I didn't really mind the induction noise of the K&Ns but found the chirping a little annoying, although I got used to it. I felt that they made the bike run a little better but the biggest plus for me was not having to put the plenum back on. Having read some of the comments about flow etc I can see that they maybe do restrict intake a little. 3 filters seemed to make sense but really allow significantly less flow than a larger single filter. The way I see it now, as only one cylinder is sucking in at a time, the amount of air flowing through the one big filter is far greater at any given time than can flow through each of the smaller ones.
I put "Cobbas" intake on initially as a temporary gesture but noticed immediately that the crickets had gone, the exhaust note went to deep roar and the induction noise disappeared except at full throttle (at which time I LOVE it). Not saying it's better or even as good as some of these newer designs but I do agree with the principle they are all employing. My bike now, with nothing more than a 12 minute tune after fitting the intake, pulls much stronger than it did with the triples (and attracts a hell of a lot more attention). If I didn't have it I reckon I'd be going for something like the one Les (Ozrider) is developing.