2. amps-preamps
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Educating Myself About Fan Noise

Until I owned a Dynaco 400 (200 WPC) Vintage Solid State Amp, I don't think I had ever given this issue any thought.

If I unhook the fan, it does get a bit too hot, so I have to plug it back in. I've had some recommendations to try quieter fans, but I am very do-it-yourself averse, and I am very extraneous-noise averse, so I am thinking of simply trying to buy a new two-channel amp.

Putting aside all the other issues we could discuss (what is my system, budget, etc.), I think my interest here is just really to understand a bit better an issue that I'd never really given much thought to. Do many amps, tube or solid state, have this fan noise issue once they get "up there" in power?

I do think I would like good power for this particular speaker setup and am leaning toward solid state. I'm fine buying some less expensive "decent" sounding equipment, but when I read about it I don't know if the owners are putting up with fan noise and not even telling me.

I guess I just would like to narrow down, when I read about some of that equipment, how much of it has this fan noise that it brings with it.

I have a 70 WPC Arcam integrated amp that I use in another purpose, and this allows me to hear some good things (I've never owned a lot of super-duper hi-fi, though my speakers are considered good), even if it's not super-powerful, and it does not have a fan, but rather some modest-sized heat distribution in the back.
joshl

Showing 1 response by johnanguswebb

johnanguswebb
7 posts
 
Eight years after the posts above, I want to thank jedinite24 for documenting so much information about the fan. I just bought a Sumo 9 without a prior listening test. The fan was definitely an issue. Having read it should be making 31dB of noise, I measured mine at 56dB. I think it may be getting old! Even a relatively loud new fan should be an improvement. It’s good to know the required specification while I look for one.
Thanks again.
PS my immediate solution to the fan noise problem was to put the amp in the basement, run speaker wires via the heating duct cutouts, and turn the amp on and off remotely using Google Home with a wifi smart plug. Despite that, my fan is actually so loud I can hear it faintly through the basement door. I think I’ll also add rubber grommets as suggested above. Thanks for that tip too.
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