Media closet active cooling system noise in the entertainment area

Have revised the chronology for the listening room journey. This relates to Media closet active cooling system noise and my efforts to eliminate it.

I’ve had individually programmable cooling systems in my 2’ x 2’ x 8’ media closet dating back to when it was a home theater surround sound system in the living room with a SACD player.

With the discovery of Roon, a nuc/rock dedicated music server, updated speakers and a MC DAC, the main listening environment is used more often and afterhours lower volume settings more enjoyable, and appreciated by my spouse.

The noise generated by the active cooling systems in the living room media closet became a nuisance, and the ambient sound from the environmental system made its presence known.

I needed to make some changes. The receiver front exhaust cooling system was replaced with a rack mounted rear exhaust system and the rack mounted intake system was moved out to the foyer. That was a tedious through wall installation but worth the effort, for a while.

The in closet exhaust from the receiver heats things with the sound system playing and the intake/exhaust fans ramp up generating a sustained level of noise in the foyer but that is a little used pass through space.

That all worked out but then the ambient noise from the foyer became noticeable through the 45 inch wide entrance to the living room. Decided to build one of those barn door systems to close off the opening. It doesn’t seal, as a door would, but a 4 inch overlap on both sides and the top does stop the ambient sound from being noticeable, and as a bonus the sound from the entertainment system is contained in the living room so I can have more volume. Definitely a win win situation.

After all that, I’ve started to notice the sound from the media closet cooling systems filtering through the spaces around the rack mounted equipment. My hearing must be getting more sensitive in the quest of silence.

Next up, I ordered a product listed as Whole House Fan System from the same manufacture as my 3 active cooling fan systems. The 1200 cfm fan/motor is installed in the attic with 10 inch round ducting to a large vent damper installed in the closet ceiling. The vent box has 2 shutters to keep attic air from entering when the fan is not in use.

It has arrived and I’m reviewing the requirements for the installation. I will still have the rack mounted receiver exhaust heating up the media closet but instead of the intake/exhaust fans the unit in the attic will draw the heat up through the ceiling dampener. The openings for the intake and exhaust fan systems, as well as the openings around the equipment in the rack, will become passive air intakes. With 10 speeds and thermostat control I should be able to find the sweet spot so we don’t hear the whistling of air being sucked out.