I think it just depends on the bow you are shooting. My Buckskin was pretty quiet and didn'thave a lot of shock. But the STS made it dead in my hand and completely eliminated any twang from the string. However, with that said, you have to play around with the postion of the rod and the distance from the string. For me, 1/16 inch from the string is the quietest. For others, it's closer and for some much farther. Quite frankly, I'm not a big fan of the company itself, but have to give credit where credit is due.What I have read many times over is that folks didn't think the STS did anything for them until they had it on for awhile and then took it off. Most put it right back on. I did.