netcat
Servo noise isn't a huge factor for when I'm alone, but when it's really active, you can hear the main servos through the door (within the house). A TV isn't enough to drown one out. The next apartment shouldn't hear it.
I'm told more expensive servos have less noise, but I'm not at the point of replacing mine yet.
As far as feeling goes, they're awesome. Some of the player software can take a single axis Handy .funscript file and improvise on the pitch, roll and twist axis for you. I used to worry that there wasn't sufficient multi axis scripts out, but that's not an issue. (I believe MultiFunPlayer works with SLR)
It's a hobbyist product, and you have some experimenting and playing around with settings to get what you want, but worth the effort IMHO.
