Thanks for the feedback, which confirmed my nagging feeling this hood wouldn't be right for me. Too bad -- I really love the aesthetics. But I'm convinced now to get a 10" under cabinet hood now that is as deep as my range top. Any feedback from the forum about Best by Broan undercabinet hoods with the SS baffle filters would be great!

I checked these out and they look promising. I too am interested in what you find out.

I have had a Broan model for over twenty years, the first one quick afer 15 years and I replaced it with the same unit. It works quite well, but it is not easy to clean and unless you keep after it it will drip grease into your food as the steam melts the grease. With Four first teen then young adult cooking son's this has been a problem. But that is not the fault of the unit which is quite good. It has a sliding adjustment for speed and the volume is not a problem unless on high but in the kitchen it doesn't matter that much. It would probably NOT be sufficient for a pro range. I have a Bluestar at my other home and that one has a VAH If I ever move the Bluestar to this home then I will swap out that hood then. Oh on the bonk your head factor mine is mounted well below head level and you actually look through the glass to see back burners if it is pulled out. with mine all you see is a white strip about 3/4 inch under white cabinets so virtually invisible.

I am one of the posters on the Appliance forum complaining about my Bosch range. My range is loud! I was first sent a range which was very noisy and I suspect was defective. (It was also the wrong model#, but that is another story...). This was replaced by the correct model#, and it is quieter that the first, but I still find it loud. I have had a serviceman out here and he told me that my range is not louder than other Bosch ranges. I just went and turned it on right now to compare it to other appliances... It is louder than my six year old microwave. It is louder than the low setting on my exhaust fan (a Kenmore 500 CFM). It is louder than my Cuisinart toaster/convection oven. I don't have to raise my voice to talk while it is running, but my kids do turn up the volume a little bit on little TV sitting on the counter ten feet away. My research suggests that the quietest dual-fuel slide-in is the Kenmore Elite. After debating this for months, I ultimately decided to stay with the Bosch because I love how it looks. It is Titanium (stainless with white glass) and it looks terrific with my white cabinets. It's that whole form over function thing! The burners are fine and the oven bakes nicely. I am just perplexed as to why a company that boasts of having such quiet dishwashers can't make a quiet range! nclakehouse, I don't think you are supposed to have a silicone oven liner above the heating coils. The one I bought - and returned - stated that it must be placed under the coils - which is hard to do with the hidden elements! Nicole