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Ampeg BA112 V2 Fan Noise Reduction

#41
A 75 to 150 watt amp shouldn't have a fan. It's just a strange concept that a more " efficient" technology that should produce less heat. Seemingly depends on fan cooling for low watt practice amps.

Best solution for fan noise is not buying a low wattage amp with a fan. It's really a absurd concept.
 
#42
I just bought a used BA112V2 and it sounds great, love the Ampeg tone, but as you'all already knew, that fan noise at home-office practice levels is annoying. Worst part is it seems to change frequency, maybe it spins up and down based on temp. Besides the recommendations to just turn up the volume and ignore it, is the best option to both replace the fan for quieter model and add the digital thermostat? Or given that this thread is a few years old, has anyone come up with a better homebrew solution?
 
#43
CBG_Bass said:
I just bought a used BA112V2 and it sounds great, love the Ampeg tone, but as you'all already knew, that fan noise at home-office practice levels is annoying. Worst part is it seems to change frequency, maybe it spins up and down based on temp. Besides the recommendations to just turn up the volume and ignore it, is the best option to both replace the fan for quieter model and add the digital thermostat? Or given that this thread is a few years old, has anyone come up with a better homebrew solution?
Click to expand...

Sell it and get the RB112.
 
#44
jpBassin said:
Hello bass talkers,

I picked up a new Ampeg BA112 V2 a few weeks ago to serve as my practice amp and so far I've really enjoyed the amp. The best features of the amp in my opinion are it's tone and the convenient kickback/front-control setup. The worst feature of the new BA112 in my opinion is the fan noise.

It's a small fan and likely not a problem in many venues but it's really annoying for how I've been using the amp which is low-volume playing in a small hardwood floored room. Beyond the relatively loud volume of the fan noise to quiet playing the fan also has some high-pitched overtones that cut and are noticeable even when the bass gets loud enough to drown out the normal fan noises.

I considered sending the amp back but it's so good outside of the fan noise that I instead ordered and installed one of the only compatible fans that I could find in hopes of improving the noise problem. That new fan has cut the fan noise down to a level that I can live with and most importantly it eliminated the higher pitch sounds that had grown particularly annoying. Since talkbass.com has been so helpful I wanted to share a few details on the fan swap in case they help someone else with a BA112 v2 looking for ways to cut down on the fan noise. I'd love to hear about ways to cut the noise even further if any are known.

Here is the replacement fan that I installed:

"Delta AUB0524VHD 5020 50mm 5CM DC 24V 0.15A"
Delta AUB0524VHD 5020 50mm 5CM DC 24V 0.15A Server inverter PC Case Cooling fan computer case cooler - Newegg.com

Here are the specs on the original fan:

"DA05020B24M dc 24V 0.10 A shenzhen huaxia hengtai electronic co ltd"
Link Removed


The new fan has the same blade shape/etc. and the only noticeable difference is that it spins at a slower rpm. I shortened the power lead on the new fan so that it matches the length of the original and also had to reverse the wires in the plug since the polarity was reversed. I also installed the new fan using rubber mounts instead of the original screws but I don't think using the rubber feet made any noticeable difference or improvement. The new fan pushes less air but you can still feel air coming out of the side-vent on the amp and I don't think the difference is enough to cause problems in any but the most extreme heat situations, if then. At low volumes in climate-controlled spaces a fan may not even be needed but I'm not sure on that and didn't want to test it.

I've attached a few photos showing the old/new fans and also the technique that I used for pulling the rubber feet into the new fan in case anyone wants to use them and has trouble.

As a bonus you can see how the BA112 looks with white piping since I also changed that out now that I'm modding the amp and probably voiding warranty.

View attachment 875953
View attachment 875954
View attachment 875955
Click to expand...
How exactly do you get access to the internals to get to the fan? Can't find any videos or even schematics showing how this combo amp comes apart. Do you pull the four screws on top of the cabinet and then slide the electronics tray out the front? Is there enough cable going to the main speaker and the rear power panel to do that?
 
#45
Ok, since nobody ever documented this disassembly for the BA112 V2, at least not in detail, I'm going to:
  1. You have to remove 6 large Philips screws from the top of the cabinet (4 that have crowned washers and 2 that hold in the strap handle), in order to loosen the circuit board tray. Then the tray comes out the front, but I wouldn't recommend pulling it out from the front as you will likely end up pulling off a knob. Instead...
  2. I removed the six small Philips screws that hold in the air vent on the side, and the other six small Philips screws that hold in the power plug plate in the back. The reason was it allowed me to slide my hand in and push from the back.
  3. And once the tray is about half way out you'll see a 2-wire purple & black twisted chord that runs around a crimp on the right side of the tray and then down into a hole drilled in the bottom of the upper cabinet that goes to the speaker. It has a larger version of a molex plug that plugs into the same little power circuit board that the fan plugs into. Unplug it. I also cut the nylon tie wrap that kept it connected to the tray so that I could pull the tray the rest of the way out the front. The power plate from the back can turn sideways and gets dragged right out the front along with the tray.

So what did I do once I had the tray out? Well I had bought one of those Sunon fans the French guy recommended from page 2 of this thread. The exact same model. Why? Because it was larger, but spun slower with roughly the same flow rate, and ran at about half the decibels of the OEM fan. But instead of drilling extra holes in the back plate of the tray, I found a guy on Etsy that makes 3D-printed fan adapters from 50mm to 60mm. The fan adapter worked perfect, and I got lucky when I soldered the wires to the original molex connector (I cut it off the original fan) as the polarity matched the color code (red to red, black to black).

But, what crushed me is after all this, I can't really tell if it's any quieter.....I really think it's almost the same volume, though unfortunately I didn't test it before hand so that I could compare it after. However, I'm no longer afraid of taking the cabinet apart and ruining the amp, so I may do it again and put in a potentiometer next time to control the fan speed.

The one thing I can't figure out is where the fan is drawing air from. I mean, I know it flows from the back, over the transformer and the heatsink, through the fan hole in the tray and through the fan and out the side vent, but where is it getting the air from? There are no vents on the back power plate, so is it coming from the lower speaker cabinet?

In any event, here are some pics that might help others:
IMG_2688.jpg
IMG_2689.jpg
IMG_2690.jpg
IMG_2691.jpg
IMG_2692.jpg
IMG_2693.jpg
 
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#46
The published fan noise specifications are done in a defined way. As soon as you mount it, all bets are off, which is why a fan that is spec'd with a lower noise level may in fact be LOUDER in a particular application.
 

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