Does the ceiling fan affect the sound?

I suspect it would tend to flatten the soundstage vertically.


Yes, I'm only joking. 

Best to just sit there and sweat.

Funny you mention this because I swear that sometimes I think things sound better when my ceiling fan is actually on.

It absolutely affects the sound.  It's a type of flutter echo. Turn on the AC to get the room cool before you start your listening session. Turn off the AC, sit down and enjoy the music. 

I agree with Kmcarty...also....if the fan is on the same circuit as your system, it may affect it electrically (cheap fans always do) I have Haiku fans ...silent, efficient, beautiful, made in USA, expensive.

Try it with fan on and off and find out.

If it affects sound, than crank volume UP.

If you had a big fan on the wall behind the speakers the sound waves would be blown faster than the speed of sound so you should hear the sonic boom right after you turn on the fan.

I have a high ceiling, 11.5.' It is only a different circuit than my system. It also has three speeds. On low speed I have noticed no impact but above that I do hear problems.

I can have the ac on in my room as it is about 50' away.

mapman, czarivey, and geoffkait are three barking dogs who would rather discuss the directionality of fuses ad nauseam.  This question is a little too complex for these head roarers.

Actually I’d rather not discuss fuse direction at all and would not if not for some others who are obsessed with such trivial things and try to waste time of others accordingly.

Regarding a ceiling fan, another trivial issue I would not worry about but someone asked so not hard to try both ways and see for one’s self if it makes a difference rather than just talking about it.  Same true for fuse directions if someone really cares enough to try.  

I agree talking/barking accomplishes nothing.

Please correct me if I'm out of line here but isn't there a forum protocol that forbids cross thread stalking?  

I don't notice a difference with the fan running.  It is a five blade fan and when it is off I prefer the odd blade pointing forward.  I prefer the symmetry and psychologically think it sounds better that way. 

There you go then....

abnerjack, 
I concur as well to your observation and even agree to some point, but noted in my long past that only pig can call me a dog. Please check mirror.

👍👍 @

Last reply was meant for czarivey 😊

mapman,
I thought it was clear that the op had heard something different when the fan was on versus off.  I felt he was looking for some confirmation that this might be feasible, not just his ears playing tricks on him.  If you thought that he hadn't done the comparison, I apologize.  Likewise, I am sorry to be putting you in the company that I did.

Id say it's surely possible.  Sound is affected by the air medium it travels through.   If it matters or not is a case by case thing I'd say.    At minimum a fan could raise the noise floor level in the room as well due motor noise and air circulating so that could surely impact what one hears.  I have at least one room with a fan that I tend to turn off for serious listening.  Like most things it all depends case by case and hard to generalize. 

geoffkait and czarivey,
It appears that I rattled some chains.  The op had a question and you two ankle biters decided to assault him with your "snarling" sense of humor and "biting" sarcasm.  Based on your responses to me and others, it is clear that I am dealing with  a couple who possess supreme intelligence and extraordinarily quick wit.  Certainly too much for me to compete with.  I bow to your greatness and superiority. 

Not sure I feel as if my chains were rattled however I do have a slight sense of creepiness. I hear that Czarivey is easily rattled, though.  ;-)

OP,  ceiling fans and AC blowers definitely affect the sound. Remember, sound is air in motion. I keep my fan on low to medium speed. 

Just kick back and enjoy the music :-)

abnerjack4 posts04-26-2016 3:37pmgeoffkait and czarivey,
It appears that I rattled some chains.

Very good. An acknowledgement is always appreciated. Learning is never late.
 

geoffkait3,299 posts04-26-2016 3:52pmNot sure I feel as if my chains were rattled however I do have a slight sense of creepiness. I hear that Czarivey is easily rattled, though.  ;-)

As always, Geoff, you're missing point, but as before mentioned, learning is never late. 

geoffkait3,299 posts04-26-2016 3:52pmNot sure I feel as if my chains were rattled however I do have a slight sense of creepiness. I hear that Czarivey is easily rattled, though. ;-)

To which Czarivey responded,

"As always, Geoff, you’re missing point, but as before mentioned, learning is never late."

There was a point? Shirley you jest.

" Just kick back and enjoy the music :-) "

Good advice. 

Lalitk wrote,

"OP, ceiling fans and AC blowers definitely affect the sound. Remember, sound is air in motion. I keep my fan on low to medium speed."

By that logic sound traveling through physical objects like wood or glass would require the wood or water molecules to move.  Sound is wood in motion?  I don't think so.

@geoffkait, with a pair of Gotham's you can pretty much move anything in your listening room :-)

Mapman, I don't want to discuss fuse direction either. Just don't berate others who do. Just stop visiting those threads. You have no chance of convincing others,

Tag with all due respect the forums are free and open and I'll visit any I choose not just the ones you approve.  If you disagree with anything said you are free to say it as well. 

Tbg Nonsense should be berated, not tolerated especially when spread intentionally or merely for ones amusement or profit at the expense of others by those who should know better.    

The electric fan is run by a motor. So is the refrigerator. Try this experiment ... unplug all appliances ... refrigerator, fan, TV and computers. Then sit down for a new listening experience. 

Be sure to tie a big string around your finger so you remember to plug the refrigerator back on before you go to bed. 

And for the fuse deniers ... put a couple of fuses up your noses for a new experience. The sinuses become extra clear with a lot more depth.  

Happy listening ... 

A strong breeze does degrade sound, as when at an outdoor concert or event.  In a strong crosswind, the sound waxes and wanes as the air it traveling through is suddenly replaced by different air blowing in.  The air in your room is fairly stationary--not sure how much of a breeze it would take to distort the sound.  Another puzzler--does your system sound better through clean air---do large dust particles and dander distort the sound as it is propagated through air molecules? Whoa, an audiophile air purifier!  Ultra filtrate for clean sound..........  

All joking aside, bowls of cold water on the floor out in front of the speakers are the only way to fly if it's modifying the way acoustic waves propagate through air you're after.

no kiddin' either:
was recently in Pour House where bunch of fans turned on and AC too Neither fans or AC stopped me from enjoying live music. No distortion heard due to the multiple ceiling fans and AC.
Noted that musicians often placed bottles of spring water on top of  PA speakers or instrument amps. Isn't that sounding "tweaky"?

If you try to tune adjacent stings of a guitar to the same pitch using harmonics you do it by gradually tuning one string up to match the other. In the process you hear increasingly slower "beats" as you move closer to the actual pitch of the other string. If a fan is on you can’t do this because the "beats" never go away. So fans are affecting musical sounds in a subtle but strange way. My wife had the ceiling fan removed from her (piano) teaching area for this reason. It drove her bats. I don’t notice it much when I’m not tuning an instrument by ear (I don’t use electronic tuners).

If I understand the question correctly (and I'm a newbie, so you can take all this into consideration), but if you're asking if the fan breeze alters speaker output, if it were a solid breeze (at whatever normal speed), I don't think so, the "pulses" of a speaker push back against whatever is against it, whether zero or .1 feet per second. I would think (again, presuming constant), it might change the frequency a fraction, much in the order of a train coming toward you, then going away. But if the train (or music) keeps coming toward you, you'll never notice. In JEA48's post, that sound that we've all heard, I believe requires you to be that close, where the relative chopped sound distances are significant: Two feet back from that same fan, and you don't hear that. Just my thoughts.

I am amazed and astounded by this thread. I have a large , 3 story house, The third story is my recital hall, if you like. When I have the fan on, any speed, it screws with the music in a big way. Sound is a wave of compression and decompression, and and factor that  changes that will change the music. I cannot run the fan and hear the music  accurately . This is an observation, supported by science. What is this discussion about?

rowe 1951 ...you are correct.  That's exactly what I experience.

Wind affects sound waves, which from my understanding is a scientific fact. So, it would seem reasonable to concur that the wind generated from your fan would too.also, the noise, as well as, current drain and motor noise may have an impact, too.

It would seem rather unlikely that the air blown by the ceiling fan at say 5 ft/sec would have any audible impact on the acoustic waves produced by the speakers that travel at the speed of sound, I.e., 1100 ft/sec. The fan would blow orthogonal to the entire waveform simultaneous so distortion to the acoustic waves if any would be minimal. Whereas bowls of cold H2O on the floor out in front of the speakers will undoubtedly affect the acoustic waves and the sound. And for the better.

A ceiling fan that is properly designed for an audio system has three blades, rather than four. Try it and prove what nerds we can be.

It's at least as possible as fuses sounding different probably more so since that air is at least in the signal path unlike most fuses as I understand it.   😖

Ok I confirmed a ceiling fan can affect the sound.  I listened with fan on and off.  I hear the fan when on and don't when off.  No doubt  It adds a nice breezy texture when on not to mention lots of air.  🤒

Anyone here heard of the "Leslie" effect. In short, this distorts the sound with a ceiling fan running in the listening room.

Just returned from venue with Residents. The sound was set up terrific and ceiling fans were all on especially above the stage.
Great show no fan disrupted pleasure. Isn't that what counts? Agree -- tuning instrument may be disrupted with sound waves delivered from fan.

If the fan creates vibration then it could in effect degrade sound quality to a measurable degree but if there were any benefits to derive from a ceiling fan, it would in fact be keeping your components cooler during the summer months. I'm not lying because it's probably true.