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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
rodman99999
3,557 posts
 
Two fans will lower the speed of each, but then you'll have the noise of two fans beating the air(no benefit). Place a 560 ohm, 10 watt power resistor in series with the fan, and it will reduce the speed significantly. Personally- I would remove the top cover, and raise the amp slightly with isolation devices(like Isoclean Tip Toes or something similar/taller) to increase the air flow/convection, and let it ride. Ambient noise sucks the life out of music listening for me too. A slight shortening of tube life isn't much of a price to pay for increased listening pleasure(to me anyway- My mono blocks only have half the 6550s of your VT-200).
dev
832 posts
 
I have found the fans in all AR product noisy and are very distracting when listening to music specifically on quiet passages etc. You would think by now that ARC would realize this issue and correct, all they have to do is put in a better fans.

You can order quieter fans from other sources, check out other AR threads for info.
etbaby
137 posts
 
I agree with rodman. Remove the top cover and elevate the amp. This will improve cooling.
hifigy
59 posts
 
I saw a mod a while back for fans that we're much quieter. I wish I could remember where I read it. I believe it used some high quality computer fans but, I'm not certain. Do some googling and you may find it. I have a VT-200 and have mine closer than you, in the medium setting and have not found it too distracting. It may be that your fan has gone bad and a new unit from ARC may fix it but, that's just a guess. You might even wish to call Steve Huntley at GNSC. He's worked on these and may have a suggestion.

All the best,

Tim
hifibri
39 posts
 
I had the same issue with a VT 100 MKIII and agree with Rodman as well. I believe the proximity of the fan to the bottom cover was the main problem as the air made noise as it passed through the slots in the cover. You could; detach the fan from the bottom and raise it up a bit, remove the bottom completely and place the fan on the shelf the amp is sitting on, or what I did was to removed the top and bottom covers and disconnected the fan completely. Added bonuses - prevents fan vibrations from affecting the amp and the amp warms up faster. I use a separate fan at the top of the case to extract heat during those long listening sessions - the noise is practically nil. Extracting air is more effective for cooling than blowing air into the case.
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