First Touch - Affinity 6000 - Very Positive!
I had the pleasure of handling the Affinity 6000 at my local Best Buy tonight, and I must confess that I was VERY impressed.
This is clearly a redress of the previous TOL Frigidaire "Square Door" 2940. But that's not a bad thing, because this is a time-tested design. Both the GE and He2t/Duet Sport machines are relatively unproven. Although the Affinitys still lack the bulk of an He4t/Duet, nearly all of my fit-and-finish issues with the 2940 have been resolved. Through a side-by-side comparision (literally!) I noted the following improvements:
- beefier round doors with a nearly round dryer opening
- more substantial rotary dials, plus chunkier, better arranged modifier buttons
- more sound insulation
- removal of many almost-redundant cycle variants on the control dials
- removal of the annoying slide interlock on the detergent drawer (washer only)
The overall impression is clean and tidy. The larger buttons still feel like Chiclets, but no longer held in place by ballpoint pen springs. The rarely used Option Select and Pause buttons are now relatively smaller. Minor cycle variations such as the 2940 washer's redundant "inner ring" cycles are pleasantly absent. Unlike the He2, the 2940 helpfully retains cycle modifiers after Power Off and I'll bet the Affinity does too. A few modifiers and labels have been changed. LED countdown timers are on both machines, and Frigidaire claims evenly matched wash and dry times.
My washer disappointment was the loss of a non-ATC Hot wash. ATC Hot--which IS included--may mix cold water into a hot fill to achieve a "desired" target temperature LOWER than pure hot. Kenmore got stuck with ATC Hot on its verion of the 2940, and this time Frigidaire gave it to itself. My dryer disappointment was a flimsy lint screen, although a drying rack is included.
Even with all this freshening, the Affinitys are utterly trumped by the polished presentation of the GE front-loaders. However, the pair was selling for $250 less, which makes the duo pretty attractive, especially if:
- you need a machine slightly smaller than the GEs
- you need shorter wash times than the GEs typically offer
- you prefer a rounder dryer door opening than the He2
- you want a machine based upon a highly proven design
- you have a problem with GE's Little Swan Chinese labor
March will bring the Affinity 7000, which adds an onboard heater and metallic trim for only $20 more MSRP (an obvious choice that highlights a puffed-up price for the 6000). It is not yet known how hot the 7000 heater will get, but it better be 140 degrees or higher, or I will be disappointed. You can also get fancy metallic paint for an extra $100 MSRP (pricey paint: Glacier Blue or Platinum Ice).
After more than a year of diligent research, I may finally buy my first FLs with this pair! The GEs won't fit in my space, and the He2 dryer opening bugs me when stacked. I'm obviously impressed with the Affinitys, but what do you think?
--T
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/laundry/washers/front_load/prod_ATF6000ES.asp
