I shopped around Amazon for a good, reasonable toaster and picked the Krups. Found toaster to be a good product at a fair price. It does the job.

Toaster is okay but, MADE IN CHINA.
Very lightweight and moves around the counter when the toast lever is operated. Toast shading is tricky.

I loved this toaster for two years. It made perfect toast for me and I often use the warming tray. Now I'm on year three and I have to say that the person who pointed out that the guts are cheap and the part that raises the toast up and down gets bent and stuck all the time is correct. It's very dissappointing. A $70+ toaster should last longer.

I researched the best rated toasters and came up with this one. It worked fine for two days and made good toast. The metal parts that hold the bread are so flimsy that they actually bent and jammed the unit. Amazon was great about accepting the return without the packaging.

I got sick of buying $20 toasters that didn't last. This has proven to be the best toaster I've ever had and well worth the difference in price Who said,"You get what you pay for."?

This is a really nice looking toaster, but I wasn't expecting to have to try a bunch of tricks to get a decent slice of toasted bread. The only way that the bread toasts well is if I push the defrost button, otherwise, it comes out sort of toasted on the bottom, toasted on the top, and unevenly toasted in the middle. I don't remember having this problem with my $9.97 toaster that finally burnt out after years of use.

When using the defrost feature for its intended purpose, it works well with unthawing and heating up frozen waffles. The slots are large enough to accommodate the width of the supersize waffles made with my Krups Wafflemaker. Krups FDD912 Expert Waffle Maker with Rotary System I do have to cut them in half because they are longer than the standard waffle. It will also accomodate large bagels, and it seems to toast those better than it does a slice of bread.

The toaster has 8 different browning levels, but in my opinion, using it on anything below 5 takes lightly toasted to a whole new level! I started out on 4 and had to retoast it because it was really light. I finally settled on 6.

I used the warming area once or twice, but since I don't keep the toaster on the counter it's easier to just wrap a croissant in a paper towel and heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.

The cord corral is a nice feature as long as you make sure it's fully extended before using the toaster, otherwise it may get singed or burned from the heat of the toaster. The other feature that I like is the crumb tray. It pulls out for easy cleaning, so yea! no more holding the toaster over the sink or trash to get the crumbs out.

The toaster has a few nice features, but if you are particular about your toast, you may want to try a different toaster because this one will probably cause you grief! I'll make do with it, but I wouldn't buy it again and would only recommend it with reservations.

My sons gave this toaster to me. They did a great job picking one out. The bagel settings are great(slots nice and wide too), love the defrost mode, great to hit with frozen items like waffles, then toast them, they come out perfect. The feature I like best is that you can make smaller items like english muffins pop up higher so that you don't have to use the "fork method". Another great feature is the drawer that slides out sooo easily to clean out the crumbs. With my old toasters I had to turn them upside down, unscrew the tray and shake the toaster to get crumbs out and what a mess! It's so easy to wipe down with wet cloth and always looks clean, goes great with other Stainless appliances too.

We have now owned this toaster for approximately two years and I AM SHOPPING FOR A NEW TOASTER! 1) The toast browns unevenly and it frustrates me every morning. The top of the toast is well browned and the bottom is white. 2) Also, homemade bread slices, no matter how thick, always have to be toasted twice to have them browned at all. 3) However, the most frustrating aspect of this toaster is that the risers that the slices of bread sit on inside the toaster are soft aluminum and are easily bent so that it is difficult to have the toast pop out of the toaster. The lever mechanism for getting the bread out of the toaster is often sluggish and difficult to operate. 4) The thought of warming something up on the recessed top piece is an interesting idea, however, it is stained now and impossible to keep looking clean.

This toaster feel poorly constructed. Perhaps the old adage is true - you get what you pay for. As I search for a new toaster, I know it will NOT be a Krups.

I did give it one stars because it does toast bagels well.

I went through a cheap one, then an Oster, then a T-Fal. I couldn't believe I researched two-slice toasters for 3 days !
You don't need restaurant quality.
This Krups is great.
Follow the directions in the user's guide and you'll have no problems.

did not live up to the reputation I had formed --the bread would not toast on the bottom --had to us a lower setting and turn it over for another cycle before the whole slice was toasted Eyvand Toensing

I've always joked that I'm such a careful shopper, I'd probably spend a week just researching a toaster purchase. Then, when our old toaster died, I did!

Several review sites gushed over this toaster, but we were most disappointed to find that the slots are even shorter (back to front) than our old toaster. Even slightly larger than standard sandwich-size bread has to be pushed down into the slots. Longer Italian or other rustic breads have to put in end-wise.

Now, I wasn't expecting a long-slot toaster, but for the slots to be even shorter than our old Cuisinart is just nuts! How much could it cost to make the slots even an inch longer? (Two inches would be better!)

Other than that, I do have a minor beef with the side-ways lever. (I find it annoying and awkward to push it down to the right.) But that's really a minor issue, that I would have completely overlooked it had it not been for the stingy slot length.

In its favor, I love the bagel setting for bagels and hamburger buns. And the big tray-top is a great idea.

But we like breads of various sizes so much that I'm afraid the search is on again, and this one will be heading to the Goodwill.

A pretty good toaster that works as advertised. Once in a while it toasts unevenly, but not sure if that due to the type or shape of the stuff being toasted. Having the same lever load the toast and also extend it for removal is really handy. All in all, a good purchase.

I must say I was a bit hesitant to order up another new toaster but I can't be happier that I did! For the past 30 years or so it seems that every toaster I owned has been so slow and uneven that I just figured I could never find one that cooks as well as those of the 60's & 70's. Well finally the Krups FEM2B works like a toaster should. It toasts quickly and evenly and when done the front lever can be turned to the left to raise the toast up for easy removal. No more burned fingers or forks stuck into the slots to remove the toast! This is a very solid and well built product. The price is reasonable for a toaster that works so well and I don't see how anyone could be disappointed in it's performance.

The toaster handles breads and bagels well and has an innovative twist handle which both lowers the toast (clockwise twist) and raises it for smaller items (CCW). However the toaster fails on its toast settings. Turning the toast dial fully clockwise produces a bagel that is browned on the edges only. There is no way a user can recalibrate the knob and customer support was readily available, but useless. The defrost function works well but the bagel setting leaves the outsides almost untoasted. The two buttons can be used singly or together.

It's too bad as the toaster could have been a great product based on its intended design.

As well as not toasting evenly, the slots of this toaster are too short for the sliced bread I use - opening is just under 5 inches long. I have to cut the crusts off the bread to fit it in the toaster. I do like the toaster's ability to raise shorter items (like muffins) that you would otherwise have to fish out with a fork. Crumb tray is very easy to remove at base of model. Space above toaster gets REALLY hot when it's on the higher settings - not suitable for low undercounter spaces.

This is in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, so I thought it would be the best. Toast comes out overdone on top and with lines, as another reviewer noted. Eggo waffles get hard but not browned. And it takes up a lot of counter space. I'll try the Breville -- they make a great blender.

Performs flawlessly. Bagle setting keeps bagles and English Muffins from burning or getting hard on the outside. Browns very evenly. Lift function ensures that even smaller items are easy to extract without having to resort to a fork or tongs.

I have had this toaster a week and am very happy with it. I like my english muffins well toasted and this is the first toaster to toast them to my satisfaction. Bagels come out great as does regular toast!

Krups FEM2B 2-Slice Toaster, Black & Silver

Most toasters we've had don't toast evenly on both sides. This Krups does very well because there are 9 heating elements on each side of both slots and they are evenly matched by their brightness (I noticed our last toaster was weak on both inner sides). We especially like the feature that allows smaller cuts of bread to be raised higher than usual so you can easily grab it instead of burning your fingers or electrocuting yourself (or having to disconnect the toaster and use a fork). So far, so good. We hope it will continue to give us great pieces of toast and bagels. We haven't used the "warming" tray yet but when the time comes, we know it's there.

Does what it promises and more. Nice wide slots, sensitive settings for degree of toastiness, nice looking stainless & black design. A nice extra is the fact that the top grate will hold larger items to be warmed--like muffins, etc. I'm very happy with it.

It's a nice toaster and works well so far but it's a bit big and round which is hard to tell from pictures. I prefer slimmer and sleek for counter space. But having said that it makes good toast which is the number one thing it should do. Being able to get the toast up out of it easily with it's neat little lever is very handy when you are toasting smaller things that in a normal toaster you would lose.

This toaster does exactly what you buy a toaster to do. Toasts a variety of breads at the desired settings. I would definitely buy this toaster again.

Krups FEM2B 2-Slice Toaster, Black & Silver makes toast, bagels, and warms rolls. The toast color selector at medium brown setting made it so. The toaster lever will raise up extra high if you have a small piece of bread or toaster pastry and it is easy to clean. Well done Krups.

I was quite surprised to see so many poor reviews...I love this toaster. It was given to me as a gift, and I don't have any complaints. I have had this for maybe 2 years now, and I really like it; it toasts well, cleans up nicely, and has all of the features that I could want.

This is the 5th toaster I've purchased in the past few years. and all I ask for a toaster to do is evenly toast a slice of bread but can't seem to find one! This one burns the top half of the toast and the bottom is not toasted. VERY frustrated. Threw out the box, or I would have returned it right away.

I did a lot of research and really loved this toaster up until the day it broke!It looks good,toasts all sizes of bread and bagels well.But less than a year from purchase one of the little metal supports for the bread bent and "jumped the track".I managed to push it back temporarily but I have to replace it.

Have had this thing for about a year and I give up. Unless you slice your bread an inch and a half thick, it burns the slice on the edges and dries it out in the middle.

I love this toaster, bought the 2 slice because I don't like to use alot of counter space & how much toast do you need to make at one time, could only butter so much so quick. I like the fact that you can turn the dial & the toast come up about an inch above the hot element, no more burnt fingertips. I would definitely buy again or as a gift.
Susan

Tried it for a week. We had to set it to the highest settings just to lightly brown the toast. Too high and it burned. We were going to try another since we like Krups products, but bought a more powerful T-Fal instead.This one may have been defective.

Overall we like this toaster better than any ones we've had before. The only thing I don't like is that the warming tray that fits over the top has a tendency to get jostled by the toast when it tries to pop up. I do like the features of the lever to raise the toast out of the toaster therefore avoiding burning one's fingers and of the crumb tray which is so well designed that it slides smoothly out and in.

Krups FEM2B 2-Slice Toaster, Black & Silver

The toaster is well build but the slot for the bread is too short and two narrow to be really useful. The slots are too short for normal bread and too narrow for bagles. It works reasonably well, but I should not have to force bread into the slots. You must use the top tray to toast a bagle. If the slots were an inch longer and half an inch wider, this would be a fine toaster.

This toaster has a really friendly user interface. However, it won't toast my bread darkly. I would think a german manufacturer would get this right since germans love hard breads.

Using a 3/4 inch (1.5 cm) thick slice of sour dough bread, it hardly toasts at all and has no color whatsoever --even at the highest setting. Very frustrating.

I'm going to return it.

I bought two of these with high recommendations but they are not well made. In both of my toasters the metal piece that holds the bread for toasting bends out of shape easily and comes out of its groove which require me to reshape and put it in. In addition it no longer provides even toasting. Stay away

After some research, I narrowed my choices to the FEM2W (White), the Breville Ikon, and the small $30 Cuisinart CPT-120. Went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to see what they looked like. They only had the Cuisinart. Ordered the Breville and the Krups. Returned the Breville, kept the Krups. The Cuisinart looked nice, but I thought the Krups looked better, and I liked its features. The Breville was not bad. I didn't like it because:

1. It was difficult to set the browning control to the right level, and there was no way to return to that same setting later if I strayed. The Krups knob has 22 clicks, every third of which is labeled with a number.
The Breville did not click. True, it has a nice digital display, but I did not find it practical.

2. The crumb tray is on the left, the browning control is on the front, and the push-down handle is on the right. The Krups has everything on the same side. I also preferred the Krups position on the counter.

3. It was not nearly as attractive as the Krups.

Both toasters toasted pretty well. 6 on the Krups was about the same as 4 on the Breville, a nice light brown. The Breville was slightly darker at these settings. (I used standard size whole-wheat.) Both had the same problem of not browning the bottom third, but they did well when I put the bread in upside-down. I suspect this has something to do with the moisture content of bread kept in the refrigerator.

If you like English muffins, you might prefer the Breville.

When you take the Krups out of the box, you have to run it twice at the highest setting with no bread in it. This is to burn off the factory coating. Directions say to ventilate the house. This is definitely a good idea. Open a window and turn on an exhaust fan. It stinks!

I suspect those who had problems with streaking and sticking failed to do this.

The burn-off was not necessary with the Breville.

With both toasters, browning was not 100% consistent. I think this is because they are wide-slot toasters. Even though they have the holders in the slots, they only hold the toast at the top. The bottom of the slice does not get pushed to the center.

My 25-year-old eight-dollar Proctor-Silex was more consistent and more even, but it did not have wide slots.

Both toasters cost $60. If you find a cheaper one, it is probably reconditioned.

I agree, $60 is too much for a toaster. If you don't want to spend this much, look at the $30 Cuisinart. It has a good review in Consumer Reports. (The $15 Proctor-Silex has had some problems.)

All in all, I think the Krups is very satisfactory. I really like the way it looks on my counter, and I like how it works. I recommend it.

October 2, 2007: Krups toaster still works as well as it did the first day; no changes; no problems. I have yet to try a bagel or an english muffin. I keep it set on 5 plus one click. This is a little on the light side. When I go up one click, toast is substantially browner but
consistency varies more (according to brand and age of bread). Moisture and density of bread appear to be factors. I continue to put the bread in upside-down for best results.

After the third toaster in less than a month, I found the Krups FEB2b to be everything you need in a toaster. No more having to watch to make sure the toast didn't burn. Excellent toaster. Work exactly like it should.