Improving suction acoustics

Suction applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills or perforated panels are notoriously challenging acoustically due to the turbulences caused by these obstacles. Introducing a 5mm off-set between the fan and the obstacle, the NA-IS1 spacers can reduce these turbulences, which often improves noise levels and/or noise profiles significantly.
 

 More airflow, less noise

Reducing influx turbulences doesn’t only improve acoustics, it also helps fans to operate more efficiently from an airflow performance point of view because the fan blades are less hampered by turbulence. In many suction type applications, using inlet spacers can therefore enable fans to achieve higher flow rates and lower noise emissions at the same time.
 

 Compatible with all current Noctua 120x25mm fans

Replacing the fan’s stock NA-AVP1 anti-vibration pads, the NA-IS1-12 are compatible with all current Noctua square-frame 120x25mm fans such as the popular NF-A12x25, NF-F12, NF-P12 redux or NF-S12A series. The slim NF-A12x15 or fans from other manufacturers are not supported.

 Set of 2 (Sx2)

The NA-IS1-12 Sx2 is a set of two spacer frames plus the matching anti-vibration mounts, fan screws and radiator screws – ideal for equipping e.g. two 120mm intake fans in the front of a PC case or two 120mm fans on a 240mm radiator that’s installed in a front intake position.

 Anti-vibration mounts and fan screws

For use with case intake fans, the NA-IS1-12 Sx2 contains eight long self-tapping fan screws and eight NA-AV3 silicone anti-vibration mounts for tool-free, vibration-proof installation. Both the screws and the anti-vibration mounts simply go through the holes in the spacer and attach to the fan, sandwiching the spacer between the fan and the case.

 Radiator screws

For use with water cooling radiators, the NA-IS1-12 Sx2 contains 35mm long radiator screws, eight pieces with M3 thread and eight pieces with UNC 6-32 thread so that customers can choose the correct type for their radiator.

 chromax.black version

The all-black chromax.black version of the NA-IS1-12 spacers is a perfect match for black 120x25mm fans from Noctua’s chromax and industrialPPC product lines.

• 2x NA-IS1-12 chromax.black inlet spacers for 120mm fans

• 8x NA-AV3 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts

• 8x NM-SFS4-BK long fan screws

• 8x NM-SFS5-BK radiator screws (M3)

• 8x NM-SFS6-BK radiator screws (UNC)

The level of intake turbulence can vary significantly depending on the fan model and installation environment (such as fan speed, grill shape, mesh pattern, and overall airflow resistance). Therefore, it is not possible to reliably predict in advance how much performance improvement will be achieved by adding inlet spacers.

While improvements in airflow and acoustics can be expected in many configurations, there may be cases where little to no improvement is observed. In rare situations, such as with certain slit-type grills, adding spacers may even lead to undesirable results depending on the fan model.