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Apple Studio Display Owners Complain of High-Pitched Buzzing Sound Likely Caused By Electrical Interference
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Here’s the deal. How many satisfied owners take the time to post on Reddit about it vs how many owners with problems? The internet vastly over-amplifies the negative and the naysayers latch on to amplify it even more. This happens with every single issue whether it’s Apple or not. Look how many here accepted this report as absolute proof of defective design, no questions asked, and immediately condemned the product. The good part is that tech blog forum comments have no effect in the real world.
Sigh.
But, design is more than how it looks.
Hang on.
I'll say it louder for the people in the back
/me stands on top of a desk
DESIGN IS MORE THAN HOW IT LOOKS.
It's how it functions as well? That concept seems to have been lost at Apple in recent years? See-Butterfly KB as a primary example. (OOOOOOHHHHHH see how THIN we can make the laptop if we use this crappy POS KB!!!) See the recent Intel iMacs as well.. (We can only use laptop chips in our flagship desktop, and even then they thermal throttle, and you can't upgrade the RAM in the 24" version, but look how THIN it is!!!) As if THIN was what most people cared about.. in a DESKTOP. Buttonless iPhones that are completely gesture-driven that frustrate users at what always seems to be the worst time possible.
Hell, even the trackpad on recent MBPs gets complaints from some of my clients who hate that it never actually feels like it's clicking like their previous MacBook Pro trackpads. (because, it really isn't, and no amount of tinkering with the settings is going to satisfy them with how it feels compared to the old way)
Form should never compromise function like that.
But... sigh.
At least this time it seems that this isn't so much of a form over function issue as a basic QC issue. I guess that's either better .. or worse? It isn't the same... Shrug.
It's great that it *looks* great. It's be insanely great if it actually worked right.
I had this exact issue with a studio display I purchased pretty much on launch day from John Lewis in the UK. Noise was painfully loud when doing any sort of work in silence. I went through multiple apple support calls as they tried to workout where the noise was coming from. I even had call backs from different departments from apple to discuss with me - and in the end they recommended me to return it to John Lewis. Decided not to get a replacement as at the time I saw lots of other people experiencing the same thing. Interesting how this is now only just showing up on MR!!
This product value looks like the deal of the century compared to the xdr display stand or the mac pro wheels.
Yes, no doubt true for someone who is not into photography or some other creative endeavor.
For those who are, there is currently no better value out there.
I find it highly amusing all the hate on this thread that have had zero experience with the Studio Display, read some issues and just slate the product. Contrary to those voices, I have owned more Apple products than I can count over the last 30 years and the Studio display is one of my favourite purchases. I use it 5 days a week all day without issues as a designer....and love it.
Coil whine tends to rear its ugly head when there is more load applied, so if some units have dodgy components in the power supply or charging circuits like you said, thats when it manifests itself when its powering other devices.
They should probably just discontinue this.
I (or at least my employer) own one that I use for work during the day. My own monitor is a Samsung M8. So yeah, got pretty good experience with it at this point, and I'm not a fan. Glad they paid for it and not me thats for sure.
For over a decade I had a couple of 30" Cinema Displays that were incredible so I had high hopes for the Studio Display.
Being only 27" was a disappointment for sure but all the reports of poor quality webcam and other issues is what really keeps me away.
Being only 27" was a disappointment for sure but all the reports of poor quality webcam and other issues is what really keeps me away.
So, I suppose I've had a question about this for a long time. Personally, I like to use two monitors - two IDENTICAL monitors for maximum consistency and minimum annoyance.
And I imagine that other people use 2 monitors too. If you have 2 of the ASD, that would mean 2 webcams, 2 sets of speakers, 2 microphones.
How do you handle that? Seems a bit ... unnecessary?
The M8 has 44% less pixels, 200 fewer nits, worse color accuracy, narrower viewing angles, worse reflection handling, worse input lag, same 60 Hz refresh, worse USB-C hub speed, and worse USB-C power delivery.
It does have better contrast in a dark room and a lower price point.
Samsung Smart Monitor M80B S32BM80 vs Apple Studio Display Side-by-Side Monitor Comparison
Although the Apple Studio Display and the Samsung Smart Monitor M80B S32BM80 look similar in style, they're very different monitors. The Apple is a 5k monitor meant for content creators as it has remarkable out-of-the-box accuracy and displays a wider range of colors in SDR than the Samsung...
www.rtings.com
The mini LED version hopefully will be USB powered, so it won’t have line power buzz.
The ASD is clearly not for you. Best to find happiness with two displays that meet your needs and not have to deal with having an extra webcam weighing you down.
The ASD is an outstanding choice for photographers and other creatives who care about image quality.
I'll never use the webcam or Center Stage software, but still purchased the ASD because I process photographs every day and could not care lesss about the web cam (totally wasted for me).
From an aesthetics standpoint and workflow experience with dragging applications across screens, identical monitors makes sense. That said, the thought of spending a minimum of $3200 for a dual Studio Display setup sounds insane.
I actually never considered the fact that there's dual webcams, speakers and microphones with that setup. The value seems even worse since you're paying for something that you're likely not going to use. But hey, I guess some people really want aesthetics and minimal annoyance even if it means burning an extra $1600+.
Even when my old job gave me dual LG 27" 5K monitors, I found it unnecessary to have the second display be 5k since that display was usually for email, to-do lists, client briefs, moodboards etc. A 1440p monitor would have been sufficient as a secondary display since I'm not looking at it as much while I have one 27" 5K monitor as a main display.
If this is such a bad monitor with so many problems, what is clearly better than it for around the same price or cheaper? I was looking into possibly getting it, but it appears a lot of issues keep popping up with the Studio Display lately.
I have also noticed this exact problem while keeping an Intel MacBook Pro plugged in even in sleep mode and with the studio display off. Have not noticed it when the laptop is unplugged.
Some Apple Studio Display owners have taken to online forums to complain that their monitors make a high-pitched buzzing sound that appears to be emanating from the top of the screen or behind it, and may be being caused by electrical interference.
There are complaints on Twitter, Reddit and the Apple Support Community dating back to June, and more recently on the MacRumors forums, about the issue, which is variously described as an "electrical buzzing" and "constant ringing" that is "loud," "high-pitched," and "very annoying."
Several owners have found that the sound is not fan-related and only happens when a MacBook Pro or iPad is plugged into the Studio Display. Some have also noted that the noise can vary in intensity and pitch depending on the time of day, suggesting an electrical shielding issue may be the cause of the fault.
From Apple Support Community member Ryan Roberts:
Some users have suggested the Apple Studio Display picks up interference from electric car chargers. In the case of MacRumors reader Indominus, they tracked the source of the interference back to Lutron Caseta light dimmers that are installed in their house.
MacRumors reader uller6 relayed a similar experience:
Other users say they have tried electrical power filters to resolve the issue but to no avail, and some have received one or more replacement units from Apple that were similarly affected.
It's not clear how widespread the issue is, but Apple appears to be aware of the problem affecting some Studio Display owners, although a solution has not yet been found. It's worth noting that this is a separate Studio Display issue to the widespread speaker problem that Apple eventually fixed with a firmware update. Have you found the display to be over-sensitive to electrical interference? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: Apple Studio Display Owners Complain of High-Pitched Buzzing Sound Likely Caused By Electrical Interference
Yep, sounds like a straw man to me in order to lash out at having an extra web cam to feel guilty about having, but with no real use.
I have one ASD. And that's enough for my general use and processing photos in Lightroom. As I said in an earlier post, I don't use my ASD's web cam. It's totally wasted for my needs. But the image quality is so outstanding I simply don't care about having a web cam I'll never use.
However...my Mac also drives three 32" LG 4K displays. But that's solely for X-Plane use giving me a nice wrap-around 135 degree cockpit experience.
The 32" inch 4K displays are great for X-plane use with decent image quality for that purpose. But they're nowhere near the image quality of my ASD for processing photographs.
Hope Apple fixes this as soon as possible. Many issues with the Studio display!