Microstepping vs. stepping noise

At the office we're currently working on a machine that uses a single
stepper motor to move a good-sized chunk (7-8 Kg) of tooling on a linear
slide with a 5tpi leadscrew. The stepper driver is a full-step unit and the
tooling emits a conciderable noise (this is to be used in a laboratory
environment where operators can be overly sensitive to this sort of thing).
We've tried mechanically isolating the motor from the tooling with gaskets
(which has worked for us with a servo-drive), but with unremarkable results.
It seems to me that the noise being produced by a different mechanism calls
for a different solution. I'm wondering how microstepping drivers ie. Gecko
compare for noise level, or harshness. What have you observed? I've never
had an opportunity to work with microsteppers myself, but it weems to make
sense to me. Any thoughts?

Scott Holmes