have since learned more about the timer. If you select the timer with one of the Gourmet or Gourmet Plus settings, it WILL turn the oven off. Otherwise, I think not, although I'm not really sure. It just beeps until you stop it. Hope this helps. I suppose if you have a kitchen with room for two ovens, and one of them has a non-convection option, a broiler, and an accurate thermostat, then this would be fine. But I'm using my big Breville toaster oven more than I used to for broiling and crisping. Hope this helps! I'm curious what you'll decide...and glad to help you with my experience...

Cheryl Lilienstein

Did you ever use, or consider, a Miele CSO instead? Or is the Wolf 30" CSO your first experience with a CSO? I'm currently trying to decide between the two brands. I have seen much positive feedback in the CSO forums of people really enjoying their new Wolf 30" models, so it's a bit surprising to see your feedback.

Sorry, no experience with Miele. Buying the Wolf was already a stretch, and Miele was even more. For about 5 years I have enjoyed using the Anova convection steam oven that has a broil, direct, or convection setting option. You can set the percent steam you want. (The Wolf does whatever it is programmed to do with NO info regarding amount of steam) The Anova does heat up to 489 degrees f. (Focaccia) It’s an inexpensive countertop oven and because I don’t want ruined cabinetry, it’s outside in a covered kitchen. It gives accurate readings, almost instantly. It works better than the Wolf for controlling temps. But the volume is maybe half that of the Wolf CSO so possibly that makes accurate temp possible? Meaning, you can see temps go down after opening the door, while the Wolf gives you no feedback at all. So if you wanted to quickly lower a temperature and hold it there, you’d be guessing with the Wolf.

If I was looking at Miele, those are issues I’d examine. Steam control, temp control, broiler function, and a wifi control option.

I use Yale Appliance reviews: I think I remember Miele is controllable with wifi and has lots of (what I now think would be) useful settings…

Good luck.