I have to admit, this thread did cause an eyebrow quirk for me. The best advice I've seen was that you HAVE to listen to these things to make a real decision.

My car came with a EP2 Loud, and honestly, I'm debating about hitting up the marketplace and trying to swap for a quiet. there is absolutely drone in the 2000-2400 rpm range. So in 6th, gear, you can cruise nice and quietly at 80, but at 65-70 I find myself leaving it in 5th. So Ithink you just have to be real about how much you live above 3k rpm in the car. Below that can yield drone.