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Ways to reduce HDD noise?

Mick

Mick

Member
Hi - our HDR-FOX T2 sits on an open shelf beneath the tv, and there's a small amount of mechanical hum that comes from the box when it's on, possibly exacerbated by the glass shelf it sits on.
This isn't that noticeable when watching programmes via the T2 but if it comes on to record during the evening and, say, one of us is having a quiet read, it can become quite irritating.
I'd guess the easiest, if not the most inexpensive, way would be to put an SSD inside, but that's still a pricy option, even with costs falling as they are.
So, do any of you good folk on here have any tips regarding ways to reduce noise levels?
All and any helpful advice gratefully received.

Mick
 
Mick said:
I'd guess the easiest, if not the most inexpensive, way would be to put an SSD inside, but that's still a pricy option, even with costs falling as they are.
Click to expand...
The jury is still out on whether an SSD is suited to PVR use.

Just put some sound-deadening material under the feet. I found cork drinks coasters good, but I happened to have some hanging around. Be mindful of the ventilation holes on the underside.
 
The ones I use are the soft version of the ones that GLT linked to above. They are really good at isolating any vibration from the HDD. I just can't hear my T2 unless I go to within a few inches of it. It's actually sitting on a pretty thin wooden shelf that was really accentuation the HDD hum before I put those feet on it. HWMBO would be the first to pounce on any extraneous noise, so I know it's not just my hearing. I would try that before you go to the dubious swapping of the HDD for a jolly expensive SSD.
Personally, I would have thought (without actually trying it) that cork coasters, being fairly solid and non-resilient, wouldn't make a lot of difference.
 
If you know anyone who plays squash, then the old classic used to be 2 balls cut in half; place one dome-up under each foot.
 
Thanks for the replies, all. I've ordered a set of the soft AcoustiFeet pads - will see how I get on!

Thanks again

Mick
 
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I have blu tak under the feet of one of my HDR Fox T2s, as with other people's solution I had some to hand and it was enough to do the trick. The other HDR Fox T2 sitting on an identical glass shelf but simply the next down in the rack doesn't need anything.
 
Owen Smith said:
I have blu tak under the feet of one of my HDR Fox T2s, as with other people's solution I had some to hand and it was enough to do the trick. The other HDR Fox T2 sitting on an identical glass shelf but simply the next down in the rack doesn't need anything.
Click to expand...

Might be less effective after some time as it does go pretty hard eventually. :) Still I suppose it's cheap to replace ;)

How about four soft rubbers (before someone comments I do mean the pencil eraser type :p )


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staedtler-P...id=1445793641&sr=8-4&keywords=pencils+rubbers

I have four Humax pvrs in my lounge, can't say the HDD's (3 of them on glass shelves) are normally audible. The Foxsat-hdr wakes up in the early hours, the few times the lounge is pressed into service as a guest bedroom, no one has commented they heard it wake up.

I think a lot depends on the HDD installed. The Foxsat has a 1TB WD AV-GP drive which is extremely quiet. The HDR1000S has a similar WD-AV-GP 2TB drive it's about a metre from my left earhole and is totally inaudible.

The Seagate drives in the pair of HDR FOX T2's are definitely a bit noisier .
 
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Well, the soft Acoustifeet arrived yesterday and yes, peace has resumed! We can still (just) hear the hard disc spinning but the irritating drone has completely gone.
Thanks everyone who chipped in with comments and suggestions.

Mick
 
Mick said:
Hi - our HDR-FOX T2 sits on an open shelf beneath the tv, and there's a small amount of mechanical hum that comes from the box when it's on, possibly exacerbated by the glass shelf it sits on.
This isn't that noticeable when watching programmes via the T2 but if it comes on to record during the evening and, say, one of us is having a quiet read, it can become quite irritating.
I'd guess the easiest, if not the most inexpensive, way would be to put an SSD inside, but that's still a pricy option, even with costs falling as they are.
So, do any of you good folk on here have any tips regarding ways to reduce noise levels?
All and any helpful advice gratefully received.

Mick
Click to expand...

I recently had a hard drive failure in my Fox T2 and I noticed the original drive was a Seagate "Pipeline" drive (now in the bin) and I did a temporary replacement with an old, fully working Samsung drive I salvaged from a PC. This drive was quite noisy. I ordered a new drive, a "WD AV 1TB 3.5" SATA Media Hard Drive", which proved to be as quiet as a mouse. These WD drives are designed for quiet operation (only 5400 rpm spin speed) in AV and desktop boxes.
It maybe that your drive has been replaced at some time or the drive is starting to fail. The WD AV drives will be a lot cheaper than SSD and you could also add a WD AV drive of 2GB capacity. (Don't go any higher because Humax T2 doesn't directly support higher than 2GB)
When I removed the old drive from the T2, I noticed it was mounted in a plastic frame with vibration resistant mounts around each mounting screw which should not be tightened too much.
Also, you may like to check the fan as this can be quite noisy when it comes on. It is not on all the time as the T2 controls the on/off times according to internal temperatures. To test when the fan is on just stand a small piece of paper at the back of the unit to cover the fan and when it blows over you can see the fan is on at that time and monitor the noise level then.
 
DaveMe said:
Also, you may like to check the fan as this can be quite noisy when it comes on. It is not on all the time as the T2 controls the on/off times according to internal temperatures.
Click to expand...
If you install the custom firmware, you can tame the fan noise by having it run slowly all the time, instead of it ramping up to full speed when the box gets too hot (as defined by the circuitry)
 
Trev said:
If you install the custom firmware, you can tame the fan noise by having it run slowly all the time, instead of it ramping up to full speed when the box gets too hot (as defined by the circuitry)
Click to expand...
Yeah that's a good tip Trev. However I do suspect the hard drive more than the fan. I just mentioned the fan for completeness :)
The fan is of the brushless motor design and generally work well or fail completely (unless clogged with dust) but it's always woth checking if you have the cover off the T2.
I would prefer to stick with the T2s firmware speeds though as overheating may occur if you alter the defaults, but "Custom firmware" is superb for many other reasons.
 
Your choice, but I find that the fan is quite noisy when full on compared with the HDD. I have my fan setting to 50% minspeed. The box normally runs at abt 45C with an absolute max of 48C over the last 10 days and can't hear the fan at all, ever. The accoustifeet fixed the 'drone' from my HDD.
 
DaveMe said:
I would prefer to stick with the T2s firmware speeds though as overheating may occur if you alter the defaults, but "Custom firmware" is superb for many other reasons.
Click to expand...

The "fan" package simply imposes a minimum speed for the fan, it doesn't let it be turned off. But if due to high temperature the Humax software wants to run the fan faster then it still does so. You can't lose. Also with the fan running at 40 to 50% all the time you will find it is a) near silent and b) the hard disc will run at consistently lower temperatures than with the raw Humax fan handling. You can prove this yourself, the custom firmware sysmon package includes hard disc temperature graphs.
 
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