Whats the general consensus?
The physics of it are obvious: no air filter provides the least obstruction to air flow but comes at the cost of engine protection.
But ... from those who've done it ... is it worth moving away from the standard air box and if so, to what?
Don't immediately jump to that conclusion. The standard air box gets cold air into the engine bay and distributes it well across the 4 throttles.
I'd avoid having no filters. Usually enough crap floating around your average engine bay to not want it sucked into it the motor.
Here's a pretty typical alternative setup on my GTV - K&N filters on 45mm Webers.
Can't vouch as to whether its better than a standard air box as the car was set up this way when I when I bought it. One advantage of the K&N filters is they can be cleaned.
You could go with trumpets and trumpet socks.
But Aggie makes a worthwhile point - I'm not sure where the cold air intake is on a standard airbox, but it probably does a reasonable job in ramming cold air in.
If you swap from a standard airbox, you'll also need to do something with the breather hose.
I have since rejigged mine to fit an oil catch can to the breather.