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  • About the Cove

  • What we like

  • What we don’t like

  • The warranty

  • Should you buy this dishwasher?

  • Related content

  • About the Cove
  • What we like
  • What we don’t like
  • The warranty
  • Should you buy this dishwasher?
  • Related content

Pros

  • Custom panel-ready

  • 5-year full-service warranty

Cons

  • Very expensive

  • Has issues with food redeposit

It's hard to imagine choosing the Cove over a more cost-effective dishwasher. However, if your dream kitchen renovation includes a Sub-Zero fridge and a Wolf range, the Cove could be the dishwasher you've been dreaming of. Is it the perfect dishwasher? Not even close. But if your dishwasher needs are as much about style as substance, it may be just the ticket.

About the Cove

A panel-ready dishwasher does not come with a door, so it can be made to match your kitchen.
Credit: Sub-Zero Wolf

A panel-ready dishwasher does not come with a door, so it can be made to match your kitchen.

Dimensions: 34.5”x 23.25” x 23.625” (HxDxW) • Panel Ready: Yes; door sold separately • WiFi Enabled: The Cove has an app that shows cycle times and rinse aid levels • Interior lighting: Yes • Third rack: Yes • Warranty: Five years

The third rack is just large enough to fit a ladle.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The third rack is just large enough to fit a ladle.

What we like

While the exterior of the panel Cove makes is attractive, it is not finger-print resistant.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

While the exterior of the panel Cove makes is attractive it is not finger-print resistant.

A timeless exterior: While we don’t know what the future will hold, we’re pretty sure that stainless steel appliances will be in style for years to come. The Cove has a design that is both simple and extremely luxurious. Since the DW2450 is a panel-ready dishwasher, you can technically choose any exterior you want. We opted to install the stainless steel panel manufactured by Cove and were pleased to find that it had the luster of a sturdy metal, not the stainless steel–textured plastic we sometimes find with other dishwashers. It also wasn’t too shiny, so it won’t become distracting when you turn on your kitchen lights. However, we should point out that the finish isn’t fingerprint resistant, and it is a pain to clean.

The Cove has plenty of room of stemware and champagne flutes.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The Cove has plenty of room of stemware and champagne flutes.

Marvelous interior: Normally, when guests gawk at a kitchen, they marvel at matching appliances, beautiful finishes, and exotic countertops (why yes, that is Pentelic marble, the same stuff the Parthenon is made of). The Cove is of a different breed. It begs you to open it and show off the inside. When you pop the door open, you’re greeted by a sea of adjustable tines, walls of stainless steel, and a third rack.

All the adjustable tines helped us place in pans as well as plates.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

All the adjustable tines helped us place in pans as well as plates.

Most dishwashers offer a row or two of tines that fold down, but the Cove allows you to adjust them all. Most dishwashers offer tines that can be stood straight up or folded all the way down. The Cove, by contrast, has tines that have six different settings, ranging from straight up to at a 45° angle. The stainless steel walls not only help amplify the internal lights, but also muffles sound down to an average of 42 dBA. Even while standing next to the Cove, we couldn’t tell if it was on or off just by listening. Finally, third rack is just deep enough to fit a ladle.

The many options of the Cove can be accessed via the scren.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The many options of the Cove can be accessed via the scren.

Options, options, options: The Cove is a micromanager’s dream. This dishwasher has 11 cycles and options galore. You can set it to clean the upper racks only, set the rinse aid levels, even adjust the tension on the door. This model even has an indicator light that shines on the ground—red when it’s working, blue for a delay cycle, and green when it’s done.

What we don’t like

While the exterior of the panel Cove makes is attractive it is not finger-print resistant.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

A set of testing spoons and dishes after a Normal cycle.

Stain removal performance: The Cove does not have washing dishes on loch. But really, this dishwasher’s ability to remove food particles is kind of a joke, considering its high price. During lab tests, we noticed that the adjustability of the tines worked against the Cove in some cases. We found it difficult to find the right angle to accommodate large and small bowls at the same time. Test results for cutlery were also less than stellar, both when we used the basket and the third rack.

This is the end result after washing egg-dipped spoons and a marinara-drenched ladle with the top-rack-only cycle.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

This is the end result after washing egg-dipped spoons and a marinara-drenched ladle with the top-rack-only cycle.

Finally, there were multiple times when the Cove failed to deal with burnt-on sugar. It may have to do with the fact that the internal water heater inside the Cove rarely got above 140°F, but perhaps the jets didn’t get a good angle on our ramekin.

Redeposit: We measure redeposit to see whether food removed from one plate sticks to another. We use bowls stained with spinach to check for redeposit since it shows up bright green on our stark-white plates. After every test cycle, we found flecks of green all over the plates. This isn’t a death knell by any means—most dishwashers have issues with this amount of spinach—but the amount of redeposit here concerned us.

The warranty

The Cove DW2450 comes with a five-year full-service warranty. We expect that getting your Cove fixed will be a relatively hassle-free experience since Sub-Zero Wolf is known to have excellent customer service.

Should you buy this dishwasher?

We'd rate the user experience on the Cove as excellent.
Credit: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

We'd rate the user experience on the Cove as excellent.

After spending weeks testing, we found this American-made luxury dishwasher to be in good standing. Sure, its stain-removal numbers show the Cove is better suited to deal with tapas than casseroles, but that’s the luxury market in a nutshell. You'll need to do a little more hand-washing before putting dishes in the dishwasher, but that's a small price to pay.

The DW2450 is the Birkin bag of home appliances. It's well-made and stylish, but the Cove is primarily a status symbol. It’s the final piece of the luxury kitchen puzzle from Sub-Zero Wolf, ever since the company announced it was making its own dishwasher.

Now you can have the Cove-branded dishwasher to go along with your Sub-Zero fridge and Wolf range, for a total cost of around $22,000. Most people might find that absurd, but for others, it’s a dream kitchen come true.

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Meet the tester

Jonathan Chan

Jonathan Chan

Senior Manager of Lab Operations

@Jonfromthelab1

Jonathan Chan currently serves as the Lab Manager at Reviewed. If you clean with it, it's likely that Jon oversees its testing. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company's efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. He thinks he's a pretty big deal. In the pursuit of data, he's plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Jon demands you have a nice day.

See all of Jonathan Chan's reviews

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