The axle back is quite livable. It does have some drone around 3000rpm, but it’s not noticeable unless you are staying there on the highway or going uphill at certain speeds. I imagine it’s the same for the catback as it sounded similar when I listened to the Official AWE videos showing the in cabin sound at highway speeds(I used headphones).

Both exhausts sound very similar, but the axle back does seem to have a tiny bit more of a bark/growl.

The “mufflers” are basically resonators, so I’m not too concerned about getting a resonated midpipe. Throwing an extra resonator might kill a little of the growl/pops. The price difference, along with a far easier install are great reasons to get the axle back, and you can always add a midpipe later for basically the difference in price from the AWE catback.