Is there a cheap fan controller, or a circuit and some pics (I'm a semi-n00b at dealing with electronics), and maybe even theory, if it's not self-explanatory, for a method of starting a fan at 12v, then going to some other voltage after a few seconds? I want to do this to try going to and below 5v ...

Nidec Gamma 28: $10 Enermax variable speed fans, 120mm and 92mm: $25? (35) SK-7: $15 -- (I find SPCR) AX-7: $15 (65) Fortron 300W: $40 ZM80C: $35 NV Silencer: $25 (125) Seasonic 380W: $70 (235) Nexus 120mm and Panaflo L 80mm: $25 Yate Loon 120mm: $0 Fan controller parts used so far: $15* (275) So, t...

1. Don't use plywood. I repeat: don't use plywood! A normal piece of wood will do well, as will some semi-artifical materials. Plywood, even thick, is just horrible about transferring vibration. 2. Negative pressure has not worked as well in your experience likely because of obstructions to the air ...

I've largely been battling my NV Silencer. I have given up on that, having tried refitting fans to it, and even a custom duct made from foam board. I'll just deal with it's noise at 5v until I upgrade, or get a free AGP video card that will suffice. The mouse pad bits actually work fiarly well, when...

Yup. When the author parts with his machine long enough for SPCR to do a true review, then complain about the lack of detail (which of course will not be there ).

Hey! Where's the strategically placed glass of red wine?! I've got the impression from reading around that alot of the problems with Windows based PCs is due to the wide (and often unsupported) range of hardware, software and drivers it has to work with. AFAIK Mac OS' don't have this issue as every...

OK, so it's not an engineering marvel then ( :roll: ) but compared to a regular desktop ATX tower case its footprint on the desk is barely larger than a normal TFT monitor, so taking up approximately 50% less space than a conventional ATX case or a laptop. Also the screen is in a better position vi...

OS X v. Windows: OS X has tight vertical integration, making common tasks simpler, and less common tasks more difficult than the competition (like properly persistently mounting a network share, which KDE, Gnome, and Windows have nice GUIs for). Non-tech people like it, though, because it is less cl...

Fans: Real blower fans can be quite quiet/efficient in space constrained areas. I have a cheap black plastic slot cooler type that works well undervolted. For some reason the ones that come with video cards are general not quiet. So how come no one has yet done a fan swap on a silencer? Laziness an...

ok well now that I know what IEMs are, they look cool and probably sound very good, but they still go in your ears. My ears hurt sometimes after wearing foam earplugs for a while and are at least uncomfortable, not just earbuds. It's weird, it's sore for the rest of the day. Also, I don't get how p...

Most people just don't want to spend the money, since true IEMs start around $75 (Shure E2c) online, $100 retail (E2c again). What's wrong with just using closed headphones instead? And how good are untrue IEM's? Closed headphones don't isolate much (better than open, I guess), nor to the in-ear bu...

In Ear Monitors, aka Canalphones. They create an air-tight seal in your ear canal, and can provide a lot of isolation, so you can listen comofrtably at lower volumes. Foam tips in Shure and Westone models can do 15-25dB. Most people just don't want to spend the money, since true IEMs start around $7...

They are 'worse' for four main reasons, off the top of my head: 1. Portable and easy use. You can't use speakers for as long as you can use headphones, because you can't just take them with you. That only says samething about portable music players, not headphones. Most people use headphones with D...

Let me restate my idea for a db/time limitation for an i-pod. It would not really take a db reading.....a 1-100 volume reading would only aproximate a real db reading. And the i-pod limiter would only measure the volume/time setting of the i-pod. Any speaker amplification would be another subject. ...

Earbuds suck. Yes, they do. They're popular purely because they are small and cheap, so are what come with DAPs. They hurt after a while and they don't sound as enveloping as the kind that go around your ear. Noise-cancelling headphones for the airplane would rock. Maybe someday I'll get some. Forg...

So.... does anyone have any idea if headphones are actually worse than speakers? If you think it's absurd and inconceivable, then could you explain why? I have heard that they are worse. I don't remember why, maybe sound from close source is somehow more powerful relative to how perceptible it is, ...

As the technology exists, it just can't work. All that will happen will be kids flashing to another country's firmware. Most 5th-graders are more than capable of that feat, while they'd have to teach their parents about it. Those that aren't that good will have their friends do it. I think it could...

Well numerous posts here have referred to noise-isolating in-ear monitors as a possible solution. I am aware of the Shure models ($++), but some have claimed less expensive alternatives. My personal requirements are based on 90 minutes + of daily carpooling with 3 others who seem to talk more about...

I like my music loud. But I also keep it at a level where it doesnt get me death. And I am sure that Ipod headphones cannot output 112dba. Tgabjs 112dBA? Any of them should be able to do that! The dB/mW rating is based on an 'average' ear canal and distance to the eardrum with a fake head. It is ho...

(snip) On a more general note, why is this subject even being reported as news? I mean, how long has the Sony Walkman been around for for goodness sake. Potential hearing damage or loss from personal stereos has been a problem for the past 30 years! IMO, it's because this is one small part of a gro...

IMHO....based on conversations with my sister the Otolaryngologist, who has spent her entire medical practice studying hearing problems related to noise exposure.....for the sake of one's hearing, avoid the use of any ear-phones for listening to music. The chances are simply too great that you will...

Well if you actually read some of the Google hits on I-Pod hearing damage/loss, you'll find medical opinions on the subject, many of them. This is exactly like the smoking debate.....many denials on the part of the users. The warning lite thing would give parents an easy way to monitor their childr...

Type "i-pod hearing damage" in a google search. Today I got 1,350,000 hits. Think there's not a problem here? ...and I get 500,000+ hits when I search for "microwave domestic animals". Your point? Bluefront makes good points that volume control could easily be built into portable devices such that ...

I really don't think joking about potential noise-induced hearing loss is appropriate on the SPCR forum. Particularly since it's mostly kids who have the potential to suffer the consequences for the longest time, and it's mostly kids who are doing the most damage to their hearing. Agreed. But also,...

The humorous part to me involves SPCR members arguing for the use of a device practically designed for increasing noise exposure.....they quiet their computers while blasting their ears with an i-pod. This is funny.... People quieting their computers to reduce noise, and then using IEMs to reduce n...

I'm sure thare are a few people out there who use these i-pod devices to lower the amount of noise exposure they recieve.....but very few. I suspect most people, and particularly young people, increase the amount of hearing loss by the use of these things. Absolutely. IMO, it's also pretty bad that...

I'm surprised no-one has pointed out that ipod's (and MP3 players in general) music quality is crap, and listening to crap quality music at loud volumes sounds even worse to me than at low volumes (despite the oft-repeated mantra that people prefer, other things being equal, louder music eg AB spea...

The piece was interesting to mention in SPCR for several reasons: 1) MP3 players can play loud, and for a long time. I had not thought about the length, but it's a real factor in hearing damage. 2) The EU actually has a cap on max volume these things are allowed to produce. It may not be that usefu...

Yeah, I think I'll go with Case-mod. I've had a few orders with them before, including one bad one (bad batch of Panaflos), and the service was very good, so I'll give them a little bit more $ for that .

If it stays at ~$67 shipped for the time until I get paid to make this PC, I'll be happy .