I loved all the reviews of the Silgranite on this forum. I was inspired so I went to look at one today. At one warehouse the one there had a crack at the front out toward the divider, it wasn't smooth, it had white streaks and it looked plastic. Now some of that may be from sitting in a warehouse and not being cleaned but I am wondering about it especially the plastic appearance. At Home Depot, I could only see it at a distance so I couldn't really tell. I really like many of the advantages and the cost of the Silgranite but I'm just not sure about the look. I am used to my smooth, solid looking cast iron... Has anyone had a Schock-Houzer Granite Sink? I heard they were smoother but I haven't seen one in person. My worry with the cast iron is that I've heard that the new ones are not as good as the old ones. I would hate to be disappointed in my new cast iron! My current one I clean with Bar Keepers Friend and that's about it. It does clean up pretty well. I will admit it doesn't have the shiny look of the new ones in the store but it does get pretty white again with some elbow grease.

If fit makes a difference, most steel in China is recycled from US scrap... I've heard that the pads work very well. The Blancos seem to be loved long after installation.

You didn't say which Rohl 30" SS sink you are considering, and there are several. The ones I saw online were all $1100+. At that price, there would have to be something special and particular that I liked about the sink to pay that, vs. a sink at half or even less that price with seemingly the same features. Which sink is it, and what in particular do you like about it? If you want the Rohl logo on your sink, there is no shame in that. Many people like bling for their kitchens. But the logo comes at a price.

If that Ancona sink (or any other sink you might like) does not come with sound deadening material, or minimal sound deadening material, it is an easy DIY to apply it. I've linked below a thread, but this material, Dynamat (self-adhesive), has been mentioned in other threads as well - even for sinks that already came with sound-deadening, and people wanted to add more. [Thread about Sound Deadening a Sink[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/sound-deadening-a-sink-dsvw-vd~2664214) Dynamat at Amazon