ARC VT-200 Cooling Fan Noisy, nit picking?


I would be the last person to claim that I have the most sensitive hearing but in my well-damped dedicated listening room, the sound of the cooling fan in my amp is noticeable (and distracting at times). I've even set the adjustable speed to the slowest setting and I can still hear it. The amp sits on an amp stand between my speakers about 10' from my listening chair and has plenty of ventilation but anyone familiar with the VT-200 knows that it can put out some serious btu's. Would it significantly affect tube life if I disconnected the cooling fan? Anyone else try replacing the fan with one that runs more quietly? Is this an "Ask Leonard" question?
jc4659

Showing 1 response by bradearles

I don't think you are nit picking. It is noise that is being generated that is interfering with your music listening - which is unacceptable. I don't know if you can do anything about it but there is a way to minimize fan noise and still move some air if you work around the problem from the original design. One way to do it is to use two 120 volt motors in series (electrically) so they only see 60 volts each and run at reduced speed and noise. The two fans move less air individually than normal but the combined output may be close (may be more or less) to the original single fan but with less noise. I built a custom amp that I only needed to move a small amount of air in so I used a single 220 volt fan and applied 120 volts to it so it moved enough air but was silent unless you got your ear close to the amp. Sorry there isn't an easy answer but you might contact ARC and see what they have to say.

Brad