# 508 pvr acceptable noise level



## bnewt (Oct 2, 2003)

I just replaced my original 508 with another unit. The 1st unit had a whinning whistle kind of sound. The 2nd unit is quieter but still has kind of a low hum. To me this is not acceptable. The units I have heard in show rooms like Circuit City, my local dish vendor are very quiet. Do I have another defective unit or is this an accepted noise level with pvrs? If I choose to keep the unit, do I just have to get used to the noise??????????


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## Art (Sep 10, 2003)

i had a similar experience with 510. I replaced the original PVR but the noise is still there. I guess we have to live with it. I keep mine inside a cabinet to hide the noise. But i also do NOT understand how is it possible that every SINGLE demo unit that i checked in the stores does not make any hum or any kind of noise at all!!!? I understand it's much noisier in stores compared to the quiet home atmosphere, but I laid my ear on the panel, sniffed it all over and could not detect any sound at all. Go figure...


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## greylar (Oct 31, 2002)

My 721 is very noisy. I finally got fed up with it , punched a hole into a seldom used room and installed it in there.

G


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## DarrellP (Apr 24, 2002)

I'm on my 3rd 501 and the first 2 had hard drives that sounded like marbles inside of a washing machine, the one I have now has a very loud, obnoxious high pitced whine to it. Dish thinks there is no problem, yet when my brand new Maxtor 80 GB drive in my computer had the same exact noise, Maxtor told me it was going to fail and swapped it out, yet Dish does not seem to think that noise is reason enough for a swap out. My 6000 sits about 3 feet from my ears and the fan in the 8vsb mod also has a very loud high pitched whine, it almost sounds like a turbine.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Put in a different room. That for now is the only solution...


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## DarrellP (Apr 24, 2002)

Right, Bob, have you seen my setup? It won't work.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Well there is ANOTHER solution Buy a acquarium. The pumps air stuffs white noise will cover any and all noise of the hard drive.

Thats what accidentally happened here I put all my other receivers in the basement away from visiting kids, nosey dogs, and all other odd disturbances


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## bnewt (Oct 2, 2003)

My solution..........return it. I could/would not put up with the noise. I went back to my 4900 & quiet it returned.


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## AppliedAggression (Aug 16, 2003)

bnewt said:


> My solution..........reutrn it. I could/would not put up with the noise. I went back to my 4900 & quiet it returned.


I would suggest you try again, the pvr should not be that loud. how close was the pvr next to you? if you own a computer, which i assume you do, it should be quite a be quieter than that.


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## bnewt (Oct 2, 2003)

> * would suggest you try again, the pvr should not be that loud. how close was the pvr next to you? if you own a computer, which i assume you do, it should be quite a be quieter than that.*


Yes, I have a computer that sits beside my desk @work, maybe 2' away from me & I can barely hear it. I really would like to have the pvr unit, but my house is extremely quiet & I could not stand the constant noise of the (2) pvr's that I tried. :nono2: I am still trying to find another 508 that is quiet, but not having much luck. The dish vendor in my hometown has a couple of new units & a refurbished unit, but says that he can not sell them. Is he telling me the truth........has Dish told the vendors not to sell this unit anymore due to the monthly charge being waived???


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## Art (Sep 10, 2003)

same here. I have a Dell and an iMac and none of them produce any sort of noise that would catch my attention, even though the iMac is sitting literally in front of my nose. I think even the 1980s computers aren't that loud. The pVR noise is bAD!

and after reading all the threads regarding the noise it's not quite clear to me whether there ARE units out there that produce no noise OR is it that just some people are less picky? although in my case (and I have a 510) I wouldn't say one has to be picky to complain about the noise level.

Are Tivos just as bad?


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

508s can still be ordered via Sears web site.


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## AppliedAggression (Aug 16, 2003)

Find out what is making the noise on your DVR. Is it the hard drive, the fan. I'm tempted to post a sound clip of what the 508 should sound like. Even at night time, I can barely hear it.

Do you guys have your in an entertainment stand or just out in the open, that might make a different. Also make sure that the back of the receiver isn't against a wall or anything. First you'd get bad airflow, the fan will be on a lot more and it might not get proper cooling.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

bnewt said:


> The units I have heard in show rooms like Circuit City, my local dish vendor are very quiet.


If your home had the noise level that a typical electronics store (even the ones with theatres/booths) did, you would probably not be able to detect the noise there either.

The 508 in my bedroom has barely perceptable rotational noise, but there is some noticable seeking noise; especially when recording and playing simultaneously. By most standards my room is very quiet: dense carpet, acoustic ceiling, angled acoustic paneling, heavy draperies. There is typically more whistling and buzzing from my Sony XBR-50 television (which sounded silent in the furniture store showroom where I bought it).

You might try re-locating the receiver to a more "free air" environment if you currently have it ensconced in some sort of sound amplfying enclosure.

Of course, as suggested on the Tech Chat, the unit is silent when it is turned off. I have yet to be awakened by the 508.


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## bnewt (Oct 2, 2003)

AppliedAggression said:


> Find out what is making the noise on your DVR. Is it the hard drive, the fan. I'm tempted to post a sound clip of what the 508 should sound like. Even at night time, I can barely hear it.
> 
> Do you guys have your in an entertainment stand or just out in the open, that might make a different. Also make sure that the back of the receiver isn't against a wall or anything. First you'd get bad airflow, the fan will be on a lot more and it might not get proper cooling.


I don't know what is making the noise.....All I know is that I could sit approximately 15' away & hear the unit. I can not hear my 20 year old zenith vcr when it records or plays at this same distance. All of my ht equipment is in the enterainment center next to my tv & approximately 2.5' from the wall. I left the back off of the entertainment center to avoid any overheating. If the noise would have started after the unit had been in use for a while, maybe I could understand the overheating possibility, but not after it has been on just a few minutes. 
I too, wonder if there are any silent pvr's or if the noise associated with them is just accepted.

*Posting a sound clip would be great idea.*


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## Art (Sep 10, 2003)

AppliedAggression said:


> I'm tempted to post a sound clip of what the 508 should sound like.


that would've been super cool! at least would give me an idea.

i kept mine on the entertainment rack for about a week (the noise level was unbearable), and then placed it inside the cabinets. No noise but i'm worried about the air flow now. And if i leave the cabinets door/doors open the noise of hard disk spinning would still be too loud. And even with the doors closed, at about after 10 pm, the hum is becoming as annoing and loud as the one coming from refrigerator. pVR - super cool device, gotta have one, BUT! i don'y know for how much longer my sensitive ears can hold on. and that's just sad.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2004)

I'm new here, but I thought I would just offer one suggestion - have any of you with noise coming from your DVR tried putting new feet on the unit? I have two 508s and initially they both made a fairly annoying whinning sound, which I first believed to be the case vibrating. After turning the unit over, I noticed the real issue were the unit's feet (or lack thereof).

Basically the unit has four stamped metal feet, any (or none) of which may have a little rubber pad stuck to it. Both of my 508 units had rubber pads on the back two feet, with the front to feet being bare metal. Unfortunetly, this bear metal made quite the loud buzzing sound from contact between the unit and the hard surface it was sitting on. Depending on the surface the unit is sitting on, the noise can change in intensity - which can give the mistaken impression that one unit may be "worse" than another.

Fixing this was simple - I removed the two hard-rubber pads and affixed four felt pads to the units feet. Now both units are fairly quiet - the only noise is a soft rotational hum and a seeking sound coming from the hard-drive.

\\AVATAR-X
<<END TRANS>>


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

My 510 is so quiet I have to put my ear practically on top of it to hear anything. Even at that, some occaisional disk noises (routine things). The fan has NEVER come on so far as I can tell. As far as I can tell, it does have some sort of sound dampeners on the feet.

To put this in perspective - my 510 is the top component of a stack consisting of my DVD player, JVC VCR, and the 510, in essentially open air "This End Up" cart.

And to assure you I have equally bat ears - my wife's PC has some high pitched squeak that is driving me crazy trying to find - plus while I was in the Navy, everytime I had hearing tests done, I had perfectly flat response (except for 20dB loss down in the BASS region on my right ear - benefit of playing cello /string bass in orchestras). Otherwise, our PCs are quiet except for fan noise and even that fades into the background.


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## Mike Richardson (Jun 12, 2003)

The fan on my 501 only turns on if it's been rebooted. This includes if it's been unplugged then plugged back in; the fan will turn on initally but will be gone by the time I can watch programming.


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## casi (Jan 23, 2004)

I have a 501 and 508 they both hum i put klenex tissues under the receivers all 4 sides and make it like a soft pad and it quite the noise for me. :lol:


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