I'm looking to replace my current shop vac (Rigid) with something quieter -- I just don't like the noise of a Jet taking off.

My basic idea is to get something that will work well as a shop vac plus be able to handle smaller tools (eg. circular saw, sander, etc..) I also want something that doesn't constantly flip like my current model, and I'm sick and tired of the hard plastic hose that they call a flexible hose.

So far it looks like my choices may be Fein and Festool. Please let me know if there are other options.

The problem is that I don't live near a dealer for either. So I need your input to narrow the search down before I make a long trip to actually look at these models.

What do you guys like and why?