How loud should the fan be?

When I first got the III, was thinking I would probably replace the fan at some point, even though it wasn’t all that loud. Then my Carvin power amp bit the dust and upgraded to a 2u Matrix gt1000fx, thinking it would be nice and quiet, but the Matrix fan noise drowns out any and all fan noise from the III. :confused::rolleyes:
 
Update: I´ve analyzed the problem. The fan isn´t noisy - just normal wind noise. The "pitched drone" (thanks @Danny W. for the video) comes from the metal plate where the fan is mounted. I added some rubbers and the drone-noise is gone!
 

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Opened up my unit and removed the fan/fan plate... I loosened the 4x screws/lock nuts that are holding the fan to the grommets JUST to the point where the screws are not rattling in the fan housing. (i.e. absolute minimum compression of the rubber grommets) Also, when reinstalling, the plate, I added a small rubber mount between each of the 4x hex standoffs that support the fan plate.

Not forgetting to reconnect the fan itself, I closed up the lid, plugged it back in, and flicked the power switch.

Noise is now essentially zero.... as in 99% improvement. YMMV but I think the fan housing was over compressed at install.

I hope this helps others!
Thanks @kartman an The "drone-noise" comes from the fan plate. I also added some rubbers (I only had those fat ones) between the plate and the 4x hex standoffs. Now the noise is gone!!!
 

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The AF2 was very very noisy, even with the G66 replacement fan. In the end I put in a quieter one with rubber band mountings.
After the warranty expired, and after measuring the heatsink temperature many times with no fan at all, and checking the spec sheets of the processor (which basically state it did not require active cooling), I eventually concluded that the use of the fan was a "belt and braces" design feature, perhaps intended to compensate for the intentional omission of air holes. Basically all the fan was doing was stirring up the air a bit, and heating up the closed chassis, from which heat dissipated.
Eventually I used a near-silent fan with lower air flow, no problems at all.
My conclusion is that the designers are not concerned with fan noise, or cannot hear it, since it was quite easy to modify the design to stop it.

As various people have noted, some people can hear these fans, some can't. Believe me, all microphones CAN.

The AF3 that arrived at my house is again very loud. At least this time there are air holes.
I note that the fan fitted (see earlier in the thread) is again a cheap basic, noisy one without vibration-reducing mounting.
How very disappointing to see this in a piece of equipment intended for professional use in an engineered quiet room.
 
I think in fairness, most people are recording direct, or playing live, and the fan noise likely isn’t an issue for most folks. I’ve certainly had plenty of power amps, laptops etc in my studio which are louder than the Axe fan.

I certainly do agree there are better spec fans which I think make good sense for many applications.

It’s an easy change so I’d say if one is happy with the low cost stock, great, and if you desire a better fan, the market is full of choices.

I’d dont know how much a Noctua or similar fan costs in bulk, but we could assume maybe $5, which either would raise the price or reduce the profit margin. Don’t know sales volume but even moving as little as 10,000 units, with a $5 extra margin is a pretty sizeable amount.

If most folks wouldn’t even notice a difference in the first place it’s hard to argue the cost IMO
 
HI,

This is what I ended up doing - It's way quieter now, and has been operating flawlessly for many weeks.
Thanks
Pauly

IMG_5176_1024.jpg IMG_5181_1024.jpg IMG_5184_1024.jpg

The AF2 was very very noisy, even with the G66 replacement fan. In the end I put in a quieter one with rubber band mountings.
After the warranty expired, and after measuring the heatsink temperature many times with no fan at all, and checking the spec sheets of the processor (which basically state it did not require active cooling), I eventually concluded that the use of the fan was a "belt and braces" design feature, perhaps intended to compensate for the intentional omission of air holes. Basically all the fan was doing was stirring up the air a bit, and heating up the closed chassis, from which heat dissipated.
Eventually I used a near-silent fan with lower air flow, no problems at all.
My conclusion is that the designers are not concerned with fan noise, or cannot hear it, since it was quite easy to modify the design to stop it.

As various people have noted, some people can hear these fans, some can't. Believe me, all microphones CAN.

The AF3 that arrived at my house is again very loud. At least this time there are air holes.
I note that the fan fitted (see earlier in the thread) is again a cheap basic, noisy one without vibration-reducing mounting.
How very disappointing to see this in a piece of equipment intended for professional use in an engineered quiet room.
 
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***Fixed now*** Used original fan but with new fan compensators from Noctua NF-A8 FLX which arrived today.

It's resting on the compensators sitting just a tad above where it was originally. Quiet with lid on. New fan was still noisy so I skipped wrestling with it. I feel better staying with the stock fan anyway for obvious reasons.

Thanks guys!
Is your axe iii pretty silent now, or can you still hear it well in a quiet room? Which compensators did you use? Is it the long rubber pieces that mounts the fan to the metal plate, or are the compensators like washers that go between the mounting plate and the hex nuts?

***EDIT***
Sorry, I just saw your photos with the brown rubber posts. Did that make it pretty silent? You didn't use any rubber washers between the mounting plate and the hex nuts? I added rubber between that area, and I can still hear the fan decently in a quiet room.
 
Post #133 2nd picture down, was all I did. Snapped the comp into the plate then just rested the original fan on the posts. The fan itself seems even quieter than my XL+ was and that was very quiet. The key is killing the 'drone' noise and that is completely gone.

I didn't want to have to risk putting it in the hands of UPS for a round trip repair. For now, I haven't bothered with fastening it down as I never transport it anywhere.
 
looks good
I wonder if any less rigid material could be used for the mounting plate?

like for example a sheet of silicone?
I have a roll-up sheet intended for rolling out pastry
If bolted in at the corners, it would be under enough tension to remain as a flat surface, and would not absorb much vibration I assume??
 
Post #133 2nd picture down, was all I did. Snapped the comp into the plate then just rested the original fan on the posts. The fan itself seems even quieter than my XL+ was and that was very quiet. The key is killing the 'drone' noise and that is completely gone.

I didn't want to have to risk putting it in the hands of UPS for a round trip repair. For now, I haven't bothered with fastening it down as I never transport it anywhere.
Cool! Thanks for getting back to me! How come you didn’t go with the new fan?
 
Lid really resonats for some unknown reason. Mine would be totally silent if I was touching it lightly, but all the screws were tight so shouldn't of been anything to vibrate.

If your going to take the fan off to put some little rubber washers in might as well consider swapping the fan and the mounting system. The little silicon pull through tabs, which are usually used to mount a PC fan to a computer case work great, IMO, because it seems logical they would transfer less vibration than a metal bolt. Just take the metal bolts out, pull the silicon tabs through, and then put your fan on, with the other part of the silicon tabs pulled through to hold it in place. Its not only held in place by silicon shafts and I found it did ease the vibration a good bit. I found you can buy them for like $7 or so for a set of 4, but as new fans usually include them might as well just buy the whole new fan for a few bucks more

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How did you find this helped with the noise? Is this fan quieter than the stock fan, new mounts aside? Curious if you compared the two with the new mounts. Also, does this new fan run at the appropriate specs that the stock fan runs at?
 
Cool! Thanks for getting back to me! How come you didn’t go with the new fan?

No problem. 2 reasons I kept the stock fan: I wanted to stay as close to spec as possible:rolleyes:, and, the fan air noise was actually slightly quieter than the new fan, to my ears.
 
How did you find this helped with the noise? Is this fan quieter than the stock fan, new mounts aside? Curious if you compared the two with the new mounts. Also, does this new fan run at the appropriate specs that the stock fan runs at?

Noctua is a bit higher end fan, as it cost near $20, is rated for like 150,000 hrs, which is like 17 years of constant running. Has a some fancy self leveling bearings, frame is designed to smooth and accelerate airflow etc. The stock fan is a generic style case fan worth a couple of bucks, though it admittedly does the job well enough for most purposes.

You get some resistors with the Noctua (in addition to the silicon mounts) that allow you to choose the speed of the fan, which has an affect on noise levels, but also air flow. I run mine at the slightly slower setting, 2000rpm I think it is, and it still moves enough air that my heat gun measurements were the same as the stock fan at higher speed, or when running at the full speed, I was getting a degree or two cooler than stock, so I do think the Noctua's design moves a little more air for a given rpm speed, and/or the fan frame as the design of the blades etc works slightly better.

I've had the bearings go out on the cheaper fans on my Axe II's after a few years. I've used Noctua's in my PC's and switched to them in the II's and they've been 100% reliable (knock on wood). Granted you could buy 2 or 3 cheaper fan for the cost of one of them, but.... if I can spend $20 (or $17.99 I think I paid), spend 5 minutes swapping it out, and presumably never have to worry about the fan for 20 years, and have it quieter, its all and all well worth doing in my book, but everyone has to weight the choice themselves.
 
Noctua is a bit higher end fan, as it cost near $20, is rated for like 150,000 hrs, which is like 17 years of constant running. Has a some fancy self leveling bearings, frame is designed to smooth and accelerate airflow etc. The stock fan is a generic style case fan worth a couple of bucks, though it admittedly does the job well enough for most purposes.

You get some resistors with the Noctua (in addition to the silicon mounts) that allow you to choose the speed of the fan, which has an affect on noise levels, but also air flow. I run mine at the slightly slower setting, 2000rpm I think it is, and it still moves enough air that my heat gun measurements were the same as the stock fan at higher speed, or when running at the full speed, I was getting a degree or two cooler than stock, so I do think the Noctua's design moves a little more air for a given rpm speed, and/or the fan frame as the design of the blades etc works slightly better.

I've had the bearings go out on the cheaper fans on my Axe II's after a few years. I've used Noctua's in my PC's and switched to them in the II's and they've been 100% reliable (knock on wood). Granted you could buy 2 or 3 cheaper fan for the cost of one of them, but.... if I can spend $20 (or $17.99 I think I paid), spend 5 minutes swapping it out, and presumably never have to worry about the fan for 20 years, and have it quieter, its all and all well worth doing in my book, but everyone has to weight the choice themselves.
Thank you for the reply! I appreciate it! So, the noctua is quiter than stock running at a lower rpm, but effectively cooling it the same as stock? What are the specs of the stock fan in terms of rpm?
 
1. Removed rubber grommets from mounting plate.

2. Installed silicone fan mounts from Noctua kit into mounting plate.

3. Installed fan on silicone mounts.

4. Installed mounting plate back on standoffs with grommets under plate.

5. Used slowest speed reducer from Noctua kit. If I converted the specs correctly between the two fans, this moves almost as much air as the stock fan. If I didn’t, Cliff said the fan probably isn’t necessary anyway. :)

6. Put thick insulating tape around top cover mounting flange before replacing top.

Before:



After:



Danny W.
 
....my III is dead silent....however , my 2018 MacBook Pro’s fan goes apeshit often, and seems to be exacerbated by use of AxeEdit III and/or Logic....
EDIT......I just installed an app called Macs Fan Control that seems to help..I hope I don't fry my laptop.....
 
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1. Removed rubber grommets from mounting plate.

2. Installed silicone fan mounts from Noctua kit into mounting plate.

3. Installed fan on silicone mounts.

4. Installed mounting plate back on standoffs with grommets under plate.

5. Used slowest speed reducer from Noctua kit. If I converted the specs correctly between the two fans, this moves almost as much air as the stock fan. If I didn’t, Cliff said the fan probably isn’t necessary anyway. :)

6. Put thick insulating tape around top cover mounting flange before replacing top.

Before:



After:



Danny W.

Thanks for the reply! Two questions:

How many reducers are there that come with the Noctua, and which one did you use?

Also, the top cover was causing a problem as well? What kind of insulating tape did you use and how did you put it on? Just cut thin strips and applied it to the bottom of the top cover?
 
....my III is dead silent....however , my 2018 MacBook Pro’s fan goes apeshit often, and seems to be exacerbated by use of AxeEdit III and/or Logic....
EDIT......I just installed an app called Macs Fan Control that seems to help..I hope I don't fry my laptop.....
Is it silent stock? If so, that’s rad to hear! I am with you on that boat for my macbook’s (2015) fan though. Axe Edit iii seems to set it off big time when I’m using that and Pro Tools. I’ll have to check it without as well to see if that happens. The only workaround I’ve noticed which kind of slows it down is pausing communications when not using AxeEdit iii.
 
Is it silent stock? If so, that’s rad to hear! I am with you on that boat for my macbook’s (2015) fan though. Axe Edit iii seems to set it off big time when I’m using that and Pro Tools. I’ll have to check it without as well to see if that happens. The only workaround I’ve noticed which kind of slows it down is pausing communications when not using AxeEdit iii.
Yes, stock, one of the first to be shipped to paying customers.
 
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