I really can't answer that question. Sound is such a subjective thing, you almost have to have all the bikes sitting together to discern the differences in tone/decibles. And they all have to be 110" motors, 'cause the same pipe on a 103" will not sound anywhere near the same...at least that is my opinion. I've heard plenty of the 2" Fullsac cores, and IMO, they have a nice sound at idle and are gracious plenty loud enough when getting on the throttle. I've ridden behind a couple of bikes with the 2" and they are not obnoxiously loud. The good thing about the Fullsac cores is that if the 2" aren't loud enough for you after you've run them for a while (they will get louder over time), you're only out the cost of the cores, and could sell them here in a New York minute to recoup some of the cost of buying the 2.25" replacements. It's an easy task to change the cores.