... server/enterprise level HDDs are loud af, I swear some brands are dedicated to it.

That leaves us only with the tiny WD Red Plus (but not Red Pro), above 20TB afaik only Exos (from X21 onwards) doesn't alert the neighbours.

But in (second half-ish?) of 90s HDDs differed a lot in terms of loudness. I was one of those nerds with custom (fully home made) water loop just to achieve some level of quietness.