Smart Turbo Trainer

The two quietest Turbos are the V4 Kickr 2018, and Tacx Neo. To further aid noise suppression, use a dense foam beneath a piece of 12mm ply, same on front wheel

The early Fluxes had a couple of issues that resulted in quite a few returns, one problem was an externally sourced part they ended up bringing in-house, they seemed to sort those reasonably quickly though (there was still a chunk of old stock in circulation). Feedback I've seen is that later models were solid. The new Flux 2 looks like a monster for low speed stuff too.

Maybe I was just really unlucky but I had 2 Fluxs break on me in quick succession. It was pretty quiet though (when it worked).

As above it depends on your budget - Kickr Core, Kickr or Tacx Neo are probably the best in terms of noise.

I have the V3 Kickr which has the "whine" but I don't find it loud or off putting at all. If your drivetrain is quiet that's all youn should really hear.

What sort of budget do you have ? The latest range of smart trainers has some incredibly quiet models but they're still not at the cheaper end of the spectrum (although increasingly well priced). The Kickr Core is the obvious one there, although that has meant that existing quiet(ish) models are going down in price (the Elite Direto is now regularly around £ 600 for instance).

Direct drive is the way to go. With no drum/ wheel humming they are much quieter and tend to create less vibration too.

I can only refer to the Tacx Flux which i have in terms of absolute noise. I can use mine in the corner of our lounge/ dining room and the wife can still watch TV the other side of the room (slight increase in TV volume).