Axe-FX III fan noise advice

Take a look at it once you get it open, might just need to be cleaned. Dust hardens sometimes on spinning shafts. Takes a exacto knife to scrape it off. Forms a ring around the base of the shaft were it enters the motor. The new angle of the fan blades and shaft forces pressure against that ring of crust.
I haven't personally experienced this or have taken apart my Axe. Just something I noticed with electric motors on my RC planes. General maintenance. And I started noticing same type of maintenance needed on Playstation fans...etc.
Might be what it is
 
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Not sure who you are responding to but if it is me, my Axe-FX is only a few weeks old and it is squeaky clean inside.
Also, any rough cleanup you make on these fans, if not perfectly balanced will induce more noise so I wouldn't do that (=been there, done that ;)).
 
OK so I opened my Axe again and... it was plain and stupid user error. It is now absolutely noiseless and vibration free using the Noctua fan.

What I did wrong was fastening the fan too flush against the metal support assembly while with the Noctua silicon vibration-compensators (as they call them at Noctua) you are supposed to have the fan actually not touch the metal support at all. The "vibration-compensators" have 2 ridges, one to secure itself to the sheet metal part the fan will be mounted on and the other to secure the actual fan with some room between the two for the fan not touching the support. That makes a whole lot of a difference and for some reason I was thinking the rubber corners on the fan would do the job. My IT days working on computers are sure long gone as I knew that by then.... Duh !
I also used the electrical tape insulation trick all around the case before screwing the lid back on. Doesn't hurt, just screw through the tape, it gives even less room for unwanted vibrations there

So to recap, the BlackSilent noise blocker X-2 fan G66 swaps in is already quite good at running silently but the Noctua NF-A8 ULN (when mounted properly...) is even better. That also reflects manufacturers specs.

There is still some questions pending regarding airflow being inferior with the Noctua but as I don't know the original FAS mounted fan specs, I wouldn't know for sure. If anybody knows, please chime in...
 
DarkskyZ said:
There is still some questions pending regarding airflow being inferior with the Noctua but as I don't know the original FAS mounted fan specs, I wouldn't know for sure. If anybody knows, please chime in...
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You could track what different fans have for ambient temperature in the ADC levels menu. If it goes higher with the Noctua, that would mean that it is cooling a little bit less effectively. I'd say it's not going to really matter.
 
Mine being a Turbo I would assume running faster means running hotter so I wouldn't take a chance.
Without the low noise adapter it is already just silent to me.
 
Quick update (for what it's worth, which ain't much)....

I got the Noctua fan, but being a lazy slob, I didn't get around to installing it. I did, however, leave my Axe powered on for a few days....and now it's dead silent again. Go figure. Problem solved.
 
DarkskyZ said:
OK so I opened my Axe again and... it was plain and stupid user error. It is now absolutely noiseless and vibration free using the Noctua fan.

What I did wrong was fastening the fan too flush against the metal support assembly while with the Noctua silicon vibration-compensators (as they call them at Noctua) you are supposed to have the fan actually not touch the metal support at all. The "vibration-compensators" have 2 ridges, one to secure itself to the sheet metal part the fan will be mounted on and the other to secure the actual fan with some room between the two for the fan not touching the support. That makes a whole lot of a difference and for some reason I was thinking the rubber corners on the fan would do the job. My IT days working on computers are sure long gone as I knew that by then.... Duh !
I also used the electrical tape insulation trick all around the case before screwing the lid back on. Doesn't hurt, just screw through the tape, it gives even less room for unwanted vibrations there

So to recap, the BlackSilent noise blocker X-2 fan G66 swaps in is already quite good at running silently but the Noctua NF-A8 ULN (when mounted properly...) is even better. That also reflects manufacturers specs.

There is still some questions pending regarding airflow being inferior with the Noctua but as I don't know the original FAS mounted fan specs, I wouldn't know for sure. If anybody knows, please chime in...
Click to expand...
In one of my Axe-FX III Mk II's with the fan noise, I used the Noctua compensators on the stock fan. Only raised it off the metal housing I small fraction compared to the original screw mounts. That did the trick for me. Philosophy of 'least amount of change' to do the job.
 
GreatGreen said:
I found the Noctua A8 ULN on Amazon.

Is the low noise adapter a second purchase or does it come with the fan?
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It comes with the fan. No extra purchase.

H3O2 said:
In one of my Axe-FX III Mk II's with the fan noise, I used the Noctua compensators on the stock fan. Only raised it off the metal housing I small fraction compared to the original screw mounts. That did the trick for me. Philosophy of 'least amount of change' to do the job.
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Good idea actually !
 
laxu said:
Some fans simply don't like being mounted at an angle. It could also be a worn fan.

The Axe-Fx 3 fan is very easy to replace. Go buy yourself a Noctua A8 ULN, open up the Axe-Fx 3 top lid and remove the fan. Then use the little nipple looking mounting things that come with the Noctua in place of the screws and mount the fan on that. Connect fan cable to its connector. Done, enjoy a silent Axe-Fx 3.

Another trick is to apply a bit of electrical tape or similar to the top lid where it connects to the chassis. This can help reduce resonances.

I'm not super happy about the fan system on the Axe-Fx 3. Even with the Mk2's Noiseblocker fan it made more noise than I would like when I have it right next to me on a table in an otherwise quiet room. The 20 euro Noctua was the only real fix that worked.

I think the point when the fan kicks in could be a bit more lenient as ~38C ambient temperature (weirdly reported in Fahrenheit in the UI) is not that much or maybe there could be a couple of fan curves so it doesn't ramp up to full speed at that point.

By comparison my FM3 never turns on the fan except on boot. I like how it's silent.
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This is the way.
 
laxu said:
I still think reporting the temp in F is so weird when absolutely every other system I've ever seen uses C for temperature.
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Everything not metric is weird. How do you guys overseas deal with measures like 19/32 of an inch? 🙂
 
ElectricPhase said:
I don't know the reason for the change. The only difference I can think of is that it's now at a 45 degree angle. Before it was flat on a table. Alternatively, maybe it's some resonance in the rack. I'll try rearranging the equipment. Barring that, any other ideas for quieting things down? Thanks.
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I solved the issue with a Noctua ULN. But my Axe-FX III lays flat.
 
Just did this tonight. A fantastic mod for those with dog hearing. While mixing or attempting to silently levitate, it was the loudest piece of gear.

The included ULN cable is the key. Some fan noise was detected without it.

Thanks to everyone who shared their long term experience.
 
Music Studio Man said:
Just did this tonight. A fantastic mod for those with dog hearing. While mixing or attempting to silently levitate, it was the loudest piece of gear.

The included ULN cable is the key. Some fan noise was detected without it.

Thanks to everyone who shared their long term experience.
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Many thanks for the cable idea! Installed my fan a few weeks ago but used the cable that came with the Axe. ULN cable made the fan essentially noiseless.
 
laxu said:
It's ambient temp apparently.
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This might not be correct.

Per @Admin M@ talking about the FM3:
(firmware 1.05) "The fan now operates at different thresholds than when the ambient temperature was used. It should now spin up at 60°C, switch to high speed at 70°C, and turn off when the temperature drops below 55°C. Also note that on-screen temperature readings may be different than those you may have become accustomed to seeing when the ambient temperature was being measured." [13]
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Matt, are the FM9 and FX3 still measuring ambient temperature?
 
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