Quentin,
With my Canon 20D, the straight RAW conversion of a 100 ISO image seems worse with Silkypix than with the CS2 RAW converter, both in automatic mode.
Specifically, low contrast detail in the texture of concrete, for example, is fuzzier (or silkier) in the Silkypix conversion. Also, there's a grey shadow in the Silkypix conversion which has an unwanted green edge that doesn't exist in the ACR conversion.
Just first impressions. There may be other areas where Silkypix demonstrates a worthwhile advantage with certain adjustments which have to be learned.
What do you find interesting about this program?