the sound of silence - studio noise reduction

8/3/2019 The Sound of Silence - Studio Noise Reduction

1/6

The Sound of Silence

By Brian Smithers

Electronic Musician, Nov 1, 2002

As I sit at my desk writing this article, I can hear a minor tornado blowing a few inches from my leftankle. It's the sound of no fewer than three fans spinning inside of my computer. Periodically, the noiseis punctuated by the crunching of my hard drive as it reads and writes. Together, those sounds almostsucceed in drowning out the high-pitched whine of my video monitors; it's the sonic equivalent ofmomentarily forgetting your headache because you stub your toe.

In my studio, as in many others, two trends are colliding head-on: first, the computer continues to playan ever-more-central role in music production, and second, more production is taking place in single-room facilities where writing, tracking, and mixing share the same physical space. The ankle-highstorm that's merely an annoyance when doing something such as writing a Desktop Musician columnbecomes a real problem when I plug in a microphone or put on my mixing ears.

There are many ways to deal with a noisy computer, from the simple to the elaborate. As with mostaspects of your studio's design, you have the choice of spending either money or time solving aproblem, and you'll need to do a cost-benefit analysis of how much quiet you can afford. All of thefollowing solutions apply equally to Macs and PCs, although some product examples may be platformspecific. (See the sidebar Quiet Companies for a list of helpful Web sites.)

ART OF NOISE

Ideally, we all want a perfectly silent recording and monitoring environment, but such conditions arerarely available. After all, even if you have rented a well-insulated studio, you may still have to keepthe instruments from bleeding into each other's microphones by using baffling and fixing instrumentpositions, mic positions, and mic patterns to keep things separated. You'll need to apply those sameskills to mitigate computer noise.

Admittedly, my computer is pretty noisy, but under most circumstances I can record saxophone parts inthe same room with no noticeable noise. The saxophone is loud enough that my mic gain doesn't haveto be cranked up, leaving any computer bleed at a comparatively low level. By using my mic's cardioid

pattern with the null facing the computer and placing the mic in the farthest corner of the room, I canfurther reduce the impact of those fans. When Sony finally comes to its senses and offers me a recorddeal, I might reevaluate whether this arrangement is quiet enough, but at that point I'll probablyreevaluate a lot of my studio's limitations. In the meantime, by applying basic engineering skills andzero money (my mantra), I have devised a perfectly viable solution to the computer-noise problem.

The computer noise becomes more of an issue, however, when I pick up the flute and boost the mic'sgain. A bit of baffling solves that potential problem nicely, whether I use a sheet of plywood orwallboard mounted on a base of 24s, or something fancier like Auralex Acoustics' MAX-Wall (seeFig. 1). A few decibels of additional shelter from the CPU is sufficient for recording all but the most

Page 1 of 6The Sound of Silence

4/4/2003http://emusician.com/microsites/magazinearticle.asp?mode=print&magazinearticleid=1592...


2/6

extreme pianissimos. If you take the DIY route, consider draping the baffle with absorptive (ordiffusive) material such as a blanket to minimize reflections off the plywood.

A KIND OF HUSH

If you want to tackle the issue head-on and you have a little do-it-yourselfer in you, you can modify

your computer in several ways to reduce its din. At the top of your hit list should be either your coolingfans or your hard drives. On the PC in my studio, the fans are much noisier than the hard drives, evenwhen I'm recording multiple tracks. That is not the case for some other computers I use regularly,though, such as the one in my classroom whose brand-name external drive makes a rather impressiveracket. Whatever symptom your computer exhibits, there are ways to silence it.

A number of types of fans that run quietly are available from a variety of sources. Such fans run from$10 to $25 and feature high-quality bearings that minimize mechanical noise. They also have speciallydesigned blades that can move a lot of air without creating excessive turbulence. Some are equippedwith variable-speed controls so that the fan won't run any faster than is necessary.

Keep in mind that fans are not optional with modern processors; G4s, Athlons, and Pentium 4s by their

very nature create an enormous amount of heat. Inadequate cooling of the CPU can lead to heat-relateddata errors, CPU failure, and even melting or burning of the CPU. Having your DAW burst into flamesin the middle of a session is a drag. To help ensure that you're getting adequate cooling with yourquieter fans, you might want to invest in a custom heat sink for your CPU. By using very large surfaceareas and materials that transfer heat efficiently, such heat sinks can make the fans' job much easier.

You'll most likely find one fan cooling your CPU, another attached to your case to pull hot air out, andanother in your power supply. Some high-performance video cards have fans to cool the graphicscoprocessor as well. The easiest kind to replace is the case fan, and the most difficult is the power-supply fan. Rather than open up your power supply, you might want to simply replace it. A new quiet-running 400W power supply will set you back between $80 and $150, but in addition to obtaining a

quieter system, you will gain a power supply that is more appropriate to the high-performanceprofessional machine that you're running.

IN A SILENT WAY

Depending on just how much ruckus your hard drives are creating, there are three silencing strategiesworth pursuing. If the source of the noise is hard-drive vibration (inducing rattles and such in the case),you can pull the hard drive out of the drive bay and remount it using rubber washers to dampen thevibration. A more elaborate but still affordable solution to vibration noise is the No Vibes III hard-drivemounting bracket ($29.99) from NoiseControl. Essentially a shockmount for your hard drive, it usesrubber O-rings to suspend the drive and insulate its vibrations from your case.

If your drive's noise is mechanical in origin, you need something like Silent Systems' SilentDrive ($32)to keep the noise from getting out. Essentially an isolation booth for your hard drive, SilentDrivemounts your hard drive in a sound-dampening sleeve that fits in a normal drive bay. Its design iscapable of dissipating up to 5W of heat, which may not be adequate for some high-performance drives.Check your manufacturer's specs before you risk cooking your drive. Along similar lines, Digidesign'snew DigiDrive FireWire 80 ($575) is built in to a sound-insulated case that is claimed to reduce drivenoise by 20 dB.

If you're putting together a system or are going to upgrade, plan on buying a quiet hard drive.




3/6


4/6

examples; they enclose the computer in a custom isolation booth about the size of a two-drawer filingcabinet. I've recorded sessions using a Pro Tools rig in an Isomac in the same room with an acousticgrand piano miked with some very sensitive mics, and computer noise was not an issue. The IsoboxStudio boasts even greater noise reduction and also provides rackspaces for studio gear.

The Isomac and Isobox Studio are built from medium-density fiberboard to minimize transmission of

the computer's racket to the outside air. The front door of both products is made of -inch-thickinsulated glass to afford a good view of the computer and related components while reducing the noise;a back door provides easy access to rear-panel connections. The ventilation system in both cabinets isspecially designed to keep the noise inside, and a thermometer is easily visible from the front, so youcan see at a glance if there's cause for concern. Other noise-reduction cabinets that are worthconsidering (especially for computers with rackmount peripherals) include the AcoustiLock fromNoren Products (www.acoustilock.com) and the IsoRaxx from Raxxess (www.raxxess.com).

If you decide to take the DIY route and build your own custom isolation box, be sure to keepventilation in mind. A simple plywood box with some acoustic foam on the inside can providesignificant noise reduction if you're careful to make tight-fitting seams and caulk them to prevent anyleakage. Use weather stripping to ensure a tight fit on the doors, and put intake and exhaust fans on the

back of the unit. You can even make your computer's case into an isolation box by lining the insidewith absorptive foam and sealing any gaps. Remember, you'll need to leave at least one hole for airintake and another for exhaust.

If you're shopping for a new computer, consider buying one that's already optimized for noise-reducedoperation. Carillon Audio Systems' AC1 systems (see Fig. 4) use all the techniques discussed here vibration damping, hard-drive enclosures, quiet drives and fans along with a custom-designed noise-reducing rackmount case to keep the decibels down. Carillon claims noise levels below 25 dB SPL,even during heavy read/write cycles.

ENJOY THE SILENCE

It's impossible to list all of the products available to help you quiet your computer, but these ideas willgive you a good head start in your search. Whether you tackle one noisy component at a time or jumpin with both feet and a big checkbook is up to you. But if you use your common sense and your ears toplan your attack, you'll be able to make some significant reductions in the roar of technology.

Quieting a Mac is the same as quieting a PC, with one exception: you'll need to overcome the closedsystem mystique associated with Apple products. Be brave and open the box! Respect the danger ofstatic discharge and your computer's need for proper cooling, and you'll do fine. Just be warned thatonce you've silenced your computer, you'll start to realize just how loud your squeaky chair really is.

Brian Smithersis Course Director of Audio Workstations at Full Sail Real World Education in WinterPark, Florida.

QUIET COMPANIES

Auralex Acousticswww.auralex.comMAX-Wall and other acoustic-treatment products




5/6

Belkinwww.belkin.comKVM extenders and other computer accessories

Carillon Audio Systemswww.carillonusa.comTurnkey DAW systems

C-Mexxwww.mircontrol.comMIR MIDI Interactive Remote

Digidesignwww.digidesign.comDigiDrive FireWire 80 external drive

Gefen, Inc.www.gefen.com

KVM extenders and other computer accessories

NoiseControlwww.noisecontrol.deNo Vibes III hard-drive insulation cage and other quiet-computer accessories

QuietPCwww.quietpc.comDistributor of acoustically friendly computer components, including quiet fans and power supplies

Samsung

www.samsung.comHard drives featuring NoiseGuard technology

Seagate Technology LLCwww.seagate.comBarracuda hard drives featuring SoftSonic technology

Silent Systemswww.molex.comSilentDrive

Sound Construction and Supply, Inc.www.custom-consoles.comIsomac and Isobox Studio

2003, Primedia Business Magazines and Media, a PRIMEDIA company. All rights reserved. This article is protectedby United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed,redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the priorwritten permission of PRIMEDIA Business Corp.



the sound of silence - studio noise reduction

Documents