The Air 540 has less lateral space in the motherboard side than it looks due to all the space they use for the back/PSU. This is one of the reasons I would not buy one. For how huge the case is, you would think Corsair would give you 1-2cm more space. There are other standard mid tower cases with 180mm+ clearance space. The Noctua NH-D14 heatsink itself is 160mm tall, so it should fit as long as you push the center 140mm fan all the way down to touch the adjustment tightening screw. There are alot of air coolers that do not fit in this case though so make sure to check before buying one.
ALSO, make sure when you read on newegg that a heatsink is x mm tall, you understand that the only usually measure the fins and that measurement doe not usually account for the heat pipes sticking out the top or for the fan sitting above the top of the fins a bit.
The Corsair 300r also has a stated 170mm clearance, and here is a photo of a "158mm" cooler (remember it is actually bigger than that) in the case:
When they close the case, the side panel basically touches the tips of the heat pipes. The cooler pictured is the Noctua NH-U12P.
This Phanteks, will not fit no matter what as it is 171mm.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709011