I'd reassure you regarding your choices. I have been so totally happy with my MA experience and I'd hope you have the same. Several comments: Yes, MA just resells blowers. I chose a Fantech inline blower over the Hy Ex which was their initial recommendation, mainly because my contractor and HVAC guy were not enthused about going out on our steep roof for the install. I suggested an Fantech instead and they were completely happy with that decision. When I made the decision, Jeff Herman, my MA contact, said that they could sell it to me, but likely I could save a few hundred $$ on price and shipping by finding the blower online. After looking around I was getting totally stressed out by having to figure out if the websites were legit, if I was ordering the right backflow damper, duct adapter, rheostat etc etc. I finally contacted Jeff and said hey, I know it will cost more, but can you just send me whatever it is that I need and just take this off my list of worries. The small markup was totally worth it for the peace of mind of knowing that someone who knew what they were doing was doing to make the order. Jeff was totally willing for me to buy it on my own, so adding to their profit was clearly not the motivation. Regarding the decision of internal vs external blower: I think the logic is somewhat different given your short duct run. Normally I'm a huge fan of remote blowers. However, a big reason that this has worked so well for me was the ability to use the Fantech LD10 silencer along with our FKD 10XL blower. The silencer does a great job of eliminating any motor noise tracking down the ductwork. Without it, I suspect a significant part of the advantage of a remote blower might be lost, expecially if the blower was only 9 feet from the hood. Absent the silencer, the advantage of the external blower without a silencer may not justify the cost. I totally found that MA was focused on the best product for me, not squeezing a few hundred dollars more out of me. I'd tend to trust their advice, although if it were me, I'd ask for Jeff Herman's opinion, who I think is the gospel when it comes to ventilation. If Jeff says go wtih the internal blower, I'd do it. But, no matter what, I think you'll love the MA hood. It's neck and neck with the Lacanche range as the favorite part of my new kitchen. I cannot imagine a better ventilation choice based on my experience.

erikanh: that's the first picture of your hood/range I have seen, and it rocks! Totally different look than our kitchen but I love it. The way you've assembled the critical elements of cooking into a compact, incredibly efficient layout is fabulous. It makes me want to drop everything and start cooking right now. And, of course, the hood is gorgeous. Great job. rgjem: you are asking the right questions. Clearly if you are ducting straight out the wall, with only a very short run of duct, there is little advantage of an external blower, as the distance is too short to give you the noise reduction you'd want from an external blower. The alternative is to run duct all the way up to the attic and roof. That's what we did. That allowed us to use a Fantech inline blower and silencer, and the result is an unbelievably quiet hood. I am totally ecstatic with it, but others might not find it quite as ideal. The duct installation was a nightmare, involving many hours of HVAC consultation. The performance of the blower is reduced by the long duct run, though the layout of our range (which is in an entirely enclosed alcove, which greatly enhances hood performance) compensates totally: I can sear at max temp and have not a wisp of smoke escape. For me it was a no brainer but many others, who would prioritize cost, and maximum cfm performance, would choose otherwise. I am going to take the liberty of quoting a recent email from Jeff Herman at Modern Aire which I think is the clearest explanation of the pros and cons of internal vs external vs inline blowers (Jeff was aware I might do this). It was directed at another potential customer who had corresponded with me, thus the reference to my (Mark's) hood: Our hoods are supplied for use with our internal motors 600 Â 2400cfm, Abakka exterior blowers 1000 and 1400cfm, and Fan-Tech inline blowers so switching for the fan is not a problem. If you are planning on using the Fan-Tech inline I highly recommend using the silencer. It makes a very dramatic difference in regards to air and motor noise at higher speeds. The Abakka exterior blower is the quietest option we have going right now, but the performance is not as good as the inline IMO. If pure performance is the most important then our internal blowers are the best way to go, they are louder in comparison to MarkÂs set up, but are moving more air then the inline or exterior blowers at 1200CFM. Our internal blowers compensate for higher static pressure loads and do not slow down when connected to ducting making them a great choice for super long duct runs or duct runs with many turns or transitions" HTH

Watch out for Independent they are having MAJOR supply chain issues right now. If you are on any type of time crunch make absolutely positively sure the distributor you are dealing with has it in stock. Independent recently closed shop and re-opened under a new company, and their supply chain is all frigged up. I tried to get a liner I ordered from them and waited 2.5 months, and never received the item. Their DC in Miami is full of it if they tell you they have it, dont believe them. as for quality, of one vs the other, IDK.. cant speak to that

You may want to ask the distributor. I got the Excalibur by VentAHood. It is a similar look, but not as pretty as yours. When my contractor placed the order, he was told that most people leave the bands off, despite the fact that it cost extra to leave them off. The logic of leaving something off being an upcharge makes no sense, I know. Upon hearing this, he told them to leave them off without even asking me. I am glad he went ahead and flipped a coin, so to speak, or I would probably still be trying to make up my mind.