Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYgYK7-LjTI&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8e6_0Ohj0&feature=plcp
There seems to be a high pitch whine on top of the 'white noise' produced by the fan. I don't mind the white noise, but the fluctuating high-pitch stuff is driving me mad. My AB800 is nowhere near this loud.

I guess I'm overreacting. :shock:

The sound you hear is both the mechanical noise of the fan as well as the movement of air through the light, both of which are normal. Einstein has a lot more to keep cool than an Alien Bee, so more air has to be moved through.

My recently purchased Einstein is also making this exact noise.

My concern is that my other Einstein unit (bought about 2 years ago) never made this noise.

I can turn them on side by side and the difference in noise output is pretty substantial.

Should I be worried about one of my units?

In the time frame between your two purchases, we have changed some of the layout in the internal workings. This has caused a change in the acoustics of the light. There should not be anything to worry about, but as always, we will be glad to help should any issues arise from any of your Paul C. Buff products.

Thank you for your speedy response. I will see how everything works out.

I purchased 5 new E640's in July of this year. The eerie howling noise is distracting to me and to some of my clients. (it especially gets embarrassing when they point it out within seconds of entering the studio room)

I have recently read in another forum of a user discussing some of the great enhancements that they've noticed after a recent repair/update. Particularly, it was mentioned that the airflow is much better and quieter. A picture showed that the front of the unit is now vented.

My question to the techs here is if the airflow improvements have also been considered to be a solution to the resonant howling issue. Like others have mentioned, I don't mind the fan white noise, but rather the eerie howling pitch is what needs to be eliminated. Can you elaborate as to how well this engineering change has been working in this respect?

I don't know that the front vents have changed any acoustics in and of themselves. We should be posting firmware v.30 soon, which may help as it allows thermostatic control over the fan. The fan is imperceptible when cool, and ramps up when the light gets warm. When they are hot, I would not expect a change to what you are currently experiencing, but if they are not too hot, then you may see a reduction in fan speed, and therefore noise.

Wow! Thank you for releasing the new v30 firmware so quickly. I tried it and found the results were amazingly quiet. I exercised them a bit for 30 minutes, but I couldn't get the fan to ramp up to a level to cause the howling. That fixes the problem for me. I'm so happy.

Thank you!

Hi have put the nem v30 firmware and it's fantastic the reduce sound from the fan.

Thanks Paul :D :D :D

Regards,
Pedro

Good evening. I have downloaded the firmware update, followed the instructions listed on the website, and my Einstein will not update. I currently have v.29 running and would love to have the v.30 installed to quiet the fan. What could I be doing wrong with this update?

The screen never flickers or kicks-on, instead the fan just makes a revving sound.

Thank you!
Josh