A little operating noise is normal; loud banging, constant running, or a sewer-like smell is not. Banging is often a check valve or loose discharge; constant running can mean a stuck float or undersized pump; odor usually means an unsealed pit. A sealed lid and the right pump fix most of it.
More detail
Some sound is normal: you will hear the pump cycle on, hum while it runs, and the discharge water move. What is not normal and worth addressing: a loud bang or hammer each time the pump shuts off, the pump running constantly or short-cycling on and off rapidly, gurgling, or a sewer-like or musty odor rising from the pit. The bang on shutoff is usually water slamming a worn or wrong check valve, or a loose discharge pipe, both easy fixes (a quality spring-loaded or "silent" check valve and properly secured pipe). Constant running points to a stuck or failing float switch, a check valve that lets water run back into the pit so the pump re-pumps the same water, or a pump that is simply undersized for the inflow; rapid short-cycling is hard on the motor and shortens pump life. Odor from the pit almost always means the basin is open or poorly sealed, letting humid, stagnant pit air (and in some configurations soil gas) into the basement; a sealed and gasketed lid solves the smell and, as a bonus, closes a humidity and radon path. A musty smell can also indicate the pit water is sitting stagnant, which a properly cycling pump and a sealed lid address. In Cincinnati specifically, an open pit is also a missed opportunity on the radon side, since the same counties are EPA Radon Zone 1 and a sealed sump is standard radon practice. Most of these issues are a quick service call: check valve, float switch, secured discharge, and a sealed lid. If the pump is also old (past 7 to 10 years) or noisy because the impeller is worn, replacement is the better value than repeated small repairs. Sumps installed by other companies get serviced as readily as ones installed here.