Reasonably priced and quiet amp for subwoofer???

[zzzz]

I just bought a NADY xa-900 to drive my almost complete DIY subwoofer (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Amp?sku=482052)

But it's fans are waaay too loud and I know they'll end up driving me mad during movies - we keep the volume down to keep the kids in bed. We're seated about 11-13 feet from the amp.

Given a no cost return, I refuse to attempt a fan mod - which seems easy - but the amp is just too loud to be solved by installing a quiet panaflo or scythe fan.

Can anyone recommend a sufficiently quiet amplifier for HT purposes typically priced below $300?

Many thanks!

[wildfire99]

Cut the fan leads... I did. The XA-900 didn't seem to mind at all. I replaced the fans with 'silent' models and it didn't help much as most of the noise was case vibration/resonance, so I ran it without fans.

Careful though, both Nady's I had (900 and 2400) developed problems within a few months (even the one I didn't surgically alter -- poor build quality I guess). An alternative also is to mount the amp vertically so you can let convection do the trick. Also I have to get in a poke at Musician's Friend.. they are awful IMO at resolving what ends up being consistent problems with their order handling. If anything goes wrong (and 50% of the time it does) they throw their hands up in the air and claim they can't do a thing. Don't buy from them if you can help it.

The other alternative at that price range is a plate amp, like the BASH 500. or their house-brand 1000W. Weren't people complaining about failures on the 1000W though? I don't recall.

[zzzz]

Cut the fan leads... I did. The XA-900 didn't seem to mind at all. I replaced the fans with 'silent' models and it didn't help much as most of the noise was case vibration/resonance, so I ran it without fans.

Careful though, both Nady's I had (900 and 2400) developed problems within a few months (even the one I didn't surgically alter -- poor build quality I guess). An alternative also is to mount the amp vertically so you can let convection do the trick. Also I have to get in a poke at Musician's Friend.. they are awful IMO at resolving what ends up being consistent problems with their order handling. If anything goes wrong (and 50% of the time it does) they throw their hands up in the air and claim they can't do a thing. Don't buy from them if you can help it.

The other alternative at that price range is a plate amp, like the BASH 500. or their house-brand 1000W. Weren't people complaining about failures on the 1000W though? I don't recall.

I did think about cutting/disconnecting the fans, installing a resistor, or replacing the fans but when there was a free return with full refund it was a no brainer.

I have pretty much given up on the near-silent pro audio amp, and am looking at the oaudio 500 W plate amp http://www.oaudio.com/500W_SUBAMP.html.

I did hear some discontent regarding the PE 1000 W amp. Forget where though.

Anyone have comments on the silence (or lack thereof) of the crown xls 402 amp?