Who makes the quietest projectors?

[Jules]

I've had my Sony VW11 for over 2 years, and I'm finding it harder and harder to tolerate the fan noise.

If I were to change it, what would you recommend as a (genuinely) near silent replacement.
When I bought the Sony it was advertised as near silent, so you obviously can't trust the manufacturers claims.

I once saw a Yamaha DPX-1 that was much quieter than the Sony, but how much have things moved on?
Is the new Sony HS20 quieter than the VW11?

 

[Kramer]

Personally I think the new Panasonics are among the quietest available (in "eco" mode). The HS20 is also far quieter than the HS10 but the latter was never noted for being "silent"

I haven't heard a VW11 recently but would assume the HS20 is quieter.

As always, a demo is recommended.

 

[explicitlyrics]

do you think it is getting more noisy? if so you could try and open the projector to see if the fans are clogged up. after cleaning them they run smoother and make less noise, just an idea if it hasnt been cleaned in 2 years,,,

 

[Jules]

Checking the fans for dirt sounds like a sensible idea... I'll have a look.
However, I probably have the most under-used projector on these forums.
Over 2 years and only 380 hours on the clock (all in cinema black mode too!), so I'd be suprised if they were clocked up already.

Demo-ing projectors for fan noise is very dfficult. Even if you find a good dealer with a demo room, I don't think you can tell how intrusive the fan the noise really is until you get it home.

 

[Messiah]

Originally posted by Jules
Demo-ing projectors for fan noise is very dfficult. Even if you find a good dealer with a demo room, I don't think you can tell how intrusive the fan the noise really is until you get it home.

Agreed. I upgraded my Sharp Z10k to a Marantz S3 primarily due to fan noise as it sounded whisper quiet at a friends house. Unfortunately, when installed in my room it is no quieter than the one it replaced, and that's in low brightness mode.

All in all not a worthy upgrade and certainly not woth the £3k upgrade cost