Around 44-42 dbA is pretty quiet but some even go below 40dbA. I would say anything below 42dbA is more than adequate unless you are just a fanatic about sound levels. You will pay a lot to go below. As to food grinders, I have had a Miele for around 5 years and I love it. No food grinder (most European dishwashers don't use one) but I have never needed it as I do a quick rinse off of plates and dishes before I stick them in the dishwasher to get off large food particles. No big deal. In theory it isn't necessary but then i would have to clean our the filter so this is easier. My dishes and stemware come out sparkling and that is what I care about.

This is the 45 dB Miele of my grandma. It's already pretty quiet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele dishwasher silence

This one I found on YouTube is 41 decibles and by Bosch.

Alex

Here is a link that might be useful: Bosch dishwasher

I don't rinse my dishes - and have a Miele - no food grinder and have to look for the little red light to know it is running most of the time - occasionally, I can hear some swooshes.

IMHO, if you insist upon less than about 50 dba, you're becoming hard to live with. Yes, quieter is better. Not intending to go to war over the opinion.

It's a machine. It has sounds. Some are mo/less/better than others. Quieter costs more. 15 years ago, dba ratings weren't even on the radar. Rejoice in your choices. Choose a quiet one and you'll be fine for a decade or more......and by then everything will have changed.

We have the KA KUDC10FX with grinder and 52dBA. It's very quiet. We have an open design kitchen to family room and really the only time I hear it is when the water drains into the sink drain. Other than that I have to strain to hear it to know its running. The grinder was important to us as we don't pre-rinse (we do scrape before loading though) and I have no desire to deal with cleaning a filter. Our second choice (if the KA was not quiet enough) was the Samsung 800 model. It was extremely similar to the KA, but with a 48dBA rating & was similar in price. I likely would have gone with this one as my 1st choice, however we had a scheduling snafu and couldn't get 2 of them here in time.

Hope this helps!

LG has a dishwasher with grinder rated at 45 decibel. Model LDF9932ST for example.

We have the KitchenAid KUDE70FXSS or something like that. It is so quiet you have to put your ear next to it to see if it is running. Like the post above, all we hear is when it drains. And we have an open great room as well and the DW is under the counter run facing out into the room, not along some outside wall. Now we never use the wash delay like we used to before.

We have a Frigidaire in our rental that is 60dB. It's loud enough that if it's running while I'm talking on the phone, the person on the other end can hear it. We use the delay start often so that it runs while we sleep.

Our new DW will be a Bosch 800 Plus @ 42 dB...I maybe overshot a little but wanted to make sure it was silent!

I think >50 dBA in a dishwasher is still too loud to have a conversation around. Our current one is over 60. My friend swears that her KitchenAid at 39 dBA (!) is the best money she's ever spent, but it was twice the price of the 45 dBA.

When looking into sound, think about the whole system. Our 8 year old Miele is very quiet (to me, not sure of the db). While it's running, I can barely hear it when standing next to it, and can't hear it in the other room. I can, however hear the water going through the pipes when it's filling, and some noise when it's emptying. Depending on your house, you might not hear the dishwasher, but could hear all the associated sounds, so paying for a super quiet dishwasher might not give you the benefit that you were thinking of.

I also have a Miele, approaching 2 years old, and once it gets going I can barely hear it when I'm standing next to it. I do hear it when it's filling and I hear water draining because it's attached to my sink line drain and the noise comes more from the sink than the dishwasher! It is extremely quiet. Then again, no matter how well we scrape off our plates we seem to have to clean the filter every couple of weeks. If I needed a dishwasher to be in a location or near to a location where I was also going to sit and converse or watch TV I wouldn't hesitate to get another Miele (I wouldn't hesitate, period, but my point is that it is that quiet).

I too have a Miele Excella DW. It is so quiet, many guests have no idea it is running when they are standing over it. I purchased the model with visible controls on the front of it. Hidden controls + quiet operation can be very hazardous for someone walking up to and opening to add a dish. Aka, face full of very hot water.

I had a Bosch before this and thought it was the quietest thing on the market... Not so, this Miele silently kicks the Bosch to the curb!

When this Excella goes, I will buy another Miele over anything else...

MRB