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Subject:RE: Sound damping in a cubicle From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:"Ned Bedinger" <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com> Date:Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:54:09 -0400
Ned Bedinger [mailto:doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com] said:
> >
> > Does anybody have any simple, cheap (free) ideas for deadening the
sound
> > of four 1U rackmount servers sitting (and working) on a makeshift
rack
> > under the desk in my cubicle?
> Search around for Silent PC on the web. I think it is a sort of
> hardware standard, focused on doing away with all the whirrrring and
> hisssssing sounds.
Nope. Silent PC and QuietPC and the like are for PCs. They focus on
large-bladed, slow-moving fans, fan-less heat-sinks, and computer case
modifications - or entire replacement cases. You can do all that stuff
to tower and (some) mini-tower PCs. However, the beasts that I've got
in my cube are (as I said) standard 1U rackmount devices. That means
they're 19 inches wide and 1-1/2 inches high, by however deep.
Basically pizza boxes. No mods permitted, nor any room to do so. The
reason they are so noisy is that the case permits the use of fans no
bigger than 1 inch diameter, which is where 90+ percent of the noise
originates. By rights, they should be in a server room, where noise is
not real issue. I have them beside me because I need to interact with
them physically and locally, unlike the way the majority of engineers
and testers do (they can sit in their quiet cubes and connect remotely
to the server room, but that doesn't work for me).
> As other have suggested, noise cancelling is a way to overcome
> consistent sounds. I've been meaning to find some noise-cancelling
> equipment that works for entire areas, as I have constant traffic
noise
> where I work. But the thought of wearing headphones at my desk doesn't
> appeal to me. In any case, I'm not confident that my senses won't
> perceive the increased sound level that noise cancelling ("negative
> noise") brings. It does work that way, doesn't it?
I was going to reply to somebody else on this point, but you raise the
issue that I would raise. I've owned Panasonic and Sennheiser "noise
cancelling" headphones, and they do some good, but against a
widespectrum growly-hiss - which I also compare to traffic noise [my
original application] - they seem to be only partially effective. They
also seem to generate more than just the exact frequency that opposes
the input frequencies (and amplitudes). So, even when there's apparently
no ambient noise, the headphones are generating a constant hiss. Since
the noise from the fans is kinda like that already....
I paid only a couple of hundred bucks for my last pair of
"noise-cancelling" phones, and the audiologist suggests that I might
have done some permanent damage to my hearing by wearing them for an
hour-and-a-half several times per week over a period of months as I'd
walk home listening to radio or recorded audio beside busy streets and
roads. That was exactly opposite the result that I'd been trying for
i.e., hear the audio without making it so loud as to damage hearing.
Those were on-ear phones that (due to my ear shape) make contact toward
the back of the shell of my dainty shell-like ears, but are therefore
propped about a quarter inch away from the front part of each ear,
meaning that the phones probably have to work harder to deal with
ambient noise than they would for somebody with ears that lie flat
against the head.
David Clark makes some wonderful noise cancelling headphones that cost
over a thousand bucks - used by pilots. That's a tad rich for me. But
then, they do half their job by simply isolating external sound, so I
could probably just get the regular DC phones without noise cancelling.
But then I'd be wearing huge over-the-ear headphones all day and missing
most of the conversations that go on around me. Those conversations are
partly how I keep up with what's going on in various projects.
I also couldn't wear the big phones to jog home.... ick! I don't think
they're made to stand up to puddles of corrosive sweat.
Earbuds won't stay in place, even when I'm sitting quietly. I've yet to
find suitable in-canal earphones - the silicone jobbies. I've tried only
a couple of brands, and none with active acoustic cancelling, just
[attempted] noise exclusion. Does anybody have good experiences with
noise-cancelling in-the-ear phones/plugs? I see some from Philips and
other vendors advertised in the $50 range - a lot to pay for a pair of
ear-buds, but worthwhile for a useful set of noise-cancelling
ear-pieces.
Anyway, that's why I'd prefer to damp some of the sound at source if I
can. I like Al's reference to Sonex Acoustical Foams, though I wonder
what I'd do with the other $120 worth of foam tiles in the box after I'd
used the two or three that I need. Anybody wanna split the cost?
:-)
This noise problem is no big killer deal - just an annoyance and a bit
tiring. The days when I keep all the machines switched off are much more
pleasant, and my blood pressure is a few points lower.
Maybe the Bose 2nd generation phones (the over-the-ear model) are worth
a try. Is anybody using the Bose around-the-ear (enclosing)
noise-cancelling headphones? How are they working for you? Do they
make a "standby" hiss of their own? Is the active cancellation good
across the spectrum that you can hear? Do you successfully use them in
noisy environments to listen to quiet music or to follow (say) talk
radio without cranking the sound up high?
Is there a separate control for the degree or intensity of the noise
cancellation? What happens in a relatively quiet environment if you
crank the phones up (with no audio input)? Do you hear a white-noise
hiss, or does it seem that pretty much nothing is happening (as it
shouldn't if the environment is quiet...)?
Kevin..... huh? What did you say? ..... sorry.... say again.... ??
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