cools my 11*11 room very effectively in this Cali heat...a good buy. on the loud issue reported by others, well...it would be difficult to guage it with out examples. umm...lets see, i do not find it difficult to fall asleep with this thing on, nor my TV difficult to hear if i increase the volume a bit, nor do i find it hard to concertrate and study when this AC is on. if anything, the cooler room help me do all those things easier. also, it seems to me that the AC is louder in the first few days of operation. after a week or so, it will work out all the glitches and will be easier on the ears.