I've always loved Bagotte brand products. When it arrived, everything was perfect. But when I pulled it out for a closer look, it looked beautiful. As soon as I started it up, the machine's fan started working and the top blew air out, indicating that it was already purifying the air. It's only relatively loud at the highest setting. The other 3 settings are very quiet and sometimes I check to see if it is still running because it is so quiet. You'd be amazed at how much clean air this unit pumps out! It's the best I've bought in a long time!