Might be true. That is why some petrol heads don't like this form of transmission.
I test drove the B17 Slphy at Tam Cheong last Sat, it is very quiet, but the soft CVT hum hum sound is still a little audible.
Interestingly, the CVT fluid used in the B17 is NS-3, which according to the SE, is the much improved version, i.e. quieter and fuel efficient compared to ours using NS-2 fluid.
Cheers