The P12 made a huge difference in my system, BUT the fan is so loud that I can hear it during softer passages in the music. Is this normal?
It’s on the bottom shelf in a Salamander Synergy rack, but it’s also on IsoAcoustics Orea’s so there should be enough airflow around it. It’s also about 12” to the shelf above it
On the P12 display, what power and amps are typically indicated?
My P12 is lightly loaded-typically less than 100 watts and 1 amp listening to music, so I’ve not heard the fan except when it’s turned on (normally on 24/7). The fan still does not need to turn on when I turn on my plasma TV, which draws a wide range of power but seems to average another 200 watts.
But my system is in a cool basement near a cold air return for the furnace. What is your typical room temperature?
From other forums such as Devialetchat, Audiogon and even on Reddit, P12 fan noise is a known issue. Suggestions have been to replace the noisy fan with a higher quality fan. If your P12 is still under warranty, PSA could replace the fan. If it’s a fan similar to those found in computers, you could replace it yourself.
I would suggest looking at Noctua fans. Your airflow in your situation sounds good and doesn’t seem to be a factor.
Hey audiojan…
I had a P12 that I lifted a few inches to enable better air circulation convection
up through the P12…P12 was located in a cabinet.
With my Parasund A21 and all sources plugged into P12 fan noise was never
an issue.
If you have the room to lift your P12 up off the shelf it rests on by an inch or more
if possible …might could lower the working demand on your P12’s fans.
Might wish to look at the grills on your P12 to see if they could benefit from vacuuming.
Also might take a look at these equipmment cooling fans…
https://www.acinfinity.com/receiver-amp-cooling-fans/
Best wishes
The fans we use in the P12 are whisper fans but I’m sure there are some out there that are more quiet. If the fans are working properly, you shouldn’t be able to hear them from more than about 6-8 feet away. The fans in my older P5 never come on because the load is pretty small, but when it does upon initialization, I can slightly hear it, but never if there was any music playing.
Room temperature is typically about 66-68F in the winter and 72-74F in the summer. It’s a fully finished basement.
I need to look at the power draw, but it really shouldn’t be that extreme. I have an amp (ARC Ref75SE), BHK Pre, DSS, HDPlex 300W (powering a Nucleus+ and a Matrix), NuWave Phono and a PW CD transport. None of that will draw an enormous amount of power, especially at my typical volumes, which are not very loud (you can barely hear any music outside of the room with the doors closed).
Thanks @jamesh. Could it be that the fans are not working correctly? The unit has never been whisper quiet, but I just moved everything around in the rack (basically added additional shelves, but not in the vicinity of the P12) and now I hear it clearly.
Thanks @davida. The fans are clean regularly, so that shouldn’t be the case, but I will double check tonight.
The P12 sits on 4 IsoAcoustic Bordeaux, so they should have sufficient air flow under it. The shelf above is 12+", so that should be sufficient above it.
I might have to look into one of those cooling fans. Not very expensive and if it solves the problem, well worth it! 
My p12 uses ~160w. Usually, only one fan will be on.
Right now, my gears are in standby, it uses ~65w, fan is running. Use sound apps my iPad put on top of the fan slot, it shows about 35db. 1 foot away from p12, almost cannot notice the fan sound.
FYI. I have a post on P12 fan long time ago.
How much lift do your IsoAcoustic Bordeaux provide for your P12,
I’m not familiar with these…
Best wishes friend
Definitely possible that they’re not working as intended. I wish there was a better way to quantify at what level is normal for you to hear them. In my experience, they’re darn quiet. I would reach out to the service team to double check. If you can hear them while music is playing through a soft passage, that doesn’t sound right to me.