I do not know what causes the phenomenon, it could be distortion or switching noise or something intrinsic to a brushless fan, but first hand experience has shown that at some mark-space ratios 25kHz direct PWM will make a brushless fan produce what I can best describe as a growl or buzz. I have never encountered the growl with any of the linear fan controls I've built. This is why I want to integrate the PWM into a linear signal and control the MOSFET with linear drive.