I don't really care if it's silent or not, but I find it important that it's controlled by me as much as possible. Even to the point of running a rain noise simulator under some music album.

As far as actual volume is concerned, I play music all day long, unless I'm extremely hung over and need to rest. In hands of a skilled operator, music is basically a mood control board. I can't imagine why would someone want to live without that power.