| Details: Antec Sonata II Case
Antec has made a number of small improvements to its Sonata case - each one adds up to give a quieter case, with improved potential for cooling. In the new Sonata 2, the potential for sound leakage from the case side panels has been reduced (by removing holes originally forming the Antec logo in the case side panels). A new black air duct 'guide' has been added for removing warm air from around the CPU and GPU areas over the motherboard. The air ducting can hold optional 92mm and 80mm fans. This has improved the potential for cooling this area inside the case, and air extracted is expelled without a fan located on the outside of the case (nearly always a noisy design flaw in many cases!). The front door over the optical drives now opens a full 270°, and Antec have upgraded the quiet power supply to a SmartPower2.0 450W PSU.
Sonata II Technical Specs (Highlights)
- NEW Air Duct to cool the latest CPUs and Graphics Cards
- Improved passive front air intake for quiet cooling
- Low-noise SmartPower 2.0 450W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply
- Front mounted USB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire®,i.Link®) & Audio Ports
- 9 Drive Bays:
- 3 x 5.25" external drive bays
- 2 x 3.5" external drive bays
- 4 x 3.5" internal drive bays in individual trays with rubber
grommets to absorb hard drive vibrations
- Cooling System:
- 1 rear 120mm Tricool fan (standard) with 3-speed control to balance
quietness with cooling
- 1 front 120mm case fan (optional) 25mm thick
- 1 92mm fan (optional) in the air duct to cool the CPU (Acousti's
AFM03 anti-vibration fan mounts fit this fan)
- 1 80mm fan (optional) for graphics cards (Acousti's AFM03 anti-vibration
fan mounts fit this fan)
- Motherboards: Standard ATX 12" x 9.6"
- Double hinge door design: allows the door to open up to 270º
- Solid Build Quality: Made with 0.8mm SECC Steel
- Built-in washable air filter keeps harmful dust out of your case
AcoustiPack™ Pre-cut Kit For Antec Sonata II
From Acousti Products, a pre-shaped sound-proofing kit for the superb Antec Sonata II black quiet PC case. The Sonata II chassis is a slight revision of the original Sonata I, that includes many quiet features, such as 120mm fans, anti-vibe mountings and a solid front door to reduce optical drive noise (such as spinning noise from a DVD or CD-ROM). This kit of acoustic materials has been designed to squeeze every last dB from an already well-designed quiet computer case!
The 18-part soundproofing kit is very detailed, with every available space nicely covered. The addition of acoustic materials to a case is designed to reduce internal reverberation of noise (sound reflections on the inside of hard case surfaces). The kit also adds mass to the case sides, floor and roof panels, which helps to dampen natural harmonics - and reduce lower frequency 'humm'. Once installed the kit cannot be seen from the outside - the only difference will be in noise levels and in the character of any remaining noise escaping!
The kit comes with pre-shaped, self-adhesive acoustic material parts and full instructions for quick and fairly painless installation. It can be pre-fitted to an empty case (perhaps best) or post-fitted to a case with a PC already installed inside (without having to uninstall everything!) - which is a bonus if you already own a Sonata II and would like to reduce any residual noise further.
BONUS! Acousti Products have added a set of ultra-soft fan mounts (Model: AFM03B x5) - which can be used to anti-vibration mount an 80mm or 92mm quiet fan inside the new CPU and GPU air extraction duct in the Sonata II.
Acousti Ultra-Soft Arrowhead Fan Mounts
Ultra-soft fan mounts - designed & produced by Acousti Products 'from the drawing-board'. These fan mounts are an easy to fit, cost effective solution to tackle PC fan vibration noise! Each pack is supplied with eight fan mounts, enough for 2 case fans.
Truly 'ultra-soft' & flexible - these mounts are designed to help reduce the transmission of fan motor vibration... helping to eliminate every last dB of PC noise Designed to fit the vast majority of fans and PC cases Quick & easy to fit as a 'no-vibration' alternative to fan screws. These mounts do not require any case modifications
AcoustiFeet™ - Black up to 70 lbs (4-pack)
A great deal of PC case feet are solid plastic, or (at best) very hard rubber and therefore do a good job of transmitting unwanted vibrations from inside a PC via the chassis/case into the desk, floor or shelf on which the system sits. In this situation, where the case is in direct contact with the substrate, the PC can generate annoying noise elsewhere (secondary noise).
AcoustiProducts™ has designed a unique set of 4 self-adhesive soft silicone feet, of varying softness (for different case weights) and in two colours. These case feet are designed to decouple a PC case from the floor or substrate by absorbing vibrational energy, and therefore helping to minimise noise generation caused by vibrations.
A little extreme? Well, yes, perhaps: but even with very quietest PCs it is vibration that becomes the most significant culprit/contributor to noise generation. So we have developed these case feet to try and minimise vibrations in our pursuit of 'ultimate noise reduction'. We hope you enjoy the difference - check out the feedback & reviews from customers below!
Suitable Applications for Case Feet |
Max.
Load* |
Product Code
(Pack of 4) |
Colour |
Softness |
| Seriously heavy PCs and Tower Server cases -
heavier PCs with multiple HDDs, tower-style case servers, other applications
like noisy photocopiers and office equipment etc. |
30Kg
(70 lb) |
|
|
|
| ACF3007-30B |
Matt Black |
Shore A 30° |
| *The max load is the 'maximum optimal load' where compression
still occurs in the feet. The feet can carry higher loads, but they become
over-compressed, and suffer a reduced vibration-absorbing capacity if
overloaded. |
Foot Specifications:
- Pack Weight: 22g (approx)
- Foot Height: 7.0mm ±0.25
- Foot Diameter: 29.5mm ±0.25
- Material: Silicone Rubber - Black
- Non-marking, and not sticky.
A simple and economic solution to combat unwanted vibrational noise! - throw away your plastic feet and apply a set of 4 self-adhesive soft silicone case feet!
These feet are also low-profile (7mm high), so they won't necessarily be seen. The rounded edge is designed specifically to dampen vibration transmission in a number of planes, and for varying case weights (see right).
Multiple Applications
Antivibration case feet are not just limited to combating PC noise and for vibration control in their application - they may be useful for Inkjet and Laser Printers, HiFi Separates, TVs, Small Form Factor PCs, Home Theatre PCs, and any number of appliances and enclosures that would benefit from vibration adsorption and reduction. Speaker cabinets may also be a useful application for these feet - helping to isolate the speaker cabinet from the surface on which it sits. | 
