Does SPCR seem way too obsessive compulsive about noise?

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MikeC
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Does SPCR seem way too obsessive compulsive about noise?

Post by MikeC » Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:35 am

If so, consider this comment by an old hand about the noise of one of his monitors (from the Quiet / Noisy Monitor Surveydiscussion):
HammerSandwich wrote:Iiyama Visionmaster 450 - Moderately loud buzzing & ticking sounds. Quieter than a typical 3.5" HD, but louder than any of the above LCDs. In fairness, this CRT was 5+ years old before my PCs became quiet enough [for me] to notice the noise.
(Emphasis mine)

This is a critical piece of information for all who read SPCR. Visitors who are new to SPCR might think the hardcores (and editorial staff) here completely OC and off their rockers; in reality, the main difference is how much quieter the rest of our gear is that we notice things like low level buzzing/whining from things like monitors, AC adapters, CFL bulbs in our homes, etc. Are we better served by our near-silent gear? Some might say no; noise is everywhere in the modern world, better to learn to live with it. Most here say yes -- our homes become havens from the madness beyond.
Last edited by MikeC on Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Cistron » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:04 pm

Just imagine everyone thought like you/us. Then the world might pass as placid, wouldn't it?

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Post by idale » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:20 pm

As someone who's definitely not obsessive about quieting things down, I can certainly attest to the effect of quieting one noise source only for another to "pop up". Quieting down the HSF on my new server meant that the noise from the HDD was more noticeable. I also seem to notice some noise from the LCD now, as well (which I certainly hope is just because the room as a whole is quieter now). The quieter the ambient noise level is, the less noise it takes to stand out from the background. As I've seen several people here say before, once you start quieting things down, it's hard to stop (since there's always something else drawing attention to itself). 8)

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Post by cloneman » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:26 pm

Perhaps we need a support group to help us :lol:

Perhaps we could have a thread on sources of background noise that help down out electronic whine?

Open windows, large ceiling fans, etc. ?

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Post by MikeC » Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:29 pm

cloneman wrote:Perhaps we need a support group to help us :lol:

Perhaps we could have a thread on sources of background noise that help down out electronic whine?

Open windows, large ceiling fans, etc. ?
:lol: :lol:

It's probably safe to say that without some kind of predisposition to higher noise sensitivity or more acute hearing in general, you wouldn't hang out at SPCR -- esp. the forums -- for long. But people who have these qualities are sometimes unaware of them or afraid of admitting them -- until shown that it's OK. And SPCR does show that it's OK. Which helps explain why some like to hang out here all the time. ;) (An Aside: It's also true that many smokers are actually quite sensitive to cigarette smoke -- not "allergic" as in the precise medical definition -- which usually means instantly deadly -- but sensitive. This helps explain why many ex-smokers are the least tolerant of smoke.)

Some things I admit:

1) I avoid many live music events because they're just too loud & annoying, and with so many of them, I get better sound with my aging "high-end" stereo at home. My favorite ones are solo, duo or small bands in small spaces where not much amplification is needed or used. Street music is often great, to me, because of its liveness and immediacy -- w/o the super high SPL. (A big Cuban band at the UBC Chan center was quite enjoyable, tho -- great sound at that hall, beat the piss out of my stereo which sounded dull and muted at any volume for a week thereafter)

2) I've cringed in the past about social visits to some friends' homes because they like their music but have such bad sounding systems I want to turn them off. I'm getting a bit more tolerant w/ age tho. (Yak & joke & cackle loud enough and the music noise fades.)

3) In summer, when the windows are open, I'm far more tolerant of noise, although I sleep much better in winter when windows are closed and there's less "street life". A fairly quiet room fan that adds a layer of random noise (white/pink) helps a lot on summer nights. I just point the fan at the ceiling, which ensures that the direct airflow doesn't cause chill in the morn.

4) Unnecessarily loud noise from things like appliances, cars, and machinery still drives me nuts -- partly because I know it doesn't have to be this way; I think I can see how easily the things could be made so much quieter, without necessarily being more expensive. (Whether I'm right/wrong on this matter is a whole nuther matter.)

5) I find it difficult to be in cities like Taipei, Bangkok, Hanoi (to mention a few I've been in recently) for short periods. After more than a week, I usually settle down, but often, after the initial excitement of the first couple, I found the constant noise exhausting. More often than not, it's the noise of motor vehicle traffic, including honking. (Every Hanoi moto driver appear to have spastic thumbs which must hit the horn button at least 6 times a minute. The only time these horns became inaudible during a week's stay in Hanoi was the couple minutes in Ho Chi Minh's tomb. :shock: )
Last edited by MikeC on Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by lm » Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:39 pm

Well once I moved my PC into the closet, my study became really quiet, and I started to notice the monitor buzz. But the monitor buzz has a much more annoying character than the PC noise, because it's higher frequency and less broadband.

I guess the noise floor should rather be white or pink noise or what ever is the correct term for something where no component stands out for me to be perfectly comfortable, instead of this buzz I get. So I think the character of the noise is important. I'm just trying to create an environment, where my brain does not react to background noise, as I seem to be quite bad at just ignoring it mentally.

I think I can focus better in my quiet study than elsewhere. I'm just sensitive to noise.

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Post by cloneman » Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:27 pm

Nice of you to open up to us, MikeC, nice read :^)


I'm not a audiophile but I get annoyed when things are sub-mediocre. I can't listen to music unless the earphones have exaggerated bass (Koss ftw!).

Keeping a window open definitely helps for me. High frequency noise has become a serious problem for me.

I can't buy anything anymore from a store that doesnt have some form of return policy, because you cant hear CPU whine in a store ;(

My 1 month search for a laptop has ended in a arbitrary go for lenovo T400, if it whines it's going right back, we'll wait and see ;)

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Post by RoGuE » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:02 pm

ya know...

this is an interesting thread. It really gets you thinking. There are SOOOO many people that don't care about computer noise. Namely, my roomate. He has a sony laptop made a couple years ago. I am 100% certain the cpu or gpu heatsink is packed with dust, and as a result, the fan is at full speed 24/7. This is an extremely loud and whiny noise, i can hear it though a closed door. The funny thing is, it doesn't bother him one bit!!!

I personally like pure silence when I want it. It's nice to be up at 3AM (as I am now) and barely hear my computer. I have to try, to actually hear it. That, to me, is much more desirable than a computer making constant white noise.

Conversly, I wouldn't go to overboard with silencing a HTPC for example. It would be out in the living-room, several meters away. When silencing computers, I think it's important to consider exactly where the computer will be going (bedroom versus livingroom makes a huge difference).


But I digress
MikeC wrote:Are we better served by our near-silent gear?
Absolutely. Background noise distracts me, it makes me think too much. I can't imaging going back a year and having my old computer where I could hear the HDD's seeking! I used to wonder "wtf is my computer doing in the background"...now I can just relax! lol As for the tonality of whiny fans...now that's just plain annoying. It's like a little headache that wont go away. Maybe it's genetic or something...i dont know. All i know is, noise that doesn't NEED to be there, shouldn't be there.

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Post by frenchie » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:51 pm

Interesting thread.
I live in a big city. It has that constant background noise that you notice the most when everything is quiet, like in the middle of the night (around 3 am). I don't notice it most of the time and until recently, I'd never thought much of it.
That was until I went skiing in the Alpes. And there, you have SILENCE, the REAL thing. Not during the day of course (birds, cars, people...). But going for a walk at night, like after 11pm was a bit scary. And I couldn't figure out why. I thought the lack of light (being in a very little village, there was very little light polution at night) was the cause but after a while your eyes get used to that. I turns out it's the noise, or more likely the lack of noise.
After that, going back home was a bit of a shock noise wise. Since then, I find that if I pay attention to what I'm hearing, I get annoyed by the noise. I still love the city but now the thing I enjoy the most when going away to the countryside is the difference in background noise.
Of course, it all started with SPCR, but being aware of that is important. MikeC said it best :
Unnecessarily loud noise from things like appliances, cars, and machinery still drives me nuts -- partly because I know it doesn't have to be this way;
Should we start a revolutionnary group ? We could go clandestine and go on special silencing ops around the world : replacing noisy computer fans, silencing cars with super mufflers, suspending things with stretch magic, mass dampening everything....


[EDIT : is putting noise dampening material on the back of a clock and suspending it with a rubber band to decouple it from the wall considered a psychological problem ?]
Last edited by frenchie on Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Cistron » Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:43 am

RoGuE wrote:... where I could hear the HDD's seeking!
Oh yeah! Seeking noise drove me completely livid, because it usually meant that I had enough time to take a short coffee-break at my old PC.
4) Unnecessarily loud noise from things like appliances, cars, and machinery still drives me nuts -- partly because I know it doesn't have to be this way; I think I can see how easily the things could be made so much quieter, without necessarily being more expensive. (Whether I'm right/wrong on this matter is a whole nuther matter.)
This is one of my pet peeves as well. I work in biological sciences and I have yet to meet a device that's quiet. The air-conditioning and ventilation is driving me nuts at night. Then we have -80°C freezers with compressors blowing permanently at full tilt. PCR machines, fume hoods, incubators, electrophoresis power supplies, etc. And every last damn machine is equipped with some sort of ill-fitted whiny fan. My personal favourite are still the door-stoppers with notoriously near-empty batteries and their beeping alarm.

And of course, as frenchie mentioned, big cities aren't on the quiet side. London definitely isn't. The other day the Camden Borough decided to ripp the asphalt off the street with a huge grinding machine. When? 9pm to 1am. Nutters. Ever since my last holiday at home-home (just outside Vienna, Austria) I can't sleep without ear-plugs any more.

I wish I could cover my walls in sound insulation and have a shrine of calmness. Fancy building another anechoic room in London, Mike?

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Re: Does SPCR seem way too obsessive compulsive about noise?

Post by new2spcr » Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:47 am

Recently I've found out that I my quest for the ultimate silent computer experience stretches beyond tinkering with the computer itself. For instance I try to dampen other noise sources in my flat, like turning off offending light bulbs that buzzes, closing windows, shutting down the ventilation system and so on, whenever I want to use the computer. I think that's little obsessive but pretty normal by SPCR standards. My wife though, thinks I'm nuts.

Today I went to the hospital together with my wife and at the reception I noticed a Dell PC that was very noisy. I could hear it 2 meters away. Most likely vibrational noise from the HD. I shared my thoughts with my wife and asked her to listen and give me her opinions. She claimed I was crazy.

Pre SPCR, I wouldn't have even noticed such things.

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Post by lm » Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:43 am

RoGuE wrote: I personally like pure silence when I want it. It's nice to be up at 3AM (as I am now) and barely hear my computer. I have to try, to actually hear it. That, to me, is much more desirable than a computer making constant white noise.
Can you actually reach a state of no perceived noise? Do all people start to hear their own ears noise floor when no other noise is present?

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Post by RoGuE » Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:04 am

lm wrote: Can you actually reach a state of no perceived noise? Do all people start to hear their own ears noise floor when no other noise is present?
at 3AM, I can hear it. It's extremely faint and smooth sounding (no whining). And about the ear noise thing...i only notice that when I think about it. Like right now LOL. I love it being near-dead silent at night..I can watch movies at a really low volume for example. I also love the sound of the clicking keyboard when its that silent in the room. Maybe that makes me weird, but I guess sound doesn't bother me when I'm the one making it.

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Post by Shamgar » Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:20 am

MikeC wrote:3) ... I just point the fan at the ceiling, which ensures that the direct airflow doesn't cause chill in the morn.
I will try that one day. Thanks.
MikeC wrote:4) Unnecessarily loud noise from things like appliances, cars, and machinery still drives me nuts -- partly because I know it doesn't have to be this way; I think I can see how easily the things could be made so much quieter, without necessarily being more expensive. (Whether I'm right/wrong on this matter is a whole nuther matter.)
Vehicle quietness, or NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), is high in the priority of my requirements when looking for a car. Most people don't notice how poor the NVH in their cars are, and even if they do, they probably don't care all that much as long as their car starts in the morning and gets them from A to B. Unfortunately, most cars for average folk have poor NVH, especially in the smaller car size market. A larger family size sedan (saloon), the Toyota Camry/Avalon/etc, while a boring staple, has a good reputation for being one of the quietest consumer cars ever produced. And as someone who has travelled in them, I can attest that they are very quiet to travel in, even under hard acceleration on freeways (as long as they are in good condition, have been serviced and sitting on good tyres). Lexus (luxury Toyota rebranded) also has a good reputation for automotive quietness. For the lower consumer market, things could be much better. But quality has improved, particulary from the far East, and NVH is something that car makers at least try to address more these days.
MikeC wrote:5) I find it difficult to be in cities like Taipei, Bangkok, Hanoi (to mention a few I've been in recently) for short periods. After more than a week, I usually settle down, but often, after the initial excitement of the first couple, I found the constant noise exhausting...
You should consider leaving the city smoke and move out to outer surbubia, urban fringes, quasi country or the real countryside itself. As a city person, I absolutely hate it for various reasons. I will consider moving outwards someday. But the time is not yet.


Some things from my experiences:

When travelling on trains, and they make that screeching, grinding sound against the tracks, I have to cover my ears. No one else that I can see seems to do likewise. I once enquired of my G.P. about this, why the noise affects me so much and apparently not with others around me. I thought possibly there was something wrong with my ears. He said there was nothing perceivably wrong with my ears and that I had good hearing. I still somehow get concerned about my ears though.

When I do the vacuuming, I wear a pair of earmuffs/earplugs. It might to others look extreme for this household chore, but to me, it's a form of protection of my ears, not to mention an insulation from the noise. When I used to work in a large retail store filling stock in the morning, I found the noise from the industrial strength vacuum cleaners and floor polishers from the cleaning company overwhelmingly loud and irritating. I had to buy a pair of earplugs to get through these mornings. Everybody else seemed to get by without so much as a complaint.

There are perhaps lots of other nuggets of personal experience I and others could share here. Many of them common and identifiable among people who frequent SPCR.

I do not consider myself an extreme silencer or an OC with regards to noise. (I am possibly OC with regards to other aspects of life, though I don't like to think of my behaviours as OC. But that's another story.) I think somehow consciously or sub-consciously (or a combination of both), the level of one's tolerance to noise may be influenced not only by genuine sensitivity but by other factors, such as: a). finances (to be able to make improvements to existing and future setups and sustain such), b). time and effort (to research, purchase, build and maintain setups), c). fellow citizens (not wanting sensitivity to noise to offend others; fear of embarrassment because of this; not knowing how to explain such or could not be bothered to do so; not wanting to be a pain because of it), d). pressure and time constraints (for e.g. places of work or study where computers are not designed for quietness and one must use them anyway to complete tasks, therefore noise is more heavily tolerated though not appreciated, and one becomes used to the environmental conditions and the fact of having to work in them) and possibly several other factors too much to go into at this time.

To answer Mike's question, "Does SPCR seem way too obsessive compulsive about noise?", I would say yes. To the outsider, definitely yes. To the one time or occasional visitors seeking a solution for a problem, I think they do appreciate that this community, namely SPCR exists -- because there is nothing else of its nature and scope on the internet or perhaps any other media for that matter. These groups of people generally don't care about one's extremities to silence as long as they get some help with their immediate problems. They may never come back again. To frequent visitors and those who choose to stay longer and contribute, some measures may still seem somewhat obsessive and extreme, yet over time, they will know where on the spectrum they reside and learn to take what is relevant to their needs and ignore what may to be too extreme or unnecessary for them. I think the majority of SPCR forum members fit into this category. Then there are the extreme silencers, the veterans and die-hards who see this as a life's journey, a cause of common humanity, a definition of life and a reason to continue. To them, it isn't an issue of OC or being extreme. It is just what is. I think this last group tend to make up a minority of the whole. They often make up for their lack of overwhelming numbers by their vocalness, expertise, intolerance of newbies and repeated topics, and last but not leastly their often monotonous, depressing off topic discussions and nitpicking of grammar and data in MikeC and Co's articles.

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Post by PartEleven » Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:13 pm

Cistron wrote:This is one of my pet peeves as well. I work in biological sciences and I have yet to meet a device that's quiet.
Boy do I feel sorry for you. I also work in a biology lab and I know exactly what you are talking about. If the noise bothers you that much maybe its time for a new career path? :D I try to get used to the noise because I don't believe the industry will ever attempt to quiet their devices. Ever. Noise pollution is like far, far, FAR, down the list of priorities for biological science equipment.

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Post by Cistron » Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:12 pm

PartEleven wrote:Boy do I feel sorry for you. I also work in a biology lab and I know exactly what you are talking about. If the noise bothers you that much maybe its time for a new career path? :D I try to get used to the noise because I don't believe the industry will ever attempt to quiet their devices. Ever. Noise pollution is like far, far, FAR, down the list of priorities for biological science equipment.
Unfortunately, that's only the start of things. A new hospital wing is being built and the construction noise embraces the whole office space. Brain work at the racket is not quite possible, so the 100x ear-plug box I ordered came in very handy amongst colleagues and myself. It's been much worse though, as a few months ago they used explosives to remove old foundations - it's slightly weird doing dissections when the whole building wobbles.

As countermeasure I just tend to walk all over the place with my iPod and in-ear-canal-headphones. Helps keeping most of things out, but makes my 'slightly' unresponsive to questions ;)

Sorry for my rant, I guess I need home leave again.

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Two words...

Post by Quietstick » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:51 am

lm wrote:
Can you actually reach a state of no perceived noise? Do all people start to hear their own ears noise floor when no other noise is present?
Two words: Tinnitus and Edgar Allen Poe :wink:

I know... actually that's about 4 words, reallly....

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Post by tim851 » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:56 am

Just think what the world must have been like before civilization.

Sometimes, when you walk deep in the woods and there is no human noise present, just the wind, the leaves and the birds --- for millions of years, that was the sound of the world.

I live in a village, I'm not sure the total amount of cars passing the street is in double figures. The problem is, the less general noise there is, the more disturbing occasional noise gets. Our neighbour's dog whines/howls for maybe 20 minutes every day. He gets his "phases". It totally bugs the hell out of me, once I start to notice.

But the real bitch in my home is the heating system. The pump in the basement vibrates and relays those vibrations to the whole heating system, creating a hum throughout the whole house at what I would reckon (from the typical descriptions of noise levels) to be fluctuating between 14-20 dbA. For the longest time I thought that noise came from my PC.
It's not really that loud and my landlady can't hear it at all, which is why she probably thinks I'm crazy, at least she doesn't do something about it. But still, some days it's incredibly annoying.
If I was living next to a crowded street in a city, I'd may be more comfortable, because the constant street noise level would drown out the petty noises and I'd get used to it. Or maybe not.

I still don't know if I would prefer the silent world of old though.

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Post by MikeC » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:44 am

tim851 wrote:Sometimes, when you walk deep in the woods and there is no human noise present, just the wind, the leaves and the birds --- for millions of years, that was the sound of the world.
In nature, there's no such acoustic vacuum as an anechoic chamber -- at no time or place. People do start hearing odd whining and other effects when placed in a sensory deprivation chamber for long periods, it is used as a form of torture. I've heard it said that those "internal" sounds are the mechanism of hearing, which needs some noise to remain unperceived. When you read the literature on physio-acoustics, you quickly discover complete silence is anathema to good health.

What's interesting is that among natural sounds, some things are usually quite annoying / alarming while others are soothing, pleasing. Take for example, these sounds: cawing of crows, crashing of thunder, roars of large predatory animals (lions, etc), buzzing of flies or swarm of hornets. Few would consider them pleasant. In contrast, the sound of distant surf or rushing river, gentle patter of rain, breeze through trees, bird song... and some of these sounds can become alarming depending on intensity, like if the surf turns into the crashing of 20' waves, the wind screams up to >60mph, the rain to a torrent... Association with peasant/alarming experience is a key to subjective reactions to different noises, but periodic/random bursts of noise is almost always perceived as annoying unless it's wanted (ie, loud pretty birdsong at 4:30am makes me think of a shotgun but makes me smile at 8am w/ coffee on the sundeck.)

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"The Fall of The House of SPCR" (with apologies to

Post by Quietstick » Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:39 am

^ :) As I said...

Tinnitus and Edgar Allan Poe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_o ... e_of_Usher

OR

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Silence_(Poe,_1832) if you're still keen!! :shock:

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Post by lm » Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:25 am

frenchie wrote:[EDIT : is putting noise dampening material on the back of a clock and suspending it with a rubber band to decouple it from the wall considered a psychological problem ?]
When I sleep over while visiting relatives, I take ticking clocks off the walls in the room I sleep and put them in another room. I've wondered how it's just me that absolutely can't tolerate them. It's like chinese water torture - tick ... tick ... tick ...

I have just one wall clock in my apartment, and that one had a strict no ticking criteria when it was bought. It's a kitchen clock, so it's tightly sealed against what ever cooking fumes float around in the kitchen. The seals also block the noise.

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Post by MikeC » Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:36 am

lm wrote:
frenchie wrote:[EDIT : is putting noise dampening material on the back of a clock and suspending it with a rubber band to decouple it from the wall considered a psychological problem ?]
When I sleep over while visiting relatives, I take ticking clocks off the walls in the room I sleep and put them in another room. I've wondered how it's just me that absolutely can't tolerate them. It's like chinese water torture - tick ... tick ... tick ...
Not just you -- me too.

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Post by lm » Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:39 am

Shamgar wrote: When travelling on trains, and they make that screeching, grinding sound against the tracks, I have to cover my ears. No one else that I can see seems to do likewise.

...

When I do the vacuuming, I wear a pair of earmuffs/earplugs. It might to others look extreme for this household chore, but to me, it's a form of protection of my ears, not to mention an insulation from the noise.

...

Everybody else seemed to get by without so much as a complaint.
I too use ear plugs while vacuum cleaning.

The train thing - well, I don't travel much in trains, but the buses on the other hand ... Some of them have horrible screaming brakes. I get the shivers when they stop right next to me. Also when they abrubtly open some compressed air vents or what ever they are. Those noises make me hurt physically. I don't get it, it should be just noise, right?

And nobody else even notices them.
Shamgar wrote: ... nitpicking of grammar and data in MikeC and Co's articles.
Hey, even they need quality control! It can't be all patting on the back and praise, no matter how important and cool it is :wink:

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Post by RoGuE » Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:16 pm

MikeC wrote: Not just you -- me too.
really? the ticking of clocks has never bothered me in the slightest...but for some reason I spend money making my computer in-audible. lol weirrddddd....

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Post by mcoleg » Sun Oct 11, 2009 5:04 pm

MikeC wrote:It's probably safe to say that without some kind of predisposition to higher noise sensitivity or more acute hearing in general, you wouldn't hang out at SPCR -- esp. the forums -- for long.
i think you nailed it, Mike. i am, for example, more noise-sensitive as compared to the most people around me. whether it's neurological, psychological or physiological, it's hard to say.

-i, too, avoid large and noisy social gatherings if i can.

-there's not a single loud-speaker in my home - everyone is forced to use headphones, hehe. i got a nice system of wireless emitters that can be fed from three different sources and four sets of non-line-of-sight wireless phones with individual volume adjustments.

-if i can make a piece of equipment quieter, i will. if i cannot make it quiet enough, i try to change the noise to the frequency that i can tolerate. and sometimes i try and musk a quiet but annoying noise by putting the noise source in close proximity to louder but more agreeable noise source. Like with clocks, for example - i have a couple and both are either close to a computer (fan noise) or entertainment center (it's sort of white noise sounding there when everything is idle).

-i use earplugs when i sleep, active-noise-cancellation headphones when it gets too noisy during daytime and i listen to music using hi-fi headphones and earphones (not the highest end but i do have a nice collection that i can rotate to suite my mood).


i also do have a migraine so... i wonder how many "migraine folks" are around here. m/b i should start a thread to find out :P

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Post by Olle P » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:26 am

MikeC wrote:... without some kind of predisposition to higher noise sensitivity or more acute hearing in general, you wouldn't hang out at SPCR -- esp. the forums -- for long.
Unless we adopt a very wide definition of "predisposition" I think this is wrong.

Let's take myself as an example:
- I found this site while looking for reviews of the P182 case, about one year ago.
- To be fair I did also have a prior interest in quiet computing, resulting in a home made computer case based on my own theories on how to build a relatively low cost quiet computer. (Theories that didn't really pass the practical tests, I might add. Still, I think some of my ideas are still valid.)
- Once I took a baby step to adopt the theories presented here by replacing my stock CPU and GPU coolers, I was hooked! Now I'm slowly slipping down the muddy (and expensive) slope towards the dark pit of total computer silence...

I still nourish a faint hope that there will be a level of noise that's "good enough" for me, where I can stop before reaching the abyss...

Cheers
Olle

Cistron
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Location: London, UK

Post by Cistron » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:10 am

mcoleg wrote:i also do have a migraine so... i wonder how many "migraine folks" are around here. m/b i should start a thread to find out :P
I do get migraines as well. But, I'm not sure whether you and I mean the same thing. Visual aura (scintillating scotoma), nausea, throbbing headache for a day, concentration difficulties for a week. That sort of thing is my burden and usually happens if I skip meals and spice it up with lots of stress. I don't think noise is a very obvious stress factor, but it might contribute.

Anyways, mcoleg I think you're the clear winner sofar in terms of anti-noise OC-behaviour.

JVM
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Location: USA

Post by JVM » Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:32 am

I live in the country where it is so quiet I can tell when the mail comes by hearing a car go by.

Before I came to this forum, I had a Gateway computer enclosed in a thick wooden box I built that included a front door with handle--the back was open. Still, even with that wooden box lined with sound absorbing material, the damn Gateway was noisy! Now, years later and many dollars spent, I have a very quiet computer with parts purchased by me. With the help of this website, which includes reviews and forum, I managed to make intelligent decisions on what to put inside the computer case. So, now my computer is very quiet and no wooden box needed. :)

Going back to what someone else said about the heating system, I have oil hot water baseboard heat and the boiler noise from the basement does bother me, doesn't bother my wife one bit. The central air unit outside is not a real issue, much better solution than noisy window air conditioners, or those mounted in walls. The air coming from ceiling vents is relatively quiet and not obnoxious.

The noise from my DVR is the loudest thing going in my den, which is where my computer is located. I managed to quiet the DVR down to acceptable noise level by installing anti vibration rubber feet that reduced the humming which was driving me nuts; the rubber feet fit over the DVR's feet.

So, right now my den is very quiet, but the boiler down in the basement under the dining room does annoy me in winter--I try to stay out of the dining room except to eat and occasionally visit my wife. :lol:

Now with SSD (2) in my computer waiting for Windows 7, hard drive noise is a thing of the past. Another SSD drive is on order to make three hard drives in my computer. I never thought there would be a time to have three hard drives in a computer and still have a very quiet system. I could almost use the word silent except for the refrigerator sound I hear with door of my den closed! Ah, but perhaps I should have had a solid wooden door instead of wood and all that glass. On the other hand, I can look out through the glass and see oven clock. :wink:

Talking about ancient audio as Mike C did above, I still have my Systemdek belt-driven turntable with Grado signature cartridge. True, I also have a DVD player, but I use the turntable more.

Now, if only I could have a silent mouse and keyboard...

Am I obsessive about noise? You betcha! Why else why would I be coming here? So, maybe Mike C can start a new topic area for quieting boilers. :lol:

Rushdie
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Location: Sweden

Post by Rushdie » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:11 pm

SPCR might be over the top, but you need someone that is more hardcore than yourself to provide you with the right facts. With these facts, you can make your own conclusions.

Say you have two fans, FanX rated at 60cfm@30dBa, and FanY rated at 50cfm@32dBa. Now, a layman would surely choose FanX. No other site (that I know of) have the skills, equipment and knowledge to actually back up a statement that fan Y is the better of them (due to whatever reasons). If SPCR wouldn't be obsessive compulsive about noise, the only thing one could rely on would be peoples subjective thoughts.

As for noise that is not computer related, I'm only sensitive to sound that never changes, such as a clock or a buzzing light bulb. Helicopters, gun shots or neighbors don't affect me. I lived close to airport for ten years, and I never heard a plane, unless someone told me.

mcoleg
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Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:55 pm

Post by mcoleg » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:18 pm

Cistron wrote:
mcoleg wrote:i also do have a migraine so... i wonder how many "migraine folks" are around here. m/b i should start a thread to find out :P
I do get migraines as well. But, I'm not sure whether you and I mean the same thing. Visual aura (scintillating scotoma), nausea, throbbing headache for a day, concentration difficulties for a week. That sort of thing is my burden and usually happens if I skip meals and spice it up with lots of stress. I don't think noise is a very obvious stress factor, but it might contribute.

Anyways, mcoleg I think you're the clear winner sofar in terms of anti-noise OC-behaviour.
yep, mine's a migraine, ICHD-II seems to agree :P . so, yes, we are most likely talking about the same thing. it's different from person to person but, most migraine folk are more susceptible to noise, especially during the attack when it actually gets painful. on top of that, there's some evidence that shows that at least some people with migraines process sound differently on physiological level. in other words - they hear more.

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