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Chak
@dinosaurpt
Weight weeniness and obsession with engagement points is why modern hubs became loud.
Sprag / ramped bearing clutch hubs were being made as early as 1903 (Sachs Torpedo) - silent, instant engagement, but heavy (sprag clutch assemblies require beefy hub shells to work reliably).
Onyx, True Precision and Shimano (Alivio Silent Clutch) also produced some hubs like this in the nineties, but the vast majority of 20th century freehubs were the traditional soft-springed low-count pawls/teeth in alloy bodies - light and reasonably quiet but slow to engage.
Then pro offroad cycling became a thing and the points-of-engagement arms race started - even lighter alloy shells, large pawl/tooth count and stiff springs - really light, quick to engage but loud af.
The key to reduce noise (and associated coasting drag) whilst preserving lightness and quick engagement is to come up with a reliable mechanism to quickly engage the ratcheting elements when pedaling and completely retract them when coasting.
Shimano had a stab at this a few years ago with their Scylence (:facepalm:) technology in the micro spline freehubs but it turned out to be an unreliable solution.