Does anyone know which of the two is quieter, the panaflo or the vantec stealth? Both are rated at 21dba, but that can be pretty subjective.
I haven't heard a Panaflo in a while, but I think it's on par with the Vantec Stealth. One thing is for sure, it's a h*ll of a lot less expensive than the Vantec. I bought 1 Vantec to use to replace a PS, but before I installed it, I tried it and compared it to a PC Power & Cooling Silencer that is rated at 20 db. The Silencer was considerably quieter than the Vantec. I even did a blind test with a friend and the friend said the same thing. The Vantec was noticeably louder than the Silencer.
My advice is to go with the Panaflo if you want to go cheap and to go with a PC Power & Cooling Silencer if you want something in the $10 range (Vantec Stealth price range). If you want something even quieter, go with a $20 Papst from Directron.
BTW.. It's disgustingly obvious that Vantec spent most of their money for the fan on marketing for the name and packaging. I would rather get a plain packaged fan and save $2-$3. Also.. FWIW.. The Vantec Stealth fans are just repackaged Nidec's. They aren't bad fans by any means, but they are certainly not 21 db either.
Sal