XSPC 1650 vs AP-15 - Page 2

Haha, sorry, but you sound like an Apple commercial: "Stuck trying to decide which fan to buy based on extremely subtle and likely imperceptible sound pressure level differences, but don't happen to have a studio-quality anechoic chamber handy? There's an app for that!"

I'm just messin, but I couldn't help but read that post with the apple commercial guy's voice in my head lol.


Anyway, I came back to repost and to clarify that I hope that what I said in the prior post didn't offend you, jonnL. I was not aiming that at you, and I don't want you to get the wrong impression of this place (or me; I'm friendly I promise), and I didn't realize until later that it sounds a bit harsh. Not my intention, so for what it's worth, sorry.
I do get frustrated sometimes by the sheer amount of people who (across the multiple forums I am actively involved in) ask people to find them ultra extreme performance fans but add a qualifier about how it must be absolutely silent, which is absolutely impossible. I realize that is not what you are doing, that's why I am back to apologize, but it is pretty common and always annoys me. Like I said in the last post, I do a ton of uncompressed audio recording editing which requires that I be able to hear the audio EXACTLY as the average listeners would, but also as people would with the most common audio device in the world (iPod earbuds... Barf) up to how the sound is reproduced via 10ft tall 8-cone "carved-from-a-single-piece-of-200yr-old-extremely-rare-wood-from-a-tree-located-at-the-heart-of-the-Congo-and-only-accessible-by-a-ten-day-walk-and-carried-back-by-hand" extremely expensive speakers that cost as much as a brand new Ferrari 599GTB HGTB with Carbon-Ceramic Brakes (and still have enough money left over from the cost of the car to have a full makeover courtesy of Novitec Rosso including their literally jaw-dropping twin-supercharger kit as well as full aerodynamic, weight-reduction via Carbon Fiber, customized interior, wheel & brake, and of course audio system packages). In fact, that's actually what "real" studio monitor speakers are designed to do, although many companies decided that calling their home theater or Blose-esque speakers "studio monitors" and headphone companies are even worse, especially since headphones can be more difficult to work with as a good set can deliver almost infinite types of sound but are very hard to calibrate as there aren't different drivers for different frequencies,just one big driver (yes, multi-driver headphones exist but they aren't even close to where single drivers are at yet). I have owned more headphones than you would imagine because of how headphones, just like speakers, have a break in period but it is far more noticeable with headphones, and the only pair I use consistently are my Grado RS1i Studio Reference cans.

Sorry, I went on rambling again...
My point is, I don't just know sound because I like to, I know it because I need to, and the environment I do my editing in is of good significance. That said, it has been about six months since I have been able to do my "side job"/hobby at any real capacity due to a number of reasons, but I don't think I've lost my ear. To me, the difference between 29dB and 33dB in terms of volume from a fan is truly imperceptible unless you are completely free of ambient noise (I can't get below around 12dB ambient without going from $2k in sound-absorbent/dampening materials to 10-20x that amount. If you live in a city, you probably have an ambient noise level well above that of these fans, and if you game with speakers or headphones on, the fans will not be perceptible. In fact, my RS1i headphones, which are open-air/dynamic (the space behind the driver is exposed, which allows for much better reproduction of realistic sound, but can also let more outside sound in), drown out every fan I have tested (at the equivalent of 60 percent volume on an iPod) with the sole exception being a 5400rpm Delta that I just had to play with. Now that is the kind of fan you don't want.

I just really urge you to base your purchase on something other than solely sound noise, because the factory specs are never accurate (yes, even Gentle Typhoon AP15s are specced wrong, albeit only by about 2dB which is still more accurate than 99 percent of fans), and when you do see the stated specs you should consider that the actual volume is between 4dB and 20dB higher than stated. I have heard many fans that are significantly quieter than others rated 15dB lower, in fact it's probably the least accurate spec given for fans regardless of make/model.
Not to mention that a louder fan with a lower-pitched but steady sound is vastly more comfortable than one that is actually quieter but is higher pitched and/or has a very irregular pitch.

Tl;dr version: don't buy a fan based on the given specs for sound, and realize that the type of sound is vastly more important than the level of sound when it comes to listening comfort. Also, always consider the sound specs given are off by 5-15dB.
And unless you are running some crazy fans, speakers or headphones will drown them out anyway.

The best thing to do? Fan Controller!

I have a couple of the XSPC 1650rpms that came with my Raystorm, EX240 kit and i was really surprised at how good they were for such cheap fans. I now have 6x GT AP-15's on my 3 240mm rads and they are definitely quieter, but not by any insane amount. Maybe they push a bit more air at lower RPM? probably but idk

ehume has written a review on the XSPC fans and was kinda likeing them for
sound and performance, too.
i like them as well. cost; great, performance ; great sound; par.
they are not a noctua or GT or thermalright... if they get the job done buy 'em.
and no there is not an app for that! ................ yet.

maybe thats why i have 2 and 4 of 19 different fans makes and models...
trying to find the best fan for my application. and if i find one thats suits me,
i'll share my findings with all..

airdeano
Edited by airdeano - 8/29/12 at 8:14am

^^This. 99% of fan specs are rubbish. Helix does not push more static pressure than AP15, and for that matter none of them do anyways, not even 140mm fans. When you start moving to 38mm fans that's a different outcome. Also, dB numbers don't tell the whole tale. There's different types of noise, different frequencies that annoy one person over another.

All that aside, after 10 rounds of Martin's fan testing, one fan remains at the top, ap15. There are other alternatives like the XSPC and the variety of real Yate Loons. I've tried different kinds of fans, but I always end up amassing more and more ap15s. Check out the fan roundups.

I must disagree, as the Koolance 120x25mm 2800rpm Fans i have are equivalent to a 2950rpm Panaflo 120x38mm fan I also have, and I will stand by this as I have since compared it to my friends AP15s and the Koolance was powerful enough to make an AP15 that was running SPIN BACKWARDS at 1732rpm. It's not just a matter of airflow, either, as the Koolance fans overpowered the AP15s all the way down to 1500rpm, 300rpm less than the GT was running, and just below 1500rpm the two essentially stalled each other out (last reading for the Koolance was 1428rpm and then stalled).

Not to mention, the AP15s aren't even close to the strongest Gentle Typhoon...

I am not hating, I think that they are incredibly quiet for the performance, but they are FAR from being anywhere close to the best performing 120x25mm fan. I doubt they would even make the top 50, maybe not top 75.

If you meant "best fan performance from a quiet fan" then yes, I concede to that as Noctua are awful on rads and ugly as sin and RIDICULOUSLY overpriced, Cougars make sounds like a dying cat when blowing upward (hence the name?), and the Corsair SP120QE is just pointless (performance model is actually stronger than AP15 but also louder)... Still, I don't believe that any fan spinning above around 850rpm can be less than 20dB, and until they develop active noise canceling fans, you can have performance and loud, quiet and weak, or a compromise. The AP15 is an admittedly good compromise, but it's still a compromise.

The other thing is, even though you may be able to remove motor noise, high speed fans move air at a high velocity, and that will always create noise. It may be able to be countered to a degree, but not eliminated.

Honestly, I believe that if you want good performance with good noise levels, get some San Ace 120x38mm fans, a fan controller, and slow them down. They will have 50-200% more static pressure than a Gentle Typhoon, and be no louder.

Again, I don't have anything against the AP15s I simply cannot find a single thing that makes them "the best fan in the world" as is so often presented. There are much better performers, and there are much quieter fans, the AP15 is simply one of the best compromise fans. Nothing wrong with that, but it is nothing exciting either... I would certainly never use them on high-fpi rads, but would certainly consider them for an RX, SR1, etc.

I have 9 XSPC 1650 fans in my case. I usually run them all at half speed via fan controller and they are very quiet. I don't see much performance improvement running them 100 vs 50 (maybe 1-2C). They are good for the money and I'd recommend them although I've never ventured into the more expensive stuff.