The Festool system (or the Mirka system, for that matter) are designed to work together pretty tightly and yes, they do perform surprisingly well. For Festool, since that's what I know and use, that center hole in the pad and media is also part of the advantage as it helps keep the abrasive clear even better. The extractors are pretty darn efficient and reasonably quiet, too. Combining these systems with the popular mesh abrasives kicks dust extraction and sanding quality up "even more notches". But you absolutely can use one of the Festool extractors with a DeWalt sander if you wish. You may or may not need to do something about the connection, but the Festool hose fits on a lot of gear that isn't Festool branded.