I prefer the opposite. I love the sounds of cracking twigs and leaves under the soft tyres, with just a faint whirr coming from the freewheel and drivetrain, and an occasional crackle when shifting. My ear is tuned to look for the sounds of a suboptimal shift, which are harder to make out when there's too much going on in the background. Loud sounds or squeaks (leather saddle notwithstanding) are cause for concern in the lubrication dept. Modern freehub ratchets are far too intrusive-- like a swarm of mechanical grasshoppers on your tail. I often purposefully speed up or slow down so I can put as much distance as possible from other riders' freehub racket...