Arctic MC101-A10 Home Entertainment Centre Review

We measure from a distance of around 1 metre from the chassis with our digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.

Please refer to our KitGuru noise guide for a comparison between the noise levels of this system and everyday scenarios.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
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

When the system is idle or operating in a low-load state, the MC101's aggressive fan speed profiles allow it to achieve an excellent acoustic output result. The media centre was just about audible when idling. In a living room environment it would be inaudible.

The extra heat that is produced by a heavier load forces the fan to increase the RPM.

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