VT50 fan noise - fix!!

tiresias

Established Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
349
Reaction score
33
Points
110
Location
Leeds
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...:smashin:
 

Attachments

  • Photo 15-06-2012 17 26 30.jpg
    Photo 15-06-2012 17 26 30.jpg
    105 KB · Views: 3,861
OK, I can't work out how to post multiple attachments. :rolleyes: So here's the shot of the piece of A4 that had the most effect, referred to above.
 

Attachments

  • Photo 15-06-2012 16 54 38.jpg
    Photo 15-06-2012 16 54 38.jpg
    73.8 KB · Views: 2,373
Is it a brushless fan?
 
Thanks for this.

I posted a few months back about partially sticking a post-it note over one of the speaker grills, but the magnetic filters are a neater solution. I picked one up from eBay and although it doesn't make a huge difference, it was enough to decrease the fan noise to a more acceptable and easily ignored level. A second one should help reduce it further, but for me, it's probably not essential. For just over a fiver per filter, it's made a big difference.
 
tiresias - Is your fix still working ok - is the temperature of the TV still ok/not over heating?

The fan noise on my 55VT50 is very audible in quiet scenes. Even the wife (whom doesn't have sensitive lugs like me) can hear it.

I love the TV and don't really want to send back for a replacement and am willing to spend ÂŁ10-15 for the filters if they help.

Thanks
 
Ok,

Got the filters and they do make a difference but not enough to not hear the fans in quiet scenes.

Also, there is an audible hum when a static scene with a lot of white in it is displayed.

Shame as this is a great set, let down by fan noise especially
 
Ok,

Got the filters and they do make a difference but not enough to not hear the fans in quiet scenes.

Also, there is an audible hum when a static scene with a lot of white in it is displayed.

Shame as this is a great set, let down by fan noise especially

If it appears with white scenes, it is not the fans.

It occurs with all plasmas when the screen is all white or almost white.
 
Thanks gamen - never had a plasma and didn't realise they hum on static/white screens.

The fans are definitely making a very audible noise that can be heard from 10/11 feet away.

My wife mentioned it first and she does not have as good a hearing as me, so with both of us hearing the fans when listening to the news and other quiet scenes, it would seem that the fans are not very good quality ones.

They make more noise than a desktop PC fan does.

At over 2K for a TV, I would have expected Panasonic to have spashed a little extra cash on quality fans like Zalman etc.

But on the other hand, they might be quality fans and it could just be a personal perception thing as very few people have mentioned fan noise. Just a bit unusual that both of us are hearing it, so I can only presume I've got a set with duff fans or our hearing is sensitive to the frequency and loudness of the fans.

I really like the TV - picture is amazing and looks great, it's just the fans that are the issue....sob sob

I hope to change it out for a replacement and hope the fan issue disappears. If it doesn't I'm wondering if under warranty I could ask the supplier to change the fans for better quality ones, such as zalman with me footing the bill for the fans?

I really want to keep the TV. I just can't live with fan noise for 'x' years.
 
If you do this you are essentially keeping the dust and heat inside the set. These fans expel air. Putting a filter after the fan will create a high pressure front in front of the filter and will spread dust all over the inside of the set.
I would steer clear...
 
Thanks gamen - never had a plasma and didn't realise they hum on static/white screens.

The fans are definitely making a very audible noise that can be heard from 10/11 feet away.

My wife mentioned it first and she does not have as good a hearing as me, so with both of us hearing the fans when listening to the news and other quiet scenes, it would seem that the fans are not very good quality ones.

They make more noise than a desktop PC fan does.

At over 2K for a TV, I would have expected Panasonic to have spashed a little extra cash on quality fans like Zalman etc.

But on the other hand, they might be quality fans and it could just be a personal perception thing as very few people have mentioned fan noise. Just a bit unusual that both of us are hearing it, so I can only presume I've got a set with duff fans or our hearing is sensitive to the frequency and loudness of the fans.

I really like the TV - picture is amazing and looks great, it's just the fans that are the issue....sob sob

I hope to change it out for a replacement and hope the fan issue disappears. If it doesn't I'm wondering if under warranty I could ask the supplier to change the fans for better quality ones, such as zalman with me footing the bill for the fans?

I really want to keep the TV. I just can't live with fan noise for 'x' years.

I have an European 50 VT 50 and with silent moments I can hear the right fan in my position (2.5 meters).

And I agree with you the fans seem very cheap.

Best regards.
 
Thanks gamen - never had a plasma and didn't realise they hum on static/white screens.

The fans are definitely making a very audible noise that can be heard from 10/11 feet away.

My wife mentioned it first and she does not have as good a hearing as me, so with both of us hearing the fans when listening to the news and other quiet scenes, it would seem that the fans are not very good quality ones.

They make more noise than a desktop PC fan does.

At over 2K for a TV, I would have expected Panasonic to have spashed a little extra cash on quality fans like Zalman etc.

But on the other hand, they might be quality fans and it could just be a personal perception thing as very few people have mentioned fan noise. Just a bit unusual that both of us are hearing it, so I can only presume I've got a set with duff fans or our hearing is sensitive to the frequency and loudness of the fans.

I really like the TV - picture is amazing and looks great, it's just the fans that are the issue....sob sob

I hope to change it out for a replacement and hope the fan issue disappears. If it doesn't I'm wondering if under warranty I could ask the supplier to change the fans for better quality ones, such as zalman with me footing the bill for the fans?

I really want to keep the TV. I just can't live with fan noise for 'x' years.

What did you do in the end, this is annoying the hell out of me as I seem to hear it all the time, whereas the wife says only on quiet bits. But for a 2k tv it shouldn't be like this, its far noisy than my loudest sky boxes etc.
 
Anybody know what the actual fans are and how difficult is to get to them\swap them out.
 
Yep realise I would void warranty but given its doing my head in, its something to consider.

Will however do the top gun fix and hopefully my thrust vectoriing so remove some noise if not the whine that probably annoys me more.
 
Just a thought,have you guys got the contrast/brighness corectly set?
If the set is burning to bright,the fans will have to work alot harder...would have thought?!
 
If you do this you are essentially keeping the dust and heat inside the set. These fans expel air. Putting a filter after the fan will create a high pressure front in front of the filter and will spread dust all over the inside of the set.
I would steer clear...

This should be heeded IMO, you may have a faulty set so try a replacement, if your set goes wrong due to obstructing the air you have no recourse.
 
:laugh:just hoovered my vents,man they were dusty.
 
Just a thought,have you guys got the contrast/brighness corectly set?
If the set is burning to bright,the fans will have to work alot harder...would have thought?!

Had thought about this last night as I went into the service menu the fans actually sped up and got louder ugh .... but trying it in normal mode and reducing brightness etc appeared to make no difference
 
This should be heeded IMO, you may have a faulty set so try a replacement, if your set goes wrong due to obstructing the air you have no recourse.

dust shouldn't accumulate from inside a TV - it comes from human skin, doesn't it? it drops in through the vents, and a filter would stop that process...

and the heat will largely still be able to escape, i would imagine.

i am going to try this (for a VT65) and will gather some temperature readings if it is to stay on permanently. i.e. if it fixes fan noise.
 
Last edited:
I have a 55" VT50 and right from day one the fans (particularly the upper right one) were very loud - easily heard from 3.5 metres away, even over speech. A ridiculous amount of noise from a top of the line set.

Finally made a warranty claim about it and they came and put new fans in, which I very much doubted would make a difference as the new fans were identical (I'm a computer tech so know a bit about fan noise).

However it did work. Can only hear the new fans standing close (maybe 1 metre) away.

The fans look very similar to computer 80mm fans (didn't measure them though) except thinner and with a different connecter. They have three wires, which usually indicates some sort of speed control, but the tech said they run at a fixed speed. They're held on with rubber mounts and foam insulation.

There is a plastic shroud that goes behind the outer edge of the blades which I think might create some noise - it would be worth cutting that wider by about 8mm all round. The other solution would be putting a computer fan speed controller in line to slow the fans a bit. One of these:

::: Zalman, leading the world of Quiet Computing Solutions :::
 
That's interesting I am still waiting to hear back on mine though I need to chase the shop, been very busy with work recently to the point where that is the focus.

I did have the back off mine at one point and might still buy some spare fans of the bay so I have a proper connector to work with as it is non standard.
 
There is a fix for vt65 for fan noise, Has anyone got the same fix done to there vt50?
 
I might have spoken too soon. After a day or two the noise seems as loud as it ever was. So either the fans quickly become noisy, or perhaps the foam that insulates them from the body of the TV hardens and transmits more noise (grasping at straws here). I might try cutting the shroud and putting a fan controller inline.

(after opening the TV) - it's not the foam hardening.
 
Last edited:
I decided to operate (warranty be damned) and try some computer sound insulating sheet foam. It's sticky backed and about 4mm thick. I put in under the fans and around them on the metal back of the TV (to prevent any vibrations of the surrounding metalwork). Also under the connector. My TV is a 55" VT50.

To open the TV remove all the screws and the wifi and bluetooth adaptor (pull them down to unplug), then the back simply lifts off easily. There are a few screws apart from the ones around the edge so if it doesn't lift off easily you've missed some.

Also tried cutting some of the plastic shrouding from the fans, which is quite easy, on the theory that the outer edges of the blades are obstructed. Just score it with a Stanley knife (box cutter), then snap off with pliers. Smooth off any rough edges.

I stupidly didn't take any noise measuremnts before and after (even though I have a sound meter!). I can't say it made a huge difference - maybe a bit, but I think the only solution is to slow the fans down.

In the attached photo's you see the fans. They're 90x90x12mm with a 3 point attachment so adapting computer fans might be tricky. There's some thin 80mm fans but not such a lot of 90mm ones. You possibly could stick or glue 80mm fans to the tv. The connectors are also not standard computer ones.
 

Attachments

  • DSC00101_3.jpg
    DSC00101_3.jpg
    95.7 KB · Views: 991
  • DSC00102_3.jpg
    DSC00102_3.jpg
    80 KB · Views: 922
  • DSC00103_3.jpg
    DSC00103_3.jpg
    63.3 KB · Views: 882
  • DSC00106_3.jpg
    DSC00106_3.jpg
    49.9 KB · Views: 869
  • DSC00108_3.jpg
    DSC00108_3.jpg
    44.7 KB · Views: 842
  • DSC00109_3.jpg
    DSC00109_3.jpg
    50 KB · Views: 833
  • DSC00112_3.jpg
    DSC00112_3.jpg
    116.9 KB · Views: 890
  • DSC00116_3.jpg
    DSC00116_3.jpg
    100.3 KB · Views: 833
  • DSC00121_3.jpg
    DSC00121_3.jpg
    44.3 KB · Views: 805
  • DSC00122_3.jpg
    DSC00122_3.jpg
    114.8 KB · Views: 834
  • DSC00124_3.jpg
    DSC00124_3.jpg
    72.6 KB · Views: 861
  • DSC00125_3.jpg
    DSC00125_3.jpg
    72.6 KB · Views: 873
  • DSC00126_3.jpg
    DSC00126_3.jpg
    103.1 KB · Views: 893
  • DSC00127_3.jpg
    DSC00127_3.jpg
    97 KB · Views: 841
  • DSC00129_3.jpg
    DSC00129_3.jpg
    89.8 KB · Views: 867
  • DSC00130_3.jpg
    DSC00130_3.jpg
    80.5 KB · Views: 917
  • DSC00131_3.jpg
    DSC00131_3.jpg
    95.6 KB · Views: 873
  • DSC00132_3.jpg
    DSC00132_3.jpg
    132.5 KB · Views: 914
The fans are Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation. NMB-MAT 7 Model 3605FL-09W-S29. 10 volts, 0.04 Amps
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom