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We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
Noise was measured from a meter away.
The NAS system is generally almost inaudible, although if both 2TB hard drives are active the fan will spin up a little to counteract any rise in temperatures. Very impressive results however and ideal for a living room, or bedroom environment when low noise is crucial.
When both drives are idle the system consumes 5 watts at the socket. This rises to 18 watts under load.
During our 5 hour test period both hard drives were held at 30c (room environment was 24c).
Wow they really do make a lot of products, hard to know which one to get when you look at their portfolio. this play device seems ideal for apple users at home due to codec issues.