lqdsnddist
Axe-Master
Like many Axe-Fx II mk1 owners, I've had issues with the kind of loud 60mm stock fan. Not a problem gigging, but when playing at home, later at night, et al., its pretty noticeable. I run a silent recording PC and don't otherwise have any noise sources in my home studio, so it kind of bothered me.
So, again like many others, I tried some different fans; replacement top motor fan, stealth fan, noiseblocker, and the (different company, same name) fractal fan. They varied in rpm and noise levels, some where pretty quiet, but spun slowly and moved very little air. Others moved plenty of air, but were like little hair dryer motors and louder than stock.
I found the fractal fan to be about the best overall compromise, its rated 18cfm, spins at 3000rpm, and I think its around 16 dB (don't quote me on those specs). More so, it actually felt like it was moving the same amount of air as the stock one.
Well, long story short, no matter what I did, the fans all still bothered me.
Solution ? Change the way the fan is mounted. I always was using the rubber feet, spacers and then sticking the fan mounts through the 4 bolts in the case lid, threading the nuts in the middle of the fan, since the other models are 25mm deep instead of 10mm deep like the stock one. Well the issue with is that your fan is directly coupled to the case lid, and you basically have this big metal lid vibrating with the fan, thus a source of noise.
So how could I try to dampen this vibration/noise issue ? Tried adding rubber washers and such, but no help. Fan is still basically connected directly to those bolts. So, how can I make it not touch the bolts ?
Rubber bands would of been an obvious choice, but as anyone who pulled an old rubber band from a drawer knows, they dry up and snap. Not good. Looked for big silicon o-rings but nothing was big enough. Then I realized some hair bands would work, as they are the right size, and elastic.
I got a pack for 30 for $1.99, and your wife/gf may already have plenty laying around.
Simply placed a few of them around the fan housing, then around each fan mount bolt on the lid. The fan is held firmly in place, yet, actually isn't touch anything. Also nothing is in the air path of the fan, same space behind it in pull in air, and nothing blocking the air flow. Same height over the processors as well.
Difference in noise ? Huge, can't even hear the thing running. Had to open the case and check to make sure.
For fun, tried the stock fan again as well, and also had a big reduction in noise level.
I put a couple layers of tape around the case lid too, just to dampened that a little more (not sure it made a difference) but I now have a totally silent Axe-Fx unit, even though I'm running a fan with a proper CFM rate.
No special tools needed, no case mods, no gluing new supports, drilling holds etc. Just a silent fan
Hope this might prove useful for some other users with fan noise annoyance
So, again like many others, I tried some different fans; replacement top motor fan, stealth fan, noiseblocker, and the (different company, same name) fractal fan. They varied in rpm and noise levels, some where pretty quiet, but spun slowly and moved very little air. Others moved plenty of air, but were like little hair dryer motors and louder than stock.
I found the fractal fan to be about the best overall compromise, its rated 18cfm, spins at 3000rpm, and I think its around 16 dB (don't quote me on those specs). More so, it actually felt like it was moving the same amount of air as the stock one.
Well, long story short, no matter what I did, the fans all still bothered me.
Solution ? Change the way the fan is mounted. I always was using the rubber feet, spacers and then sticking the fan mounts through the 4 bolts in the case lid, threading the nuts in the middle of the fan, since the other models are 25mm deep instead of 10mm deep like the stock one. Well the issue with is that your fan is directly coupled to the case lid, and you basically have this big metal lid vibrating with the fan, thus a source of noise.
So how could I try to dampen this vibration/noise issue ? Tried adding rubber washers and such, but no help. Fan is still basically connected directly to those bolts. So, how can I make it not touch the bolts ?
Rubber bands would of been an obvious choice, but as anyone who pulled an old rubber band from a drawer knows, they dry up and snap. Not good. Looked for big silicon o-rings but nothing was big enough. Then I realized some hair bands would work, as they are the right size, and elastic.
I got a pack for 30 for $1.99, and your wife/gf may already have plenty laying around.
Simply placed a few of them around the fan housing, then around each fan mount bolt on the lid. The fan is held firmly in place, yet, actually isn't touch anything. Also nothing is in the air path of the fan, same space behind it in pull in air, and nothing blocking the air flow. Same height over the processors as well.
Difference in noise ? Huge, can't even hear the thing running. Had to open the case and check to make sure.
For fun, tried the stock fan again as well, and also had a big reduction in noise level.
I put a couple layers of tape around the case lid too, just to dampened that a little more (not sure it made a difference) but I now have a totally silent Axe-Fx unit, even though I'm running a fan with a proper CFM rate.
No special tools needed, no case mods, no gluing new supports, drilling holds etc. Just a silent fan
Hope this might prove useful for some other users with fan noise annoyance