Glenn, I agree with your assessment of the German clones. I recently found a stash of them inside an antique dealer's shed. Bought 4 of them ($25 apiece) since they were all handcranks and had 95% of their decals left. They are amazingly quiet! And, my husband didn't freak out when he helped me unload. I think he was grateful they weren't treadles.
I get not being comfortable with a naked machine. I stripped all decals off a Singer 27 and posted a pic here. The silence was deafening!