Product review (5 stars): Best bang for your buck
5 stars for the initial review.  Longevity is important for appliances...so we'll see how she does over the next months/years.  Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this hood.  For $300, it is what it is.  It's eye-candy.  Looks incredible and makes a huge statement.  But everything else about it is just kind of "chincy."  Not disappointed, as you have to expect that at this price point.  The buttons don't push down very easily/evenly, the wires are dangling loose in the inner fan (some of their 3M tape came loose), some of the baffles fit loosely thus creating a lopsided effect (a gentle bending corrected the situation) the supplied screws/anchors are a joke.  But hey, it looks incredible, and it does it's job...suck's the hot air.  And for that, I'm stoked to spend only $300 on this!  I've posted pictures for you to see....again, it looks awesome.  The packaging job was incredible.  And it comes coated with a protective film that protects the stainless finish until the final reveal.  It is a little hard to peel off the film on the chimney extension unit.  The other reviews said it scratches very easily...so I installed the chimney unit first, then peeled off the coating.  I had to use a razor blade to score it just below the sight-line on one of the chimney extensions for a "clean break."  Was a little nervous removing it from the box because some of the protective film had its own scratches.  I was worried those would transfer to the stainless steel.  Thankfully, they did not.  The noise is a non-issue.  It's a fan people...it's going to make noise.  On the highest setting, you need to raise your voice if you're standing directly by the hood trying to have a conversation.  But the other settings did not require my wife and I to "raise our voices."  It's fine.  Yes, all of the other reviewers are correct: buy new ductwork.  The supplied plastic ductwork is a joke.  It really is "easy" to install in that all you have to do is hang the thing.  Everything else is literally plug and play!

One more thought.  We have a 30" stove and I naturally was going to buy the 30" hood.  But right before my purchase, I started doing a little more research and many suggested to purchase a hood larger than your stove, to ensure it covers all of your burners.  So at the last second, I opted for the 36" hood.  SOOOOO glad I did.  Not only does it look better on the wall, it efficiently "sucks" regardless of what is cooking on any of the 4 burners.

Buy it.  It's worth it.  Let's just see how long it lasts......I'm cautiously optimistic.

UPDATE 4/25/2013:  After only our second time cleaning the stainless steel baffle filters, the screw/nut that holds the baffle together stripped, thus rendering it useless.  Obviously, we were pretty disappointed.  I sent an email to customer service asking what the next step of action should be.  They responded that same day with a tracking number and I had a new baffle in 2 days with no cost.  I've never experienced customer service like that.  Really, just outstanding.  I'm still worried that issues like this may arise again, but for the price-point, I have to expect that (one of the same screws on another baffle sits crooked in the baffle, causing it to align poorly).  My wife and I still love this hood...and after this customer service interaction, we're only more pleased with the purchase!