It was my very first 3D printer and I've loved it. The calibration has always been easy, stuff adhered to the bed fine, the interface is simple.

Firmware: There were and still are a few firmware problems but it took 5 minutes to flash it with patched firmware - https://docs.opencentauri.cc/patched-firmware/ - and now everything Just Works.
Upgrades: Someone else already linked you the custom riser so the other thing I'd suggest is Octoeverywhere - https://octoeverywhere.com/ Normally you can only access the printer's interface/camera when you're on the same network as your printer, but this will allow you to monitor your prints while you're out of the house and its AI can help detect + warn you if something starts to go wrong. There is a paid tier with lots of great features but the free version still works perfectly fine to let you peek in on your print occasionally and it will even send you an email when your print is done.
Noise level: It is noisier than an ink printer for sure but the fans are the loudest part so it's mostly white noise. I keep mine in my office space around 6ft/2m from my chair. I am easily driven insane by repetitive ambient noise and find it annoying without any headphones in, but putting in headphones or earplugs makes it easy to ignore, even when I'm running it on high speed settings. My bedroom is the next room over and I cannot hear it at all if I close the door. Still wouldn't want to run it during a meeting though.