My name is Danny and I live in Belgium, am occupied with synths since 1981 and have build a modest homestudio during all those years.
I have a frustrating issue with one of my “gems”: an EMU E4 XT ULTRA. As widely known the internal fan is very noisy. I’ve already replaced it with a much quieter Sunon (12 dbA) but it still annoys me a lot, especially since all other instruments are very silent.
Since the keyboard versions of the EMU-series don’t have a fan and on some sites is stated that a rackmount EMU that is not fully blown can safely operate without a fan I wonder, if one considers the specs below, if it should be possible to disconnect the fan (I don’t like choppers that much ).
So it’s an EMU E4 XT ULTRA with a build in SATA HDD (approx. 13W power consumption), 128 Mb of RAM, the standard digital IO board (AES/EBU - word clock - ASCII), default display and that’s about it. The PSU is a 65W one so not the default type. No RFX board, no other extras.
Should it be possible to operate the sampler without the fan with no risk of earlier degradation of the PSU?
Or does anyone have an idea to get it a lot quieter? BTW I’m sure it’s the fan and not the HDD because I already tried it for a minute with the fan disconnected and heard absolutely nothing (it’s like heaven).
Notice: I’m not an electronic wizard so preferrably no solutions where soldering is involved .
the fan, 40mm, is not itself noisy but the ‘rushing’ noise of air being pulled from the narrow box compartment, the enclosure for the PSU.
if you do run without the 40mm fan you’ll reduce the lifespan of your SMPS
There are three possible routes:
1# get a new multi-output power supply that runs more efficiently and does not need forced air convection for cooling. XP Power and Traco make good SMPS
2# get fabric tape (sealing tape TESA 51608-00006-00) and ‘tape’ down the box compartment enclosing the SMPS, you’ll see that the box isn’t fixed to the bottom of the chassis and is loose. You will also need to add some absorption material to the rest of the chassis as there is a lot of empty air - you need Teroson Adhesive bitumen Acoustic Insulation
3# take out the 40mm fan and instead put in a larger 60-80mm fan with rubber mounts, threaded through the holes that exist on the box that covers the SMPS.
Thanks for your clear answer. The PSU is a brand new one, ordered about 2 months ago. It’s 65W instead of 45W as the default PSU. It has larger cooling fins too os heath is better purged.
I measured the total power consumption of the EMU as 38W (as stated I don’t have extra optional cards installed, only a HDD). So running without fans is possible but not recommended.
Your third suggestion looks the most promising to me. I’m going to search an 8mm fan 12VDC 2 leads with rubber mounting screws and install it at the side of the PSU cover like in your picture.
Thanks a lot for your kind help … much appreciated.
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