I'm not altogether sold on the ML series, the SP corsairs are loud but only due to them ramping up higher then their specs state many times, I am loving the noctuas which are quiet and do the same performance as the corsair sp fans. However when it comes to saving some bucks the thermaltake riing radiator fans are impressive as you can feel their force and they are incredibly quiet in comparison to many fans on max speed but I think their max speed is 1600rpm, the noctuas max is around 2k and the corsairs get to 2.2 or 2.3k according to many fan apps I've used to monitor with. The cheapies that blow way more then you'd expect are the cm jetflo fans however they are the noisiest fans I've heard in years. Alot of people like nzxt but my experience with them is they too get noisy with age and begin to have a funny balance wobble.
As for your led hate, the cm jetflo led wires can be cut easily, the thermaltake have an attractive ring around them which isn't an eyesore but the led wire too can be cut, the corsair you can order the non led version and the noctuas have no leds been focused on performance but high prices. Another series to look at which I'm currently using but haven't been able to bench yet are the cooler master master Pro series of air flow and air pressure fans, you can get non rgb and rgb versions. They are quiet so far but I'm not sure if their performance. Prices for all these fans seem to range from R150 to R350 each all besides the Noctua which tend to lean to R400 to R500 each.
And for anybody reading this that doesn't like spending real money the cheapest cheapies that still perform a little but which are not my ideal are the cooler master sickleflow fans, they aren't the quietest nor the strongest but they are average in all sections and normally cost about R120 each
