Twigman Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Just picked up a secondhand HA3500 witha VX1508 cabinet. When I tried before I bought in a noisy house of stoners it sounds fine. Everything works lovely. Happy, I counted out my wad and paid the man. I got it home and fired it up (as you do with new toys) and instantly noticed how loud the fan is. It sounds like an air conditioning unit. I've left it with the electronics repair room at work who say the fan bearing is fine but they are going to source a new low noise fan and fit some gaskets to it and give the whole thing a good blow through with the compressed air. I was just wondering if it is normal for Hartke heads to sound like airconn units when idle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) I had a HA2000, sold it on, realised I missed it and bought another, then followed that up with a HA5500 for good measure. All three sounded like A/C units straight out of the box! Edit: Also had two LH1000s pass through my hands, come to think about it, and they weren't in any way quiet either. Edited November 4, 2011 by Ed_S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 My HA3500 is pretty quiet, it is the one in the wooden box though not sure if that affects anything. I think the fan speed is affected by the temperature of the amp though (i might be wrong on this!) but if the fan bearing is fine it could just be working hard because the temp is up...? one thing to check inside (if you're brave enough) is that the the output amps are screwed in to the heat sync tightly. They can loosen, which causes the amp to work very hot because the heat is not dissipated, which could cause the fan to work at maximum to try and cool things down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hartke fans can be a little noisy - I have an HA3000 (an HA3500 with parametric instead of graphic EQ) that I use as a spare and that is a little noisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 mine is (was) in the wooden box too. I've just been to see it - it's now out of the box with no fan in it and everything looks secure.... I'll keep you posted as it comes out of repair... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnut62 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 [quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1320410930' post='1426480'] It sounds like an air conditioning unit. I've left it with the electronics repair room at work who say the fan bearing is fine but they are going to source a new low noise fan and fit some gaskets to it and give the whole thing a good blow through with the compressed air. [/quote] mine sounds like that too; great amp though and i don't notice the sound when playing. please let us know if the lo-noise fan is quieter and most importantly whether it has any affect on the performance of the amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Mine is/was noisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I've got the HA5000 (the biampable 2x250W) but had to take one of the amp modules out straight away as it were knackered. The other one still works, so I've been using it 'as is' and did notice the fan was a bit noisy; had hoped it was down to one module being detached from the heat sensor and making the fan run at full speed all the time, looks like I might be wrong Shall let y'all know if it improves when I've fixed the other amp and reinstalled it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Are we all absolutely sure that the fan speed actually varies according to temperature in the HA series? I've had three of them as I said before, and have always believed the fan speed to be constant... still do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 [quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1320437043' post='1426988'] Are we all absolutely sure that the fan speed actually varies according to temperature in the HA series? I've had three of them as I said before, and have always believed the fan speed to be constant... still do! [/quote] I'm pretty certain that they're a fixed rate - certainly is on my 3000 and that's only a 3500 without a graphic EQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirChewey Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I had one of these for about 5 years and it was always the complaint of the keyboard player. Mine was in an enclosure. The fan speed doesn't vary, it's just frickin loud. I always wanted to pop a low noise fan in but never got around to it; when I left the fusion band and started playing more rock again - never heard the bloody thing! lol Nice amp but I was never sure of the 1508 I had - it did sound a hell of a lot better through a 410 IMO - loads more punchy and great bottom end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) Got it back this morning. It's running much more quietly and shifting the same amount of air (according to the fan specs and my man measured the air pressure too). The fan that came out was rated at 46dB (!!!) the one that went in was rated at 22dB. Happier bunny. Edit: and even better he did it for free Edited November 7, 2011 by Twigman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Sounds interesting, might have to seek out a low-noise fan for mine if reinstalling the other amp module doesn't sort it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 [quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1320663175' post='1429468'] Got it back this morning. It's running much more quietly and shifting the same amount of air (according to the fan specs and my man measured the air pressure too). The fan that came out was rated at 46dB (!!!) the one that went in was rated at 22dB. Happier bunny. Edit: and even better he did it for free [/quote] Cool (pardon the pun!) Any chance of posting where the fan came from and what part number? - it might be a useful note for future readers of this thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I left the box the fan came in in the office - will post it tomorrow. I do know it's a 24V fan............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I need to look at replacing the one in my HA3500 - it's really noisy (angry, grinding, grating kind of sound) when it starts from cold for about 30 secs then it calms down, but it's still a bit whirry. Of course you don't notice it when you're playing and you certainly don't notice it when a band is crashing and bashing all around you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Nicely done! Might give that a go with my 5500 if it's not stupidly expensive.. like the one I've just ordered for my Peavey Classic 60, which should be a big improvement at 24dBA, but is costing me the best part of £40 just because it's a 230V model.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Glad i bought the LH 500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_E Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Interesting: My LH1000 is next to silent - that's listening closely in the back room with no other sounds ( aside from the tweeting of the birdies outside). However my old Mosfet 3500 does indeed have the same noisy old fan so many seem to complain about. True in a rock setting it doesn't make any odds but it seems like it might be the only achiles heel in an otherwise solid amp. Interested in the specs on that low noise fan!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) The new fan is from Knight Electronics Orion fan part number OD8025-24LB http://www.knightonline.com http://www.orionfans.com Edited November 8, 2011 by Twigman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Nice one Twigman If anyone's after UK pricing for a 'one off' then they are available here:- [url="http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Orion-Fans/OD8025-24LB/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtffRBI%2F27p9D9Z%252b0ndCFBuddsQFKTde%2F8%3D"]http://uk.mouser.com...dsQFKTde%2F8%3D[/url] Edited November 8, 2011 by icastle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) £7 is worth it if its a simple swap. My HA5000 fan is as noisy as the one in its HA3500 predecessor. Two other improvements I'd like to make is to Speakons and to a power supply that is fixed in some way. Edited November 9, 2011 by 4 Strings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.