I'm also interested in this :) . I'm on my own hood quest.

One thing to think about the height above the cooktop. I did an experiment with my noisy NuTone which is actually installed lower than recommended (at least 30" above cooktop). I turned it on and put my head 2" lower than it would normally be and I was surprised at how much louder it was! All that to say that the height of installation may affect the perceived noise level.

I have a NuTone with an underside that has a similar design to this Kobe:

On mine, the cups are easy to wash in the dishwasher, but the round grilles have to be unscrewed to be washed - not sure if the same applies to the Kobe above. And yes, they certainly do get gunky.

If I go with the Kobe I am looking at, it will definitely be the baffle type, especially because the underside is somewhat concave, which helps with smoke capture.

I won't rate these specific units because I don't own either one. I will assert that commercial hood designs are intended to provide the most effectiveness for a given electrical power drain, because HVAC electricity cost is a large part of doing business. Commercial hoods generally have large capture areas, baffles to collect grease and provide a firestop, baffle slope (NFPA requirement) to move grease to the hood side, and sufficient air flow to assure both containment and appropriate velocity of air in the duct to minimize condensation. (Also a water sprinkler.)

Residential hoods that approximate this should be most effective, but that does not preclude other designs from also being effective. The compromises are not always obvious. For the example in the image above, I would be concerned whether all rising effluent that reaches the surface the cones project from is collected at the cones, or, due to momentum, reflects away. Avoiding spillage of smoke, grease, and odor is an important aspect of commercial hood architecture, and generally one wants every point that effluent strikes to be either a baffle or a sharp angle that reflects upwards to a baffle.

Residential hoods most approximating commercial hoods are typically tent-like in shape with internal baffles. I use a Wolf Pro-Island hood, but I don't recall seeing any Wolf photos that showed an underside view.

kas