Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Having experience with several brands of studio strobes I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of strobes, Quiet & Noisy.

I doesn't matter how much power a strobe can put out, some strobes just make more noise than others especially at the higher end of the power scale.

For example some Norman strobes have a distinctive Loud pop whenever they go off. Photogenics strobes are very quiet even at high power levels. My AB800s are somewhere in between.

Since I have never used them and could only test them if I buy them, how quiet/noisy are the Einsteins ? If they are any louder than the AlienBees, then I would put them in the noisy category.

You'd call them noisy then. Einsteins have a cooling fan that is on all the time. They're also higher power and the pop gets louder as you put more power through it (I'm surprised Photogenics are quiet).

You haven't heard noisy until you've used Speedotron 102 heads......whiirrrrrrrr (wicked loud cooling fan...eh?? what???? what???)....then BAMMM when you fire 800 watts through one :-)

The fans on the Einstein do not make the most noise. It is the buzz from the modeling light. At anything below full power on the modeling light, the buzz is louder than the fan. Thats what I hear from about 3 to 9ft away--the modeling light and not the fan. I now use the 150w modeling light and keep it at full power most times.

FWIW, I had the modeling lamp set to track this weekend and I didn't notice the buzz. Might be worth comparing w/ a nearby Einstein owner?

Yeah, mine doesn't buzz either. You can hear the fan, but it's not bad. You can also tell how good the PLM is because it concentrates the fan noise as well as the light. You can tell when you're in the focus area of the light buy listening to the fan noise. :) (but it's not too loud or annoying)

No buzz on my 120V versions either. 240V units might buzz more because of the way the voltage is chopped and pulsed. Also, some lamps (bulbs) just seem to be buzzier than others when dimmed.

I'm no sure about the Photogenic professional models, I was referring to the Studio Max III as bieng very quiet. Of course they don't have a fan, but even at max power of 320WS you do not hear this loud pop. Unlike my AB800's the poping sound on my Studio max IIIs sounds the same at 1/4 power as the do at full power. Most of the time I can barely tell the difference. The 150WS modeling light is virtually silent.

I don't really consider the fan on my AB800s, or on my AB1600 noisy . I can barely hear the fan, but the pop on my AB1600 is definately louder than on my AB800s depending on the power level.

If you want to hear noisy the Norman ML600's are very noisy in my opinion. Again it's not the fan, but the loud pop. The modeling light also gives a moderate buzz if I remember correctly.

I specificaly remember working with the Normans at a lighting workshop once, where they were being used. Thats when I inadvertantly set off one of the strobes while the instructor was trying to setup the lights. That thing went off like a small canon ! The instructor was visibly shaken and looked like he just saw a ghost.

No buzz on any of my Einsteins... just fan noise. You will also get loud pops from ANY powerful flash tube going off... regardless of brand. I like the sound of it.... especially when it "dings" off my beauty dish. :D

Hi all.

my einsteins arrived a couple of days ago, and the modelling light buzzes on my unit plugged into the aussie power system as well.

Should I be concerned?
Other than the buzz they are pretty quiet.

I have 3 and they all buzz. It's the nature of the beast with 240v apparently..