Is your DW connected to a garbage disposal? Make sure they thoroughly punched the plug in the garbage disposal for the dishwasher to drain through. We had this same issue once, except the water was spraying out of the air gap, as well.

If you put a high loop in the drain hose, you can remove the air gap and replace it with a soap dispenser or just a cover. Noise problem solved.

catlike - DW is not connected to disposal - would it be quiter if it was?
weissman - Can I really do that without risk of a backup? appreciate your post - always respect your opinions?

Yes, a high loop in the drain hose will prevent backup. Many locales do not require an airgap. A number of people on this forum put them in for the inspectors and then remove them.

I have a high loop on mine - no airgap. Actually, my original installer didn't put in the high loop - had it added later after a small problem - it works fine now.

Ah, unfortunately, my "expertise" ends there--I'm not sure if the garbage disposal would make a difference. Hopefully the plumbing forum can come through. You can do what other posters are suggesting, but I'd also consider calling your plumber and seeing what you can find out.

No response from the plumbing forum so I really appreciate the help here. I'm going to look into high looping it. I can always put in a second soap dispenser and have both dish soap and hand soap dispensers.