Quieting a projector

[Matthew J Poes]

Any thoughts on how best to quiet a projector? I know people used to like quiet boxes, but I've been worried about reliability. It seems like as projectors got quieter these fell out of favor. At this point the projector is by far the loudest thing in my room. The NCB value is 27 in low lamp and 29 in high lamp. Most of the noise is around 125hz to 300hz with a peak at 225hz or so.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

My Epson is hardly noticeable, although it is noticeable when it's quiet in the room, which is rare. My volume is always on the loud side... being I am so hard of hearing, which might be why the PJ sounds quieter than it really is.

I've never heard of any way to quieten one down, but sure interested in hearing ideas.

 

[Tony V.]

I wonder if replacing the fan with something quieter might work?
There are lots of Hush box ideas on line and even some ones you can buy https://www.google.ca/search?q=Proj.....69i57j0l5.5639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Matthew J Poes]

The fans in the JVC's are already pretty quiet and appear to be custom designs. I would be afraid to mess with it. I think a hush box might make more sense. I've always worried about causing the projector to overheat though.

 

[Tony V.]

Ya, i guess the only Hush box to me that would work is one that vents the hot air out to another room. That would require some thought as to how to run venting in a space thats already built.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Ya, i guess the only Hush box to me that would work is one that vents the hot air out to another room. That would require some thought as to how to run venting in a space thats already built.

Extra complex (and expensive) when the room is soundproof.

Putting a projector into a box requires special coated optical glass, but people have found affordable sources for that. Then you have to build a chamber that moves more air than the projector does to evacuate heat. There are special quiet fans for this but I don't know how many cfms I need to move. I asked JVC who not only wouldn't tell me but told me not to put it in a hush box.

I don't hear the projector durring loud passages, but I do hear it durring soft passages. It bothers me.

@Sonnie did putting your projector in that shelf make it any quieter? One thought I had was adding absorption to the ceiling and a shelf like yours which might reflect some of the direct sound and absorb some of the reflected sound thus reducing the perceived loudness.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I don't think it did Matt, but hard to say... different projector and I went back to the ceiling mount that came with my Epson.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

I don't think it did Matt, but hard to say... different projector and I went back to the ceiling mount that came with my Epson.

Well that's good to know at least. Oh well! I'll have to focus on a real solution. Real solutions are you expensive and hard work!