NETGEAR ReadyNAS

About a year ago, I purchased a ReadyNAS NV+ for use in my home office. Overall, I've been very happy with the feature set of the NV+, yet the noise level of the server has become an issue of late. I've been looking at lower-powered, quieter alternatives to the NV+, and have been considering getting a Duo to replace it.

From what I understand, the Duo doesn't have an integrated PSU, but rather an external power brick. Outside of that, what other differences in the Duo directly affect it's noise level? How loud is the Duo in comparison to the NV+?

If the Duo is indeed quiet, I'll definitely be picking one up, but noise is definitely the deciding factor. In my situation, I'm looking for about 50-75% less noise than the NV+ outputs, otherwise, I'll have to look at other alternatives.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

Jason

Duo is a lot quieter, as it has only two drives which equals to less heat, so the duo has a smaller fan that runs at a lower rpm. Plus the external power supply keeps the unit cooler.

Can you tell me what make and model fan is used inside the Duo, or provide me with a ballpark dBA rating? I'd like to try and gauge the differences between it and the fan in the NV+, if possible.

On an objective level, would you say you'd be able to sit 5 feet way from the Duo while working and have the noise not be a distraction? In the case of the NV+, it's like sitting next to a running hairdryer, which makes concentration almost impossible while I'm developing. That is, unless I wear my noise canceling Bose headphones.

I will looks this up and get back to you.

Well just got some info on the noise level the fan is rated at max of 5000 rpm at 33 Dba but on average runs at 1800 rpm

Thanks for the info. It looks like the fan in my NV+ is a Y.S. Tech FD129225HB-N rated at 37.5 dBA at 2800 rpm. In comparing the specs, the fan in the NV+ and in the Duo look to be comparable. My fan speeds tend to be in the 2100 rpm range most of the time, so I bet 1600 rpm on the Duo would be quieter. Can you tell me the specific make and model of the fan currently shipping on the Duo?

The fan is AGE06025 made by Crown electronics
here is a link to the spec sheet
http://www.crownelectronics.com.tw/Serpro/AGE06025.pdf
and a correction max rpm is 5000
And the Duo on my desk is currently at 1800 rpm and i really can't hear

I'd like to know about this, too. I just read an amazon.com review of the RND2150 unit by a user who claims that it is "a little loud."

It's very quiet, unless your hard disk temp goes beyond 50C. Perhaps other Duo users can chime in on the noise.

Duo is pretty quite in operation. i do not notice its existence while it's placed on my working desk at home.

it will be a little bit noisy while rebooting the device. i think it's normal situation.

in fact, i love Duo.

Do you have one or two disks installed?

I just read this customer review on newegg.com:

"Mine came with a Seagate 7200.10 drive which is both good and bad. I really like Seagate drives but the .10 series is very loud while seeking...oh well"

I recently acquired an RND2150 and added a second drive. I run an acoustic lab so I measured the SPL for my ReadyNAS Duo at 50cm distance from the front, centered, on axis with the Netgear logo. The room residual noise was 17 dBA, the room Noise Criteria measured less than NC15. The room is very very quiet. Remember all these measurements were made at a distance of 50cm from the front of the device. Subtract 6 dB from all the following measurements presented to roughly get SPL at 1 meter (100cm).

31 dBA avg sound pressure level (SPL) with the fan at 1704 rpm @ 50cm
drive seeks create SPL spikes adding 6 to 8 dBA above the 31 dBA fan average noise

A recalibrate fan run produced the following (@ 50cm):

45 dBA (stage 1) max fan speed
42 dBA (stage 2)
39 dBA (stage 3)
36 dBA (stage 4)
30 dBA (stage 5) min fan speed

room ambient conditions:
T = 66 deg F
RH = 33%
Bar = 1012 hPa

All measurements made with ISO 17025 calibrated acoustic equipment following IEC 61672 std for Type 1 SPL meters. Calibrated recordings were also made. Spectrum showed chief frequencies producing noise from the fan at 675 Hz, 900 Hz and 1.60 KHz though other components were present.

Ok, is this unit quiet? That depends on the definition of quiet. I wouldn't want this unit in the live room when making acoustic measurements or recordings. Put in next to a refridgerator and you won't hear it. It is much quieter than the PC + raid system that it replaces, which is kept in a machine room. I figure I can put 4 to 6 of these units in the machine room and still not approach the noise of the PC + raid system. I have a second system on order already.

bobs

Addendum,

Be careful when comparing the noise SPLs I presented for the Duo with others. None of the other SPLs presented above stated the distances at which they were measured. Inverse square law predicts that SPLs drop roughly 6 dB for every doubling of the distance from the sound source. Likewise, they increase roughly 6 dB for every halving of the distance. It's roughly because of issues such as reflections from surfaces, frequencies of the noise etc.

bobs

@bobs
Many thanks for your professional measurements.
Could you post a recording of the noise emission of the ReadyNAS Duo?

I deduce from your readings, that this unit is too loud for my sensitve ears, if placed in a small office.

Hopefully Infrant/Netgear will produce an ultra-silent version of the ReadyNAS Duo for Home/SoHo use.

Regards,
Lophiomys