AC Infinity Airplate S5 + Controller 8 impressions
Recently completed adding some cooling fans to my A/V cabinet as it’s not particularly well-ventilated. Decided to go with some equipment from AC Infinity. Didn’t know anything about the brand ahead of time, but prices seemed reasonable and reviews were generally positive.
My Setup
Total price was $120 US. It was $30 each for the S5 fans (x2) and $60 for the Controller 8. The nice thing about the controller having 4 zones is that I can add another fan if I need to without having to buy another controller.
Pros
Cons
Overall Impression
My A/V cabinet design dictated that I get some fans, so I’m glad I have these now. And there’s no way I would install the fans without the Controller 8 thermostat; it’s a top-notch product and seems like a must-have to me. But not quite the whisper quiet fans I was hoping for at the lowest speeds. Probably better suited for closed cabinets, and not one like mine that has some openings in the front. If I found something that I knew would be quieter I'd likely make the upgrade.
Curious if any other members have used the AC Infinity fans and what their impressions are. Also curious about any issues with reliability / longevity.
Recently completed adding some cooling fans to my A/V cabinet as it’s not particularly well-ventilated. Decided to go with some equipment from AC Infinity. Didn’t know anything about the brand ahead of time, but prices seemed reasonable and reviews were generally positive.
My Setup
- Installed two Airplate S5 fans in the back of the A/V cabinet. One fan on the back of the top shelf which has my AVR + U-verse receiver/DVR, the latter of which has a lot of free air flow but runs burning hot all the time. One fan on the back of the bottom shelf which has an Xbox and an 8-port gigabit switch.
- Installed and configured a Controller 8. This basically acts as a thermostat: it reads the temperature (using small probes that you install) and runs the fans based on how you decide to set it up. It has the ability to separately control 4 different zones but I’m only using it for 2 zones.
Total price was $120 US. It was $30 each for the S5 fans (x2) and $60 for the Controller 8. The nice thing about the controller having 4 zones is that I can add another fan if I need to without having to buy another controller.
Pros
- Reasonably priced.
- Clean look. My fans are installed in back, but I would have been fine if I had to install them on the side where they would have been visible.
- Easy install. You need a jigsaw and a drill, but after that it’s pretty easy. (Setting aside how annoying it is to pull all of your A/V equipment out of the cabinet and put it back in.) They include a plastic template you can use to place and draw your guide lines.
- The Controller 8 is a little quirky to configure but not difficult. (There’s no app, so you have to do all the config via the on-screen menus.) And a really legit set of configuration options: there’s the static ON or OFF settings, but there’s also an Auto setting (most like a standard thermostat) and a Smart setting (like a thermostat but can control the fan at variable speeds; i.e., drive the fan harder the hotter it gets). Nice that it has an alarm temp setting as well.
- The S5 fans do a good job moving air. I looked at other fan sizes as well, but for my cabinet the 6-inch fans were too big. (The S5 fans are only 4.4 inches high.) The dual fans can pull a lot of hot air out and quickly drop the shelf temp.
Cons
- These are louder than I expected. Even on the lowest fan setting I know when they’re on vs. when they’re off. (I’m using the Auto mode on the controller.) Terrible? No, but noticeable. And probably would be bad if I had to crank up the fan above the lowest speed. I was just hoping that with the fans in the back of my A/V cabinet I wouldn’t hear them at all.
- I think these may be better suited for more enclosed cabinets. On my top shelf it’s open in the front, there’s no door. As such I can directly hear the back of the fan when it’s on. But if the fan was in a cabinet that had doors you probably wouldn’t hear much. It’s definitely quieter on the exhaust side (the outside) of the fan unit so placing these on the side of a A/V cabinet shouldn’t be an issue.
- Possible I didn’t set it up correctly but Smart mode was too sensitive. In that mode my fan kept turning off and on every 10 seconds or so. The temp would go up by 1 degree (F) and the fan would turn on; after a short while the temp wold go down by 1 degree (F) and the fan would turn off. I gave up trying to figure it out and changed the mode to Auto.
Overall Impression
My A/V cabinet design dictated that I get some fans, so I’m glad I have these now. And there’s no way I would install the fans without the Controller 8 thermostat; it’s a top-notch product and seems like a must-have to me. But not quite the whisper quiet fans I was hoping for at the lowest speeds. Probably better suited for closed cabinets, and not one like mine that has some openings in the front. If I found something that I knew would be quieter I'd likely make the upgrade.
Curious if any other members have used the AC Infinity fans and what their impressions are. Also curious about any issues with reliability / longevity.
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