tiresias
Established Member
Over on another thread I've been whining (pun intended) about the hum from the fans on my VT50 65".
It seems opinions, or sets, are sharply divided. For some, the fan noise is a set-returning deal breaker; others have sets (or ears) which mean any fan noise is only audible if you get up close round the back.
For those in the former camp, I offer the solution that's worked for me.
First of all, this isn't a complete fix. It's more of a "significant amelioration". Secondly, you adopt this entirely at your own risk. I have no idea whether this mod may invalidate your warranty, damage your set or whatever. But it's working for me and I hope someone else benefits from it.
The worst of the whining/humming noise seems to come from the top right hand speaker (as you look at the set from the front). This also seems to be the experience of at least one other member on here. More specifically, I found, it comes seems to come from the lower half - even more specifically, the lower right hand quarter (again looking at the set from the front) of that particular speaker.
I experimented with baffling off various sections of either/both speakers and the greatest reduction in unwanted noise definitely came from loosely obstructing that section of that speaker. Obstructing other areas had some effect but nowhere near as great.
Last night, I watched an evening's TV in peace with a sheet of A4 attached with a single small strip of magictape in the position in the image below.
It worked perfectly, reducing the hum to a point where it was not noticeable event over the quietest audio. However, there are (at least) two problems with this solution: it's blocking a substantial amount of the fan (albeit loosely) and it looks rubbish!
So I invested in two of the 80mm size of these:
Quiet PC High Quality Magnetic Computer Dust Filters
I've attached one to the back of each of the two fans and the result is impressive. Not perfect - the whine is still there - but massively improved, to the extent that it really isn't noticeable at all now.
You can see what they look like when attached in the image below.
Now, these dust filters are designed for an entirely different application - most pertinently for intake rather than extract fans. They do cause some obstruction and are therefore likely to interfere to some extent with whatever cooling function the fans on the VT50 are supposed to be carrying out.
Nevertheless, they're pretty cheap, very easy to fit (and remove), look OK and, most importantly, kill the fan hum (at least, for me) to a level where it's no longer an issue.
I hope this helps someone. I'm off to watch TV...
It seems opinions, or sets, are sharply divided. For some, the fan noise is a set-returning deal breaker; others have sets (or ears) which mean any fan noise is only audible if you get up close round the back.
For those in the former camp, I offer the solution that's worked for me.
First of all, this isn't a complete fix. It's more of a "significant amelioration". Secondly, you adopt this entirely at your own risk. I have no idea whether this mod may invalidate your warranty, damage your set or whatever. But it's working for me and I hope someone else benefits from it.
The worst of the whining/humming noise seems to come from the top right hand speaker (as you look at the set from the front). This also seems to be the experience of at least one other member on here. More specifically, I found, it comes seems to come from the lower half - even more specifically, the lower right hand quarter (again looking at the set from the front) of that particular speaker.
I experimented with baffling off various sections of either/both speakers and the greatest reduction in unwanted noise definitely came from loosely obstructing that section of that speaker. Obstructing other areas had some effect but nowhere near as great.
Last night, I watched an evening's TV in peace with a sheet of A4 attached with a single small strip of magictape in the position in the image below.
It worked perfectly, reducing the hum to a point where it was not noticeable event over the quietest audio. However, there are (at least) two problems with this solution: it's blocking a substantial amount of the fan (albeit loosely) and it looks rubbish!
So I invested in two of the 80mm size of these:
Quiet PC High Quality Magnetic Computer Dust Filters
I've attached one to the back of each of the two fans and the result is impressive. Not perfect - the whine is still there - but massively improved, to the extent that it really isn't noticeable at all now.
You can see what they look like when attached in the image below.
Now, these dust filters are designed for an entirely different application - most pertinently for intake rather than extract fans. They do cause some obstruction and are therefore likely to interfere to some extent with whatever cooling function the fans on the VT50 are supposed to be carrying out.
Nevertheless, they're pretty cheap, very easy to fit (and remove), look OK and, most importantly, kill the fan hum (at least, for me) to a level where it's no longer an issue.
I hope this helps someone. I'm off to watch TV...