I've been experimenting lately with my new computer, testing fan speeds and so forth, trying to determine what are the loudest components (*cough* intel), and now that I've slowed the fans down to an acceptable level (for right now I'm withholding from doing any sustained CPU-intensive tasks, for fear that a slowed-down stock intel hsf won't provide enough cooling), the one noise that was mildly irritating amid whooshes of fans has now become the standout performer, center stage, like an off-pitch opera singer.

That is the noise of my CRT monitor. Google informed me that perhaps melting silicone over the coils (?!) will help dampen the sound. Either that or putting it in a wooden carpeted box with a glass front. Does anyone else have any suggestions, or thoughts on the two I listed? Is it possible that my monitor is slowly melting and will one day explode in my face?

Background information: the monitor is at least third-hand, as I got it cheaply from craigslist, and it has a "refurbished" sticker on the back. It's a Viewsonic P95f. The pitch of the sound changes as I change refresh rates. It also (thankfully) gets a little quieter after it's warmed up for about an hour. I'm not interested in an LCD right now, as the only ones that could compare to this CRT's quality (non-acoustically-speaking, of course) cost too much.

I just tossed my 4 yr old p95f in ther dumpster. It had been getting progressivly noisyer also. My guess was the B+ power supply was rapidly ageing.Then 1 day it started up and the whole desktop was about 1" wide,so I power cycled it and it wouldnt come back on.
I replaced it with a Samsung 931BF from best buy. The samsung is either as good or better in every way. (2ms gtg)
Say good by to that smelly old crt.....

I hope you didn't. CRT monitors contain cadmium, mercury, and up to four pounds of lead, all of which are hazardous if they enter our water systems. It very easy for such metals to leech into the soil, and from their into the water table. Everyone should be ensuring that their electronics is brought to a reuse or recycling depot to ensure environmentally friendly disposal. If the tube is good, it can be refurbished by replacing the electron gun.

The noise is not indicating that your monitor will explode You even acknowledge that the noise has been present for a long time, just drowned by fan noise.
My own CRT (Hyundaï V770) emits two different noises : one high pitched, that is related to the power unit of the CRT and the other one, more of a buzzing, that has the same frequency that the refresh noise and change with it. It's probably related to the electron gun and the process of drawing the image on the screen.

About the possible solutions, that's the first time that I hear about this closed box idea. It should stop these noises from bothering you, especially the high pitched noise. But CRTs emits some heat (reason why there are little openings on their upper side), my 17" CRT draws 70W according to manufacturer data and I suspect very little of it is dissipated through the light emitted by the screen. In a enclosed box the heat will build up very fast, so beware of not cooking it.

The glue gun on coil is fine for a PSU but for a CRT it gets trickier as you can't easily access the electronics, let alone find the culprit. I once tried to open my screen, it was such a mess with the metal casing that I gave up.
I convinced myself to get accustomed to it as these noises are not very obtrusive and they are somewhat mixed with a faint PSU fan noise.

Flat screens should be devoid of the buzzing noise, but anyway some also have the high pitched noise judging from the forum posts here. It makes sense as being a TFT or CRT you still have to convert the power coming from the wall at some point, even though some TFTs have a stand alone power converter that you can hide under the desk.

Maybe you can experiment a bit with the surrondings of the screen and your sitting position. I noticed strange reflecting of the high pitched noise on the wall near me, and as with every interference, in some place they will interfere constructively and in some other place destructively, resulting in less noise bothering you.

This brings up a good point. Why don't people recycle? Last year, my company's copier died and we purchased a new one. The company we purchased it from said they'd take the old one off our hands and maybe give us a few bucks for it. Well, they didn't and because the manufacturer was no longer making parts for the copier, they wouldn't even pick it up from us. I had to call all over town to try to find someone who would even accept the copier. Now, after 2 weeks of searching, I was tempted to go OfficeSpace on the darn thing and throw what was left in our compactor. But knew I didn't want any of that sitting in a landfill.

Eventually, I called the company who takes our hazardous waste and PAID THEM to take it, as it was cheaper than hiring a truck company to pick it up and deliver it to a private recycling center.

This is part of the reason people (at least in Michigan) don't recycle unless it's funded by the state. It's either to difficult to get someone to take materials, or too expensive. My parents live on the other side of the state and have a recycling program in their area. However, if you do not do prepare things EXACTLY right, they will just leave the materials laying on the street and not pick them up, and neither will the trash guys (because it's recyclable).

I wouldn't say I'm an environmentalist or anything, but I'm also not an idiot. I wouldn't drink downstream from someone taking a leak. And I try not to throw toxins into the ground. But it's amazing how difficult some areas make it to get rid of.

Well, in Europe we have got a directive for these e-wastes : WEEE directive. Judging from wikipedia, the US has a "National Computer Recycling Act" project continually stalled.
Maybe it's because in the end it costs money (except for certain type of electronics like mobile phone whose parts cost much than the cost to recycle them), so you have to institute a new tax and design a public system to adress these waste, even if it's just a new dumpster at the nearby dump where people bring their e-waste, that are then sent to a plant where they will be broken to reuseable pieces and raw materials.

tax* + concerted action + environnement = Europe + California (+Maryland, Maine, and Washington) and some asian countries for now.

* 8$ fee on new purchases for screens between 15" and 35" in California, you be the judge if it's worth it to avoid raw material wastes and heavy metals lying underground in a landfill. Think of the children

We have a contract with Waste Management...everything gets sorted and disposed of by them,we are then backbilled for any unusual disposal charges.
I hope they are as prudent in their methods as their television ads claim they are.

I had simmilar issues getting rid of my 22" crt when it finally died. I ended up spending half a vacation day hauling it to an electronics recycling place here in town. I didnt have to pay anything other than gas & time. And this is in CA as well -- so even those places with the $8/monitor disposal fee dont make it as easy as the propagandists would like you to think.

On the noise side of things, I dont remember my CRT causing any noises other than the degauss buzz during power up, and the click of changing video resolutions.

One source of noise I did find was interferance into my soundcard -- but that went away with better quality equipment (crt and soundcard).

But my samsung lcd makes no noise at all

hm, well thanks for the suggestion, le-griche. i've got a shelf that sits over the top of the monitor, and i put some soft fuzzy material on the underside of the shelf, and now it's quieter. a more reasonable variation on the box idea, i suppose.