Help for a musician who can’t tolerate flicker

[AshX]

Hi!

I’m sorry to post another “Help! What do I buy!” thread. I have a somewhat unique problem and I’m hoping some of you might be able to steer me in the right direction. Long story short, I got COVID in 2022 which triggered a host of health problems, both autoimmune and neurological. This has made me very sensitive to flicker, particularly LED’s.

I’m a professional musician and producer/engineer by trade, and have been using nothing but iMacs and MacBook Pros in my 13-year-long career. I’ve been using an iMac 2019 21.5” 4K Intel i5 with 32 GB RAM 2 TB SSD Radeon Pro 560X up until recently when a move seems to have caused a voltage leakage and damaged the backlight causing it to flicker. As a result, I retired that machine and am looking to upgrade. The problem, I can’t seem to look at any of the Mac computers without getting dizzy and feeling like someone is stabbing me in the eyes. Yikes.

For context, I have 20/20 vision with a very slight astigmatism in my left eye that isn’t even worth correcting. I’m young, so it isn’t a visual issue, but rather more likely neurological. I’ve seen doctors - they’re clueless, just like everything long COVID related. I can however, use my iPhone 13 purchased in 2022 on - and only on - iOS 15 all day with no problems. So I can look at certain screens.

I’ve narrowed down potential choices to the MacBook Air M4 13” and/or the Mac Mini or Mac Studio with a Studio Display. I have looked at all these devices at multiple stores with varying results. It seems there’s definitely a panel lottery with the MBA - and even the Studio Display. The 15” seems uncomfortable and the 13”, less so, though I won’t know until I buy one and try it in an environment that isn’t as harsh as the LED and fluorescent laden Best Buy and Apple Store.

I am trying to avoid PWM, which I believe the Airs and Studio Display are free of, but I know MacOS exclusively pushed 10 bit content, and all Apple displays are 8 bit, relying on FRC to achieve the billion color gamut. I am also aware of programs like Stillcolor and Better Display that can in some circumstances improve things, with varying results.

I’d love to hear about your experiences in hopes of being pointed in the right direction. As much as I’d like to order thousands worth of gear to test, I’m going to have to go one-at-a-time. My plan is to buy a 13” M4 MBA Sky Blue 16/512 config in a first attempt on Monday, though I’m open to anything.

Thanks so much if you’ve read all this!

 

[green_diyos]

Hey! Totally understandable—your situation isn’t common, but it’s very real. Since you’re sensitive to flicker and FRC, starting with the 13” M4 MBA sounds smart—it’s low-power and has no PWM at typical brightness. If that fails, a Mac Mini paired with an e-ink or flicker-free monitor (like certain Eizo or BenQ models) might give you more control. Best of luck, and I hope you find a setup that works without triggering symptoms!

 

[AshX]

Hey! Totally understandable—your situation isn’t common, but it’s very real. Since you’re sensitive to flicker and FRC, starting with the 13” M4 MBA sounds smart—it’s low-power and has no PWM at typical brightness. If that fails, a Mac Mini paired with an e-ink or flicker-free monitor (like certain Eizo or BenQ models) might give you more control. Best of luck, and I hope you find a setup that works without triggering symptoms!

Thank you for the validation. Honestly, everyone at the various stores have been lovely and want to help - they just don’t know how. I wish Apple could add some sort of Accessibility option in Settings to disable dithering or run the OS in a more bare-bones state for productivity.

My primary use case is Pro Tools and the occasional Photoshop and Premiere Pro, so unfortunately I don’t think E-Ink would be responsive enough. I have heard positive things about Eizo, so perhaps that’s worth looking into - thank you for bringing that up!

I am somewhat concerned about the 13” form factor from a productivity standpoint…but I have read posts on this forum and elsewhere saying that the MBP 15” models have had slight PWM at certain brightness going back to the Intel days. My mom has a MBP 15” 2015 that was given to her and it flickers on grey pretty badly…could be due to old age and misuse by the previous owner (it is in rough shape). I owned a 2011 13” MBP for many years that was great, but I never used it for music production. As you said, i’m hoping the low-powered aspect of the 13” Air will be more likely to work out.

 

[picpicmac]

I am somewhat concerned about the 13” form factor from a productivity standpoint…

Apple has on their Refurbished store 14" MacBook Pros starting from $1199. The MBP screens are better than the MBAs, so you might want to go to the store and look at the MBPs and see if you like their screens.

Those lowest priced on the Refurbished store will be the M3 models. The M4 model is a couple of hundred dollars more. Apple made some important changes with the M4 models, and MicroCenter has (new) the base 14" M4 MBP for $1,359.99, which is Apple's refurb price for that model.

MicroCenter also has the M4 Mini 24G/512G model for $899.99 (which is a bit of a price rise from their lowest price I've seen there.)

 

[AshX]

Apple has on their Refurbished store 14" MacBook Pros starting from $1199. The MBP screens are better than the MBAs, so you might want to go to the store and look at the MBPs and see if you like their screens.

Those lowest priced on the Refurbished store will be the M3 models. The M4 model is a couple of hundred dollars more. Apple made some important changes with the M4 models, and MicroCenter has (new) the base 14" M4 MBP for $1,359.99, which is Apple's refurb price for that model.

MicroCenter also has the M4 Mini 24G/512G model for $899.99 (which is a bit of a price rise from their lowest price I've seen there.)

Unfortunately the MiniLED displays have PWM. I’ve tried them in store and I can’t look at them for more than a few seconds without getting dizzy. The MBA’s do not have that - just a normal LCD screen.

 

[ChrisA]

Buy a Mac Mini, then choose an external display. You will have a MUCH better chance of finding a monitor that suits you vs trying to find a notebook computer or iMac that suits you.

As a worst case, you can find a CRT. They do not have backlights.

But likely you can find a very high end pannel that is intended for film editing and color grading.

 

[AshX]

Buy a Mac Mini, then choose an external display. You will have a MUCH better chance of finding a monitor that suits you vs trying to find a notebook computer or iMac that suits you.

As a worst case, you can find a CRT. They do not have backlights.

But likely you can find a very high end pannel that is intended for film editing and color grading.

I’ve been wondering about the high end 10-bit panels used by those in the film industry, particularly this 24” Pro Art 4K panel: https://www.asus.com/us/displays-desktops/monitors/proart/proart-display-pa24us/

I wonder how MacOS truly performs on true 10-bit panels like this one and the Pro Display XDR. Is it still dithering? If so is it as aggressive? I’ve looked at many different Apple Studio Displays in-store with different computers driving them (Mac Mini, Mac Studio M4 Max, Mac Studio M3 Ultra) and none were comfortable.

I’m trying to determine whether or not it’s easier to try to force 8-bit via programs like Stillcolor or to pair a Mac with a true 10-bit panel. I have tried looking at different non-Apple laptops and external monitors (unfortunately connected to PC’s) and it’s been much, much worse on my eyes than Mac - to the point that I nearly passed out just glancing at an external monitor in-store the other day. It’s so bad that I honestly would consider something like the Pro Display XDR if it was usable, but I’ve never used a monitor larger than the aluminum iMac 21.5” 4K.

 

[picpicmac]

, but I’ve never used a monitor larger than the aluminum iMac 21.5” 4K.

You've mentioned you old iMac before (and I have one of those on which I am typing right now.) But, you have not mentioned the current iMac 24". Have you looked at those and did its screen bother you?

 

[AshX]

You've mentioned you old iMac before (and I have one of those on which I am typing right now.) But, you have not mentioned the current iMac 24". Have you looked at those and did its screen bother you?

I did! Unfortunately it did. I read that they do use PWM at certain brightness levels. I also found the screen less sharp for some reason?