Refrigerator noise


Seriously guys, how do you deal with it? My fridge is in the vicinity of my living room with all my equipment. It's pretty old machine, and the compressor is making noise almost half the time it's on ( seems to me pretty unusual, when I go to see my friends I never hear anything). I even set the level lower, but to no avail. Anybody with a similar problem? How can you check noise of a new fridge in a fairly loud environment of big store? Any recommendation (brand names)? No ice boxes please... :-)
branislav
Tvad - Your findings concerning Sub Zero warranty are consistent with the terms in my owner's manual.

The big difference between a Sub Zero and more conventional products lies in the fact that the Sub will meet it's original specs long after most other refrigerators have been replaced.

By the way, they claim my refrigerator uses less juice than a 100 watt light bulb.

I bought a Samsung over/under combo fridge/freezer for one of my rentals last year and it seems very nice and user friendly for the $900 and change that I paid. I haven't lived with it at all though so I'm not sure whether or not it gets any points for quiet operation.
I agree with cleaning around the compressor. The unit will run quieter and more efficiently - meaning that it will be "off" and silent for longer periods of time.

However, ambient noise is ambient noise. A couple of years ago, there was a power outage in my neighborhood. It was the first time that I experience true silence at home.

I am a big fan of SubZero refrigerators. The house that my parents built in the mid 50s had one that was still going strong when they sold the house 30 years later. Their second house also had a SubZero as did my first house; both of these units were trouble-free until the houses were sold more than 15 years later. My current SubZero is 15 years old. About 3 years ago, I needed to have the condenser replaced. Even though it was out of warranty, the company paid half of the cost of new unit plus labor. I have heard that the newest units are quieter and use less energy than my 15 year old refrigerator.
Due to the interest of this oh-so-lame thread I will be starting a new site -FridgeoGon.

I cant believe I read the whole thing....