Manufacturing Engineer Finally Finds a Decent Toaster!

My search for a decent toaster oven has been a royal pain in the botox! The vast majority of the units I researched and inspected (online and in stores) are only a half-step up from tin foil Easy Bake ovens. Some may work well but they are made of junk parts assembled in Chinese slave labor camps.
This Krups is definitely better than the others. It is made from much better parts (still assembled in Chinese slave labor camps).
But seriously, the quartz heaters are the way to go and main the selling point for this unit.
I originally purchased a T-Fal Elite but returned it after 1 evening. It looked nifty on my counter and felt solid, but like most units it simply did not heat up very fast and did not have enough heat intensity near the coils. The Krups quartz heaters heat up in a matter of seconds (just like "real" toasters!) and are very intense which means I can actually toast bread in 2-4 minutes (cinnamon toast..mmm) whereas the T-Fal was over 7 minutes. (I actually timed them both) If the primary purpose of these things is to toast & broil then they should probably do so - and do it well. Sad to say, many don't. The Krups does.
One of the things I liked about the T-Fal was that it had heater elements that wound back and forth on top and bottom. This gave the illusion that it would cook evenly and heat up quickly. My experience was that neither was true. Although not intuitive, the 3 rows of quartz heaters top & bottom on the Krups actually heat the food more evenly and since they are more intense, they broil and crisp faster. The wattage of the Krups is the same as the T-Fal (1600 watts) but the heat comes on much faster and is more intense.
The interior of the Krups is also superior to most others as it is a non-stick coating. So do the pans that come with it. (lets face it "non-stick" actually = "less stick") This makes a big difference when pulling the pans in and out of the interior as there is less binding and scraping of the oven sides. They glide in and out much more smoothly than the models with the "self cleaning" (bogus term) or plain metal sides.
The pans also feel a bit heavier & thicker than the other models I looked at. The non-stick surfaces also make it far easier to clean.
In some reviews people wished that this unit had automatic trays that pulled out when the door was opened. (Oddly it is the cheaper brands have this option) I thought that might be a nice option too until I saw display models in the stores that were failing. In addition, most of the "automatic" tray mechanisms only pull the tray out a couple of inches. This is not enough to make much of a difference and certainly not enough to offset the increased likelihood of failure or the increased difficulty of changing the rack heights.
(tip: look carefully at display models in stores - especially ones that have been on the floor for a while. If they are broken, chances are they will break for you too. Example: Every single store I visited, the Rival convection toaster had a stuck temp. knob. Sure enough, online reviews were scathing because the knobs were failing)
The overall quality of the unit is better than most - although that is not saying much. Toaster oven manufacturers are convinced that because this is a mature market where cheap prices rule, quality and innovation are NOT paramount - only price and styling. Given this most unfortunate manufacturing landscape, the Krups wins - almost hands down.
Yes, the beeper is loud - although it is exactly the same volume as my microwave and is that way for a reason: So you can hear it in another room.
Yes, the unit gets hot on the outside. I believe this is a design defect. However, I also recognize that these products are, at their core, simple metal boxes with heaters in them. They all get hot if they are left on for more than 10 minutes on "high". Regardless of what others claim, they ALL do - I plugged in most while in the stores. The plastic ones get less hot, but they are far more prone to heat damage (warping, cracking, discoloration etc). Still, it is a problem that 2 cents worth of insulation and an extra .005 cents in Chinese slave labor would fix. All companies should fix this. (The T-Fal makes use of this "hot" problem via a warming tray on top of their unit. This is a very neat idea but, as with most manufacturers of these products, they implemented it poorly. It burns the bottom of the food and leaves the tops cold.
The Krups has digital controls which take approximately 4 seconds longer than most knobs. However, I learned to STAY AWAY from the clickity-clack tick, tick ding timers & knob controls. It is physically impossible to accurately repeat times & temps. (Hmmm...lets see here...I guess 275 deg. is somewhere between this dot & that dot) Thus, you must sit and watch the cooking process each and every time. In addition, some knob timers don't turn off the unit at the end of the cook cycle. This is a serious and dangerous design defect. Others are designed to turn off at the end of the cook cycle but simply fail to do so because they are cheap junk. (several display models of various brands had this problem)
Some people also complained about the crumb tray in the Krups. I'm not sure why. Open the door, pull out the crumb tray, empty it - that's it. I'm not sure what is tough about this act.
Contrary to what I have read, the convection fan is very quiet - certainly quieter than my regular oven vent fan.

All in all, and relatively speaking, this is a very good unit - certainly the best I found during my week long, rather obsessive journey.

If you are still a fence sitter, buy this one for the quartz heaters alone. They really are far superior. Or, buy this one and another (any) brand with standard heating coils and compare them side by side, simultaneously with the same food on the same setting. Simply return the one that does not perform up to your expectations. I think you will be blown away by the difference.