I've a 30" Apple Cinema Display (A1083 EMC2011) that makes a noise when lowering brightness (low brightness = more noise, full brightness = no noise).
Gently slamming the side of the screen usually makes the noise go away, for a while, but it always comes back sooner or later.
The phenomenon reminds me of the floor lamp in my living room, which also makes a similar (albeit somewhat louder) noise when dimming down the light.
What I'd like to know is: Is this "low brightness" noise present in all 30" Apple Cinema Displays? (In which case I can save myself the time of asking a hardware guy to dismantle it in search of a cure.)
PS! I should mention that I use the screen with a Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI-adapter. I don't know if this would contribute to the problem.
Best Answer
It is not normal for the aluminum or polycarbonate cinema displays to make audible noise. They have been used 24x7 for a decade in recording studios and 3D and production cutting rooms where we put the CPU in a sound isolating box and never had to mitigate a Cinema Display due to noise until they start to fail. Many of these places are very low light so brightness is often way below max for us.
When the power transformer starts to fail, that can then make the display make noise and these displays and power bricks were manufactured in pairs so swapping power supplies from two working pairs would make both get noisy. Don’t just assume the part that makes noise is the culprit.
Like Allan and bmike have said there is something wrong with your display when driven by the adapter that supplies the transformed power from mains.
If you have to hit something to make it behave properly... Well an Apple Cinema display is not a mid 60s-era color TV and that should not happen.
You can do two things
I would imagine that #2 might cost more than the value of a replacement unless you’re unable to source a matte LCD panel of that size.