My Glowforge died, of course two months outside of warranty. Nothing could be done that I could tell based on speaking with Glowforge reps. and I went with the refurbished option, lest I sit with a $4,000 paperweight (and trust that I cried and fretted over this decision). As a single mom with disability I rarely like making financial decisions greater than “Do I get the extra pack of cookies this week?” haha. Anyway, I got the refurbished one rather quickly but only just set it up. I ran something rather small and quick for a first print. A small ornament. OH MY Dear Zeus on Olympus! IT IS LOUUUDD AF! My first Glowforge was not this loud. And I know I am not exaggerating as I happen to live with an audiologist (my partner) who has a home office right down the hall from me- and he has to shut his door as it interrupts him. He suggests doing a decibel test and wearing ear protection bc this machine is most certainly louder than the last. He doesn’t think I should even be in the studio anymore, as it runs, and I have a fairly good size studio in which I typically could run my little business from without the Glowforge interfering. Now I can’t even have a conversation with someone two feet in front of me without raising my voice. Actually my fan on the old machine sounded this loud when it was about to blow…
Am I missing something? Are your machines this incredibly loud, too? Was my last machine a fluke in that it was a tolerable level of sound? Is this refurb a dud?? Another machine ready to go on me with not even an hour of printing time on it? 
If you are committed to the Glowforge life I would consider getting an inline fan, and disabling the internal fan completely. It will be much quieter, and it will also work better.
(Mine is also loud enough that I bet I should use hearing protection, so I should take my own advice.)
Yep, was already considering this just for the all over practicality. Now, alas, the sound is my top of my list for reasons to purchase one with expediency. This sound is so god-awful though, it is weird to hope it is normal. As much I do not want to hear it, (My last was so in the Goldilocks Zone.), I’d rather that horrible sound be the normal rather than another problem. I’ve had enough Glowforge problems in the past year and a half to last a lifetime.
I’m surprised the other machine wasn’t as loud, they are all loud AF. As has @GrooveStranger suggested many of us have done that, and the noise difference is amazing. Glowforge innovated to have a self-contained unit, but that 4" fan has to scream to move 200 CFM, it turns at 13,000 RPM. The external inline boosters have larger fans that can move that air at a much lower speed = quieter. I can have a normal conversation in my shop now.
install the fan as close to the room exit as possible. The fan in the machine pushes the air out, and also out of any leaks in the exhaust run. A fan at the end pulls the air out, so any leaks are pulling air in.
Guaranteed satisfaction reducing the noise that way. 
To make sure the sound is indeed the internal fan, go ahead and disable the internal fan just for a minute to make sure that is the answer. If you can’t find how to do so, I’ll look up the directions. If it is still noisy after turning off the fan, I would contact Glowforge ASAP, as I think the refurbs only come with a 60-day warranty.
(also an audiologist)
This is a video of the noise level of my Glowforge before and after switching from the internal fan to an external inline duct fan.
The first half of the video is the Glowforge’s fan (loud as a vacuum cleaner) and the second is the inline fan (quieter than the noise of the stepper motors).
Apologies for the crappy video quality, I had to compress the video to make it fit the forum’s file size limit.
Yes definitely get an Infinity inline fan. I’m so happy I set up the Infinity fan.
Wow that is different. I don’t think my fan is that loud!!
I have been contemplating getting an inline fan. It ‘appears’ fairly simple to do but i need really simple in the mechanical world! The one @dan84 posted is quite an impressive difference.
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