I am looking at the exact same thing and have the same question! Anyone have feedback on this since the OP posted this question?

I'm looking at that one right now to go over my DCS cooktop. 36 inch wide 18h

I wish you had gotten more responses! I was at Albert Lee just today and wondered the same thing, came to ask a similar question and found this hoping it would yield answers. Did you come to any conclusions?

I hope everyone here knows by now that CFM values are those of the blower operating in free air (zero static pressure) and not in a hood, connected to the outside by a duct, and trying to pull air from a residence interior with varying success depending on the nature of the make-up air supply path. So what you see on the spec sheet is not what you get.

Also, as pointed out by others here since at least 2010, sound levels of hoods have no official or manufacturer-wide standardization of measurement technique, and so should be considered indicative, but not directly comparative with those reported by other manufacturers. One hopes that they are comparative among other units of the same manufacturer's offerings.

One would probably have to physically view a Wolf hood inside the baffle space as well as outside to gain some appreciation for differences. Some of these will be metal composition, thickness, and welding quality, as well as strength and baffle effectiveness and noise. However, not all manufacturing costs are sheet metal and motor winding wire; for example, Wolf will answer the phone and try to help (not that much help should be needed for a hood), so their overhead will be higher than others stamping out hoods internationally without real national support.

I recall reading other comments over the past year or so related to Z-Line, so a search with Google or other search engine with this site specified may be productive.

Unfortunately, I have never seen a Zline hood in person anyplace. Wayfair had a lot of positive reviews for Zline, including a lot of people happy with noise, but none said what kind of room they were in (small kitchen or large, vaulted ceiling or not, great room/open concept or not, lots of soft furnishings or not, etc) which all effect the noise levels. So no way to know how it will be until we get it. Here's hoping!

I can say with 100% certainty, do NOT get a Z line vent hood. They have a known issue with the lights - mine went out after a year and a half - all 3 at the same time. Electrical issue. They send you parts and tell you to watch videos to fix it yourself. It's a total joke. I can say that my original case was submitted on 4/18, and it's now 6/28 and is still not working and not for lack of trying on my part. Their customer service is comical to say the least, I've been shipped multiple parts, multiple times - even once the part they sent was faulty. It is not worth the headache. If I could get mine out and get something else, I would.

@Kathryn in SF are your issues with the lights themselves? On my current hood(30” Model 697 purchased Feb 2014) I had the halogen housings crack due to heat. Ended up swapping them for LED alternatives from amazon (Jan 2017) and have had no issues. Best of luck to you getting it straightened out!