Sanyo EM-S6588S 1-Cubic-Foot Microwave Oven, Stainless Steel

I bought this after doing a ridiculous amount of research on microwaves. I'd had a GE Spacesaver microwave for 12 years and when it died, I first checked out Consumer Reports. It gave good ratings to GE, Panasonic, Sears, and Sanyo. I went to look at all but the Sanyo (there were none in my town.) And then I checked out the reviews here, on the Sears and BestBuy sites, and elsewhere. It seems the Consumer Reports doesn't consider service records in any category but automobiles, so its recommendations are of limited value.

EVERYONE complained about the GEs, and the salesperson at BestBuy said that they get a lot of returns and repairs. He said GE sold their small appliance division and the stuff isn't that good anymore. I really wanted to buy such a large item locally to avoid problems getting a repair. But the reviews of the GE, Panasonic, and Sears models I was interested in were just awful (go look for yourself.)

So I bought the Sanyo. It had the least bad...Read more

Bought this microwave to sit on the kitchen counter. Wanted stainless steel finish, wanted mid-size unit, wanted turntable, wanted enough interior volume to hold a dinner plate. This fits the bill on all counts and we like it. Be aware, there are some annoying features: (a) to adjust the power level, you have to hit the power-level button over and over again to "dial down" to the power level that you want. (b) When the cook time is complete the unit beeps INCREDIBLY LOUDLY and repeatedly for several seconds and there isn't any way to adjust the volume. (c) The weirdest thing is that it doesn't stop beeping, even after you open the door to take out your food! It will beep for the pre-set number of beeps before it stops. Poor design, especially if you are heating a baby bottle at 3:00am and don't want to wake the whole house. Every other microwave that I have owned has stopped beeping once I open the door to remove the food.

Just bought this microwave at a local vendor. Its design seems very sturdy
relative to some of the new Sharp microwaves which as another reviewer stated, have their front "windows" covered by a plastic that brings to mind plastic not dissimilar from plastic water bottles. The SANYO has a glass front.
It also seems to heat relatively evenly (relative to our last two microwaves, which died, and the ones I use at work). It's fast and seems to work well.