Ashdown ABM C115-500 EVOIII fan noise...

drumNbass28 · #1 08-27-2011, 04:06 PM

Hi earlier this week I got myself an Ashdown ABM C115-500 EVOIII. A beautiful, good-sounding amp. But there is one problem: the 2 cooling fans in it make quite some noise... Because I've never owned a big amp before I don't know wether this is normal or not. When I set my output at one quarter open, I can still hear those fans...
Can you guys tell me if this is normal and/or what I can do about it?

Thank you very much!!!

BruceBass3901 · #2 08-27-2011, 04:12 PM

It sounds normal for an Ashdown... Everyone I have ever hplayed has had pretty loud fans, but it isn't a problem when playing gigs or even practices really. If you only have the output at one quarter, you must be playing pretty quitely?

Either way, this sounds normal and is nothing to worry about

drumNbass28 · #3 08-27-2011, 04:28 PM

Hmmm okay... and this is an ABM-series, these amps should be more quiet than the MAG-series, I don't even want to know how loud those fans must be...

BruceBass3901 · #4 08-28-2011, 04:18 AM

Why should the ABM series have quieter fans than the MAG series? If anything, they should be louder as the ABM has a tube preamp that would need to be cooled whearas the MAG series is all solid state

drumNbass28 · #5 08-28-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceBass3901

Why should the ABM series have quieter fans than the MAG series?

It's written in lots of reviews... But I repeat I'm not a specialist, this is the first amp of this size I've ever owned, so I was just wondering wheter it is normal or not

BassmanPaul · #6 08-28-2011, 03:13 PM

The higher the power of an amp the more it needs cooling. There's a choice the designer has to make and that is convection or forced air cooling. Convection leads to big heavy heatsinks that have to have a free flow of air across them. Forced air a smaller heatsink and a fan. Most fan cooled amps have variable speed fans so the hotter the sinks, the faster the fans turn.

On stage I've never even noticed the sound of the fans. It's completely drowned by the ambient noise and that's before starting to play.

**B-string** · #7 08-28-2011, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumNbass28

It's written in lots of reviews... But I repeat I'm not a specialist, this is the first amp of this size I've ever owned, so I was just wondering wheter it is normal or not

They are probably talking about noise from the output of the amps (at the speakers), not the noise from the physical unit.