Anthem MRX 1140 fan noise

[zuli]

Hello!
Does anyone noticed that the fan in the MRX 1140 is noisy? Is not a turbo jet engine, but you can definitely hear it during a film.
I've also noticed that the fan doesn't seems to be thermal driven, or at least not always. What I mean is that when you turn on the MRX, the fan starts after 10 minutes, and the it turn off after 10 minutes. If you turn off the MRX when the fan is on, and then you power on again, the fan doesn't start, so it wasn't a thermal issue.
Does the AVM 90 have the same problem?

 

[Beershaun]

I have mine in a cabinet and that muffles any fan noise for me.

 

[zuli]

I could move mine in the bottom shelf of my cabinet, but I would need an IR repeater.
I really cannot understand how is it possible that they designed the ventilation this way. The fan is small, therefore noisy, and the software is not smart enough to run it only when needed!

 

[Beershaun]

Yes. I have an IR repeater set up for mine. It works great. I've noticed it does have at least 2 speeds. I can't hear the lower speed when it's on in a quiet room at all. I wonder if yours is running on the higher speed? Leave the back panel off your cabinet so there is plenty of space to exhaust out of the cabinet.

 

[zuli]

Could you please check if also yours is starting after 10 mins from power on? And then power it off, and on again?

 

[Beershaun]

I checked this and the fan does not come on automatically at power on. I turned it on and it was dead quiet with my ear next to the back panel. No air flowing out the fan outlet. So yours may be coming on in the "high speed" mode? I'd reach out to Anthem customer service and ask them what you can do to fix it.

 

[zuli]

I've partially solved the problem replacing the fans, as suggested here https://www.avforums.com/threads/ne...x-540-740-1140.2320729/page-102#post-30516886

 

[Kebec53]

Best solution for me is adding an

AC Infinity AIRCOM T9​

triple fan unit on top of the MRX and let the temperature sensor adjust a minimal speed (use Smart mode) and just suck enough of the heat vertically and out of my open front cabinet. You can also add a few more individual fans on the 2 special usb outlets using the built-in controls. Very efficient and silent. Beautiful MRX assorted cabinet.

 

[jbonn5000]

Best solution for me is adding an

AC Infinity AIRCOM T9​

triple fan unit on top of the MRX and let the temperature sensor adjust a minimal speed (use Smart mode) and just suck enough of the heat vertically and out of my open front cabinet. You can also add a few more individual fans on the 2 special usb outlets using the built-in controls. Very efficient and silent. Beautiful MRX assorted cabinet.

I'm super intrigued by this. Did it solve all fan noise issues for you? Great find.

 

[Kebec53]

I'm super intrigued by this. Did it solve all fan noise issues for you? Great find.

Yes it did

 

[Chrispy]

I've yet to hear any of my avrs' fans....but no Anthem. Even my pro amps it's a rare occurrence (and only on the one driving a 2ohm load)

 

[peng]

I've yet to hear any of my avrs' fans....but no Anthem. Even my pro amps it's a rare occurrence (and only on the one driving a 2ohm load)

Yeah, try one if you want to hear it.

 

[jbonn5000]

Yes it did

Awesome! That gives me a little more confidence to jump into an Anthem. Do you know if you can dim or turn off the LED display on the Aircom?

 

[Kebec53]

Turn off display by pressing leaf button The T9 pdf manual is available on the web. Very useful and dependable

 

[peng]

Awesome! That gives me a little more confidence to jump into an Anthem. Do you know if you can dim or turn off the LED display on the Aircom?

More people should complain to Anthem about the fan issue, then they will fix it in a future firmware update. They apparently did make a change once, but evidently not enough, as they only fixed the immediate turn on issue.

Unfortunately Anthem users are very nice and loyal to a fault, so this is not a priorixedy for Anthem. That's just my observation/opinion. It really is a shame, for those who need to add an external fan for no good reason.

 

[jbonn5000]

More people should complain to Anthem about the fan issue, then they will fix it in a future firmware update. They apparently did make a change once, but evidently not enough, as they only fixed the immediate turn on issue.

Unfortunately Anthem users are very nice and loyal to a fault, so this is not a priorixedy for Anthem. That's just my observation/opinion. It really is a shame, for those who need to add an external fan for no good reason.

Totally agree with this. When I began my research of Anthem a year ago, I was SHOCKED to learn that people were having fan noise problems (and annoyed that it seems to be bad for some and not an issue at all for others). That's a major design flaw for a unit that's otherwise highly regarded by the audio community.

I am hoping that I won't need a solution like the Aircom, but I'm glad such an affordable solution exists. It also just seems like a good purchase regardless, especially if the receiver is in a tight spot with other heat producing equipment. Regardless, I'll update this in a few weeks when I receive the Anthem and have a chance to ride it hard.

 

[peng]

Totally agree with this. When I began my research of Anthem a year ago, I was SHOCKED to learn that people were having fan noise problems (and annoyed that it seems to be bad for some and not an issue at all for others). That's a major design flaw for a unit that's otherwise highly regarded by the audio community.

I am hoping that I won't need a solution like the Aircom, but I'm glad such an affordable solution exists. It also just seems like a good purchase regardless, especially if the receiver is in a tight spot with other heat producing equipment. Regardless, I'll update this in a few weeks when I receive the Anthem and have a chance to ride it hard.

The T9 looks good but expensive. I used one of those $20 Infinity USB fans at the lowest speed and it fixed the issue completely.

 

[jbonn5000]

The T9 looks good but expensive. I used one of those $20 Infinity USB fans at the lowest speed and it fixed the issue completely.

It's pretty sad that a $20 USB fan is solving problems Anthem has seemingly failed to address. People are paying a lot of money for these units. Absurd to have to plug in a fan to avoid noise.

 

[peng]

It's pretty sad that a $20 USB fan is solving problems Anthem has seemingly failed to address. People are paying a lot of money for these units. Absurd to have to plug in a fan to avoid noise.

That's the thing, a $20 fix is not a big deal but we should not have to do it. The problem is, again, only a few people mentioned this issue on forums. Most others responded by saying they never heard the fan on. That's not helping because then why would Amthem spend time fixing the issue? It should be an easy fix, because it is very obvious it is just a set point issue, the unit does not run warm at all when the fan turns on.

In the early days, there was an issue that they fixed via FW:
According to the changelog:
"Addressed a fan issue that caused some fans to turn on immediately"

The remaining issue now would seem to be either all fans, or at least some fans would turn on prematurely, that is, the set point is simply set too low. If that's the case it should be an easy fix, if not, they should tell us what it is then it is up to the individual to decide sending the unit in for the fix if it requires hardware change. Regardless of the real issue, even if the fan turns on all the time, it should not be so noisy. If they were to use something like a $20-$30 Noctua fan, no one would complain about the noise.

I believe all fans have the issue, but as I mentioned before, Anthem owners seem very loyal to Anthem, to a fault, so they don't want to make trouble, or perceived to make trouble. I may be wrong, it's just my impression based on forum posts.

 

[jbonn5000]

That's the thing, a $20 fix is not a big deal but we should not have to do it. The problem is, again, only a few people mentioned the issue on forums. Most others responded by saying they never heard the fan on. That's not helping because then why would Amthem spend time fixing the issue? It should be an easy fix, because it is very obvious it is just a set point issue, the unit does not run warm at all when the fan turns on.

In the early days, there was an issue that they fixed via FW:
According to the changelog:
"Addressed a fan issue that caused some fans to turn on immediately"

The remaining issue now would seem to be either all fans, or at least some fans would turn on prematurely, that is, the set point is simply set too low. If that's the case it should be an easy fix, if not, they should tell us what it is then it is up to the individual to decide sending the unit in for the fix if it requires hardware change.

I believe all fans have the issue, but as I mentioned before, Anthem owners seem very loyal to Anthem, to a fault, so they don't want to make trouble, or perceived to make trouble. I may be wrong, it's just my impression based on forum posts.

I mean, fans will make noise but there are ways to implement them so they have such low noise-floor, it's going to be fine for 99% of use cases. Sounds like there is a both an implementation problem, and a use of mediocre fans. Anyone with a gaming PC understands this issue.