Searched & Searched - Glad I chose this one!

I had researched convection ovens until I got myself confused. However, I found myself always coming back to the Delonghi AR690 Model. For me it is just the right size for my small counter space.

It comes with: 2 convenient racks that can both be used at the same time. And it has a broiling rack, 2 cookie sheets, a shallow pan & a crumb tray plus a rack lifter that allows you to remove the racks from the hot oven. The racks are sturdy so when you place something a bit heavy on them they are not going to sag. It also comes with an easy to understand instruction booklet which explains how to use each feature of this oven & it has pictures that make it easy to understand what they are explaining..and...it even has recipes in it for you to try.

This oven cooks evenly! Plus the convection fan isn't near as loud as I thought it would be. The fan isn't nearly as loud as the fan on my range hood. You can hardly even notice the fan at all. The fan only runs when baking in the convection mode.

Since purchasing my DeLonghi convection oven I have not even thought of using the oven that is in my stove. Why heat up a large oven when you don't have to! My stove oven has become a storage place for skillets, etc.

I had seen these ovens for sale at online auctions for half of what I ended up paying for mine. But, I was concerned about ordering or bidding on one at an online auction & possibly having it shipped to me & getting damaged or not liking the oven. So I decided to order from Amazon.com & if it would have arrived damaged or if I needed to return it I could do so rather than having to keep something I purchased at auction that I didn't like. I know it cost me more this way but I have no regrets.

I find that this convection oven makes things crispier when using it in the convection mode. It does bake things about 25-30% quicker. If fact, the first few times I used it I ended up getting the things I was making a little on the burned side. I have learned now to check the items I'm cooking & when my kitchen timer goes off..don't dilly dally around. It's quite easy to check the items..this oven has an interior light that stays on while it is in use!

I'm a newbie to convection ovens & so far this oven has made the best pizza with the crispiest crust ever! It has made the best peanut-butter applecrisp I have ever made! It bakes pies like I've never baked before! The 6 pound ham I made it in turned out moist & juicy!! I can't make a 9x13 cake in it. But I compromise & make two 9x9 or 8x8 cakes & make a layer cake(which I haven't done in years! So it is a nice change for the family to have a layer cake!) or put the 2 layers side by side before I frost them which makes a single layer cake.

Now then, I haven't used the toaster function & the dehydrate function. The only part of the toaster function that I use is the timer part. You can set that timer for a total of 5 minutes (this is the only timer on the oven). Even though it is for the toasting feature it will still ding when you turn it to remind you to check the items your baking. However, the toaster knob does have a setting that you need to use and is just one click to the right & this is the 'Oven On' setting which turns the unit on. The broiler works fast & wonderfully too! The fan/heat doesn't shut off when you open the door..but that doesn't bother me at all.

Clean up is a breeze. I have had no problems at all with the shelves being hard to remove. Mine just slides right out. The crumb tray just slides out so I can clean it and slides right back in. For nasty spill overs..all I had to do was lay a wet paper towel over the place where something stuck to the crumb tray & it seemed like in no time it became unstuck so I could wipe it off. The interior of this oven is 12" wide x 10" deep x 7 3/4" tall. It's easy to get your hand in there and wipe it down. For the outside of the oven. The one I chose is the retro model which is chrome on the outside with black trim. So far I've not gotten anything on it besides fingerprints from using it! I've just had to wipe it off with a wet cloth so far. A bit of window cleaner to maintain it's shine wouldn't hurt now & then.

I chose to not go with the digital settings. I like the fact of being able to set the functions of the oven myself rather than depend on digital. I also didn't go for the rotisserie feature. I didn't feel that the extra cost for the rotisserie would be beneficial to the way I wanted to use the oven.

The oven has 3 knobs down the right side. I didn't choose the digital model, I felt more comfortable with the knob settings. I guess I'm ole fashioned & trusted myself with the knob settings that I grew up with. Somehow the knobs seemed easier for me to understand.-- The top knob is the temperature setting which allows you to set the temperature settings from: Keep Warm, 200° to 450° and Broil. The middle knob is for the Toast feature & to turn the oven on. The middle 'Toast' knob goes from light to middle to dark & will ding when the setting you chose is done. The bottom knob is for choosing the features of the oven which are: Broil-Defrost-Toast-Bake-Convection Bake & Dehydrate. For example, to bake something in the convection mode all you need to do is turn the oven on.. set the top knob at the temp you want to bake at & turn the bottom knob to fan/bake (which is convection bake).

The knobs on the oven are not flimsy & the door is a good quality door too. I have had toaster ovens in the past where the door would allow heat to come out because they were just flimsy. The door on this oven closes very good. I also like the idea of the 2 racks. It allows you to bake 2 racks of cookies at one time. I haven't used this oven for cookies yet..hmm.. maybe this weekend I will get around to that.

Even though I leave the oven on my countertop I still have to move it near an outlet to use it. (Old homes don't have many outlets!) It has 2 very nice built in handles (that don't even look like handles)to help you move it. The handles appear to be just part of the black trim around the bottom. It's pretty evenly balanced & moving it from one place to another hasn't been any trouble. It DOES take 2 hands to lift it..it is not lightweight like other toaster ovens I've had in the past.

Even tough it was on the pricey side.. I'd buy it all over again. Since I bought this convection oven I have been thinking up things that I can make in it..things that usually turned out soggy or not quite up to our liking in my normal oven. And besides, why would I want to heat up a big stove oven for just an applecrisp or 2 pies (I bake them one at a time in the DeLonghi and it is much easier than using the big oven) or a casserole.

Overall I'm glad I chose the Delonghi. I looked online for info on other models and even went to some stores & looked for myself at some other models & wasn't pleased with what I saw. Sure they were cheaper priced & they just seemed thrown together. I was not able to find a DeLonghi in any of the stores in my area so I took a big jump of a chance & bought one online. I'm not sorry that I did.

I've only had this oven 2 1/2 months and so far so good! It even looks like a quality appliance. Now then, I'm sure there is a dud (something that isn't the way it's suppose to be) or two in anything that is manufactured. That is part of the life we live. I didn't get a dud.. what I received is an appliance that I'm quite pleased with & so far, 2 1/2 months into owning it..should something happen to it.. I'd replace it with the same thing.