Just take a table fan and crank it up. Have one person on one side of the fan talk to you while you are on the other side of the fan. What do you hear? Now tell me if a fan affects the sound, or not.....
Does the ceiling fan affect the sound?
Hi everyone,
The ceiling fans generate a large wind in the center of my listening room....Duh.
The tweeter's tiny movements are minuscule especially when compared to the giant fan blade motion.
I think this is affecting the quality of sound. To me, this seems similar to trying to watch the ripples from a pebble through a boat wake. The ripples get lost in the larger waves.
Of course I can turn on the A/C, but that has a whole other set of noise issues.
What do you think? Do you hear a difference when the ceiling fan is on?
Searcher
57 responses Add your response
| Post removed |
I think I've experienced situations where strong air flow due to fans or whatever cause sound to resonate in ways not heard when fan is off. Anyhow clearly many things (fans, fuses whatever) CAN affect sound. The important questions are DOES IT in each specific case or how likely in general . The only thing safe to say probably is that no two cases will be exactly the same, no matter what, so what each person hears in each case is likely different for many different reasons. Generalizations seldom work out well with hifi sound. Too many variables to take into account many of which may not even be clear or known. |
| Post removed |
It would seem rather unlikely that the air blown by the ceiling fan at say 5 ft/sec would have any audible impact on the acoustic waves produced by the speakers that travel at the speed of sound, I.e., 1100 ft/sec. The fan would blow orthogonal to the entire waveform simultaneous so distortion to the acoustic waves if any would be minimal. Whereas bowls of cold H2O on the floor out in front of the speakers will undoubtedly affect the acoustic waves and the sound. And for the better. |
I am amazed and astounded by this thread. I have a large , 3 story house, The third story is my recital hall, if you like. When I have the fan on, any speed, it screws with the music in a big way. Sound is a wave of compression and decompression, and and factor that changes that will change the music. I cannot run the fan and hear the music accurately . This is an observation, supported by science. What is this discussion about? |
If I understand the question correctly (and I'm a newbie, so you can take all this into consideration), but if you're asking if the fan breeze alters speaker output, if it were a solid breeze (at whatever normal speed), I don't think so, the "pulses" of a speaker push back against whatever is against it, whether zero or .1 feet per second. I would think (again, presuming constant), it might change the frequency a fraction, much in the order of a train coming toward you, then going away. But if the train (or music) keeps coming toward you, you'll never notice. In JEA48's post, that sound that we've all heard, I believe requires you to be that close, where the relative chopped sound distances are significant: Two feet back from that same fan, and you don't hear that. Just my thoughts. |
If you try to tune adjacent stings of a guitar to the same pitch using harmonics you do it by gradually tuning one string up to match the other. In the process you hear increasingly slower "beats" as you move closer to the actual pitch of the other string. If a fan is on you can’t do this because the "beats" never go away. So fans are affecting musical sounds in a subtle but strange way. My wife had the ceiling fan removed from her (piano) teaching area for this reason. It drove her bats. I don’t notice it much when I’m not tuning an instrument by ear (I don’t use electronic tuners). |
no kiddin' either: was recently in Pour House where bunch of fans turned on and AC too Neither fans or AC stopped me from enjoying live music. No distortion heard due to the multiple ceiling fans and AC. Noted that musicians often placed bottles of spring water on top of PA speakers or instrument amps. Isn't that sounding "tweaky"? |
A strong breeze does degrade sound, as when at an outdoor concert or event. In a strong crosswind, the sound waxes and wanes as the air it traveling through is suddenly replaced by different air blowing in. The air in your room is fairly stationary--not sure how much of a breeze it would take to distort the sound. Another puzzler--does your system sound better through clean air---do large dust particles and dander distort the sound as it is propagated through air molecules? Whoa, an audiophile air purifier! Ultra filtrate for clean sound.......... |
The electric fan is run by a motor. So is the refrigerator. Try this experiment ... unplug all appliances ... refrigerator, fan, TV and computers. Then sit down for a new listening experience. Be sure to tie a big string around your finger so you remember to plug the refrigerator back on before you go to bed. And for the fuse deniers ... put a couple of fuses up your noses for a new experience. The sinuses become extra clear with a lot more depth. Happy listening ... |
Lalitk wrote, "OP, ceiling fans and AC blowers definitely affect the sound. Remember, sound is air in motion. I keep my fan on low to medium speed." By that logic sound traveling through physical objects like wood or glass would require the wood or water molecules to move. Sound is wood in motion? I don't think so. |
| Post removed |
geoffkait3,299 posts04-26-2016 3:52pmNot sure I feel as if my chains were rattled however I do have a slight sense of creepiness. I hear that Czarivey is easily rattled, though. ;-) To which Czarivey responded, "As always, Geoff, you’re missing point, but as before mentioned, learning is never late." There was a point? Shirley you jest. |
abnerjack4 posts04-26-2016 3:37pmgeoffkait and czarivey,Very good. An acknowledgement is always appreciated. Learning is never late. geoffkait3,299 posts04-26-2016 3:52pmNot sure I feel as if my chains were rattled however I do have a slight sense of creepiness. I hear that Czarivey is easily rattled, though. ;-) As always, Geoff, you're missing point, but as before mentioned, learning is never late. |
| Post removed |
geoffkait and czarivey, It appears that I rattled some chains. The op had a question and you two ankle biters decided to assault him with your "snarling" sense of humor and "biting" sarcasm. Based on your responses to me and others, it is clear that I am dealing with a couple who possess supreme intelligence and extraordinarily quick wit. Certainly too much for me to compete with. I bow to your greatness and superiority. |
Id say it's surely possible. Sound is affected by the air medium it travels through. If it matters or not is a case by case thing I'd say. At minimum a fan could raise the noise floor level in the room as well due motor noise and air circulating so that could surely impact what one hears. I have at least one room with a fan that I tend to turn off for serious listening. Like most things it all depends case by case and hard to generalize. |
mapman, I thought it was clear that the op had heard something different when the fan was on versus off. I felt he was looking for some confirmation that this might be feasible, not just his ears playing tricks on him. If you thought that he hadn't done the comparison, I apologize. Likewise, I am sorry to be putting you in the company that I did. |
Actually I’d rather not discuss fuse direction at all and would not if not for some others who are obsessed with such trivial things and try to waste time of others accordingly. Regarding a ceiling fan, another trivial issue I would not worry about but someone asked so not hard to try both ways and see for one’s self if it makes a difference rather than just talking about it. Same true for fuse directions if someone really cares enough to try. I agree talking/barking accomplishes nothing. |
| Post removed |