I have one of these too, and I've not had a lot of success with it. The noise doesn't bother me because I'm pretty deaf. (There are some pluses in deafness!) I'm a bit sorry I didnt lash out and get the sort which doesnt need prechilling. I initally made the mistake of putting everything into the bowl before starting it turning, so I ended up with a thin layer of frozen cream on the bowl surface while the rest just churned around and around. Now that I've read the instructions a bit better, the last batch where I poured the liquid slowly into the bowl after the curning began, was much better.
I have noticed that at least one of the higher end mixers has an icecream bowl, which doesnt eliminate the need to take up freezer space but it does reduce the number of gadgets in your cupboard by one. I'd be interested to know if anyone has one of these, and how well it works.