It’s about equal to our dyson @ around 10ft.
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Not bad at all, thanks for sharing that! A few decibels less than my tinnitus. 
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I assume the added filter unit will have more fans in it, and will add to that level ?
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That’s not as bad as I was thinking it might be. Thanks for taking the time to measure it.
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Great to see not just the sound levels, but also a graph to compare it with. 
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Thanks for measuring that! There has been a lot of discussion here about the noise and now we have a diffinative answer! 
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I was a little worried about the noise level since i’ll be doing a lot of work once my family goes to bed at night. This is much better then i thought it would be.
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Somthing that should be taken into consideration is long term exposure. 
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Yeah this guy makes some noise. A lot of it is sound leakage from the ventilation port. By encasing that a bit more you can cut down on that noise quite a bit. Hopefully @karaelena can use his gear to verify my findings with his unit.
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Great to have the measurements and the chart. Thanks.
I added this > http://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-25-ft-Insulated-Flexible-Duct-R6-Silver-Jacket-F6IFD4X300/100396934 but removed the plastic liner and used the stock foil ducting. Then used aluminum tape to seal the ends.
This DEFINITELY takes the ‘shrill’ sound out of the exhaust.
Thanks to @takitus for pointing out that covering it dampens the sound a bit.
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Great idea, but I guess it adds to the bulk…
@dan, might the unit run more quietly when paired with the filter?
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It does, but its worth it.
Another option is just to make a thin enclosure for the tube to prevent the sound from reflecting all over the room. Im going to attempt a number of different solutions to see what works best.
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How about foam pipe insulation, like these materials sold by McMaster-Carr? Specifically the ones sold on pages 3566 and 3567. The fiberglass stuff makes me itch just thinking about it.
Function over form.
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Seems quieter then a washer/dryer so that is good to me.
I wonder how this will change with the air filters.
Supplement update-
I am running a 20 mins op right now. This is a LOT better than what it was before.
And server guys (or PC gamers from back in the day) out there will understand this next statement. The glowforge has a Delta (or Delta like) exhaust fan. Delta fans have this shreek that they makes them distinguishable from other fans. In the high band of the frequency. This mod absolutely cuts that. I guess the closest everyday analogy I can come up with instead of a dyson running 10ft from you it now sounds like it’s about 20~25ft from you.
Now this is subjective. It was not terribly loud to begin with. And the stock flex ducting may not bother you at all.
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Those of us with more experienced ears (e.g. older) are likely to be unfazed - I don’t even hear the Delta fans anymore 
Funny, but women’s voices are also in the higher registers and as our ears age they get less sensitive to those frequencies as well.
Or at least that’s what I tell my wife 
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