Today, I took possession of my very first projector -- the Epson EX70. I don't yet have a screen but I set it up in my basement shooting it directly onto my beige colored wall. Even under those less than optimal conditions, I am satisfied with the picture quality that the unit produces. I think my family and I will have a lot of fun with this.

Because this was a temporary set-up, I was sitting in a chair directly next to the projector. In this location, I was getting a lot of noise from the machine and wanted to know if this is normal or if I may have a defective unit.

It's not the white noise caused by the whirring of the fan that's bothering me. Instead, I'm hearing something that sounds mechanical that comes and goes on top of the fan noise. Best way to describe it is it almost sounds like the mechanical noises a hard drive can make. I can also say that that it sounds like the plastic body of the unit is vibrating or squeaking. The noise is intermittent but I can't say that I could correlate it with changes in the video content.

I imagine that the noise will be masked once I connect some real speakers and turn up the but even then I'm not sure. I just want to know if this is somewhat common and something I need to live with or am I describing a fairly common defect that should be corrected.

Thanks for any input.

I don't own this projector but I have been researching it. This sounds like it could be the auto-iris, which is what delivers better contrast for a better picture.

ProjectorCentral.com recently reviewed the Epson HC700, which is basically identical to the EX70 and noted this noise in their recent review.
REVIEW LINK: http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson_cinema_700_review.htm

Below is a direct quote from the review.

"The projector's auto-iris, which boosts contrast, is clearly audible in a quiet room. While in operation, which is almost all the time, a soft clicking sound can be heard emanating from the front of the projector as the on-screen brightness adjusts itself. If you're watching a football game or a movie at normal volumes you won't normally notice the iris noise. But it can be noticeable during quiet interludes in a film."

Thanks, great catch. I'll try it tonight with auto-iris off and let you know the results.

Could it be the internal speaker volume turned all the way up with no input audio signal. That can cause noise...

mlewie, I'm a little late discovering this thread. I also have an EX70, it's actually my business projector, but we're using it temporarily in our home theater.

I was also annoyed by the auto-iris noise, and turned it off. But after a few weeks I gave it another try and found I could barely hear it. It could be that it's only noisy initially, you might give it a another try now that yours is broken in.

I've been very pleased with the EX70, it's so much better for movies than I expected. I tried it on the wall one night as an experiment, and my wife (who's never impressed by anything technological) said "it's just like being at the theater". We're never going back to a TV. I built a 131" 2.35 aspect screen, and the EX70 fills it beautifully.