Go With the Mac Book Pro and use it as a Tax Write Off. You are a Big Music Producer. I use an External Screen, Keyboard and Mouse and I am very Happy Sleeping on the sidewalk in Korea Town in LA
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Crazy: No current Mac meets my needs (audio/video production)
- Thread starter Think77
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
For any sound studio user who is noise conscious, Macs aren't even in the top 10 on the list of stuff that needs to have noise reduced. If anyone "records and produce in the same room" he most probably already has means to sound proof equipment by use of cabinets and careful distancing + cabling.
I’m using the M1 Mini. Before that: 2010 Mac Pro. And I’m not complaining. I’m simply reflecting on the current desktop line-up from my specific perspective as a person who do music and video production, but not as my main income. And the reported noise/whine issues with the Studio gives me reason to postpone my purchase.
Which part is not true? And why is it absurd? A/V production is not my main source of income, but whenever I do such projects, there is no doubt that the Studio would be perfect. Except the noise/whine issue makes me somewhat hesitant. I don’t think that’s strange. But hearing from users here that they/their friends have no such issues is reassuring and certainly pushes me in the Studio direction.
It is true that the Studio could be placed in a cabinet in order to get rid of the noise/whine. And it’s certainly worth to consider. Is it a longterm solution, though… it may very well be, at least for some.
If I were in your shoes I would start exploring this now. Down the road you may change your computing needs where even a Mac Studio is not enough, like for a Mac Pro it could produce even bigger fan noise under load. Then there are audio equipments that need intense active cooling once you go high-res or scale of channels.
In the older days, when displays were VGA and mouse / KB were PS2/ADB, it was just a matter of placing the Mac 10 feet away from the listening spot, then do15 feet cabling in a bundle. The "computing rack" is just tucked away in a corner, probably behind a wall of foam doubling as bass trap. Nowadays the display bandwidth requires something like less than 6ft and even less if it is a Thunderbolt display...
This reminds me how the 12" rMB and then now the M1 Airs became a voice dubbing studio favourite due to them being fanless. Kind of like how the iPad Pro became the sheet musicians machine. The computing power of course is not adequate for a main studio machine, but one could try doing remote desktop from a M2 Air on the mixing desk, back to a Mac Pro / Mac Studio that's like in the next room. Not sure how you would wire the audio interfaces though.
The echo chambers of the internet can make you believe the craziest things… if the Mac Studio fits your needs just buy it and enjoy it! If you don’t like it, return it within Apple’s grace period.
I’ll bet you it’s a keeper 😎
I’ll bet you it’s a keeper 😎
You're probably right
It's just that a 60-page list of reportings/discussions of production issues with the Studio here on MR has a certain effect on the eagerness to go out and buy it (also, if I get a faulty machine, it will take a couple of months to get a new one... with the current delivery times). But yeah, maybe it's time to try it out after all - it really does look like a perfect fit.Oh, yes
Those were the days. I remember it pretty well. I used to work in an it department, and I recall when I had to walk around with a CD-ROM and manually update all those Windows XP machines that were placed at the weirdest places - and with PS2 keyboards/mice sometimes connected through holes in a wall.
My Studio Max has no noise issues three months in. The problem with looking at websites like this and treating what you find as representative is that people don't generally join here to say they don't have problems. This place is like going into a hospital and concluding from your research that generally most people are ill.
Sounds great! And there may certainly be some truth to that hospital analogy
However, having followed these forums for years, whenever a 50+ page discussion is produced, sometimes there is something more to it than random cases. But who knows (other than Apple).May I ask you what Studio Max configuration you have?
Those "multiple 4k stream" numbers are misleading, because they count multiple streams of apple prores codec, which is more of a niche application unless you transcode everything to it (if you got the time and disk space) or got a dedicated prores-recorder. Throw video imported directly from the camera at it (e.g. the GH6s h.265 codec) and use some computing intensive plugins like neat-video or flicker-free and you can slow most systems to a crawl with only one 4k stream. Or have a more complex after-effects composition...You didn't mention the iMac
What are your requirements for producing? Apple mentions several (up to 20 something) 4K concurrent streams running at the same time, and there are videos of audio producers online using up to a few hundred audio streams in real time. Are you saying you require more than that?
Granted, that's "power usage" and day to day usage of a lot of people might not be that demanding, but it's still far more typical than the cherry-picking conditions usually shown in apple presentations.
Last edited:
You can also manage your work load, like using proxys-files. FCPX is really good for this.
My advice is buy an M1 Max Macbook Pro to use as a desktop device until Apple releases a desktop that works for you. Then sell the Macbook. Yes there is a financial penalty, but if you need a Mac now, that seems like your best option.
Other option is keep waiting for redesigned Mac Pro, M2 Pro Mini, M2 Studio etc.
I am in the same waiting boat myself. Using a 2013 Mac Pro. Want the Studio. My concern is mainly connectivity issues (have you seen the thread on I/O issues with the Mac Studio and audio equipment?) which has me waiting on that device until Apple sorts more of the kinks out in later generations.
Other option is keep waiting for redesigned Mac Pro, M2 Pro Mini, M2 Studio etc.
I am in the same waiting boat myself. Using a 2013 Mac Pro. Want the Studio. My concern is mainly connectivity issues (have you seen the thread on I/O issues with the Mac Studio and audio equipment?) which has me waiting on that device until Apple sorts more of the kinks out in later generations.
Last edited:
Can confirm that I have an M1 Max MBP which is absolutely 100% silent (and wonderful in almost every way), and I had an M1 Ultra Studio that I had to return because of the noise which was far more annoying and high pitched than even my gaming PC.
That's not to say that all M1 Ultras are noisy, I have no idea if they are or not, but the single machine I owned was. Putting it in another room wasn't really an option for me either because the longest thunderbolt cable is only 3m, and the whole point of the Studio is you can put it on your desk for I/O access.
I'm waiting for the M2 Studio or M2 Mac Pro which will hopefully be quieter (or be designed to go on the floor)
That's not to say that all M1 Ultras are noisy, I have no idea if they are or not, but the single machine I owned was. Putting it in another room wasn't really an option for me either because the longest thunderbolt cable is only 3m, and the whole point of the Studio is you can put it on your desk for I/O access.
I'm waiting for the M2 Studio or M2 Mac Pro which will hopefully be quieter (or be designed to go on the floor)
I think the problem isn't really Apple's range (although an M1 Pro Mini would have been nice), as the Apple Studio seems perfect for your needs - if you don't get one that's a lemon. Apple's version 1 products are often a bit hit and miss, so if you want more certainty you might need to hang on for a revised model and hope for a silent revision ahead of any M2 model if it's truly just a PSU or fan quality issue.
Personally even if the Studio was guaranteed to be defect free I would still go for the 16 inch M1 Max MacBook Pro if the IO is adequate for you, as the premium really isn't all that much over the Max Studio and you gain portability and a very nice internal laptop screen.
The main advantage of the Studio is the availability of the Ultra model, but my impression is that the Ultra delivers in very specific scenarios, but for most things will be pretty much indistinguishable from the Max.
Personally even if the Studio was guaranteed to be defect free I would still go for the 16 inch M1 Max MacBook Pro if the IO is adequate for you, as the premium really isn't all that much over the Max Studio and you gain portability and a very nice internal laptop screen.
The main advantage of the Studio is the availability of the Ultra model, but my impression is that the Ultra delivers in very specific scenarios, but for most things will be pretty much indistinguishable from the Max.
I am not doing music production, but the references I have seen are here:
Mac Studio music production
My new music production workspace
Thanks for sharing. Really unfortunate about that Studio Ultra. But yes, I do think it's worth hanging in there and see how things develop over the next couple of months (even if it means I have to get by with my M1 Mini for a while longer - it works pretty well for 75% of the tasks I throw at it).
I think you're right. And I don't blame Apple as such - engineering this kind of machine is a big undertaking, I imagine. But maybe there is some element of quality control that hasn't been up to par with this product release - which may or may not be related to the general situation in the chip/electronics market (for instance, it seems Apple is getting the PSU and/or some other central components from different vendors who use different designs, hence, introducing possible different quality approaches. I would think that Apple, under normal market circumstances, would enforce a far tighter control of design/production).
Thanks. Will check how things develop. Reminds of when I got the Mini last year; at first it was plagued with connectivity issues to externals monitors. People didnt know whether it was a hardware or software issue, but around 5-6 months ago the problem seemed to disappear along with MacOS updates from Apple. As far as I remember, Apple never really admitted the problem, even though it seemed to be quite a widespread problem; but the problem being fixed indicates that Apple was in fact aware of it (which is positive).
My Mac Studio has the noise everyone is complaining about. I only here it at 2am and I have to be listening for it. It is not an issue at all. People around here like to make a big deal out of nothing and go off the rails. Get a Mac Studio, see how it is, return it if you are a crazy person bothered by a barley audible noise.