Just reading this article made my tinnitus worse. Damn!
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Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise
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Just a random scanning of the comments section did not reveal even one suitably modified version of "you're holding/using/placing/connecting it wrong"-style comment. I'm shocked!
I've had coil whine on a few Windows based machines that have been issued to me through work.
It might sound trivial but its the most annoying thing in the world when you are trying to concentrate. And there's absolutely no fix for it. Just luck of the draw. I think it was a dodgy capacitor that used to be the cause of the noise - I never did look into it too deeply.
If this is what the Mac Studio is suffering from then it's a shame. It's a fault I'd expect to see on low price consumer products and the sign of something that's been badly made and done "on the cheap". Not something I'd be pleased with if I had spent all that money on a Mac Studio...
I have the same problem and i hate It! I have a M1 Max with 32x gpu 32gb ram and 1tb. Fan noise ist at Idle loud and when i set down the fans von IDLE 1350RPM to 1100RPM (min) Noise Fan ist still audible but quieter, but the whine come's in!! I don't understand why this is so loud and why the MacBook with the same configuration ist much quieter and has a 0 RPM Mode and is so much smaller, with big Batteries and so...I didn't send it back, but i hope Macfan Controls can do a 0 RPM Mode...and maybe a Firmware/Software Update can do anything?? I hope so, because i like the Studio very much! But i miss my old M1 Mac Mini in terms of loudness...the M1 Mini was absolutly quiet! But only 16gb RAM... :/
Some Mac Studio owners have noticed that their machines are making a high-pitched "whining" sound that appears to be coming from the fan. There are pages of complaints on the MacRumors forums about the issue, and it seems to be affecting a number of users.
Most of the complaints are coming from Mac Studio owners who opted for the M1 Max Mac Studio rather than the Ultra version, which is not a surprise as the two machines have different thermal setups.
Users who are experiencing issues have described the noise as a high-frequency sound that is difficult to ignore, and it is in addition to the standard fan noise. From MacRumors reader sunsetblvd:There are a wide range of complaints, but all of them seem to describe the same general noise. From MacRumors reader h43m:The M1 Max and M1 Ultra have different heatsinks, which explains why one machine is experiencing issues while the other is not. The M1 Ultra is equipped with a much larger copper heatsink, that likely prevents the fan from kicking on as often, and there also appears to be a problem with the M1 Max setup that causes the whine.
It is worth noting that not all M1 Max Mac Studio models appear to be experiencing this problem, as some people have said that they do not hear an unusual sound beyond the standard quiet fan noise. There are also some complaints just about the level of the fan noise alone without the whine, but many of the people who are unhappy with their machines seem to be experiencing the high-pitched sound rather than the typical fan noise.
Mac Studio buyers who are within their two week return period can get a replacement from Apple, but there are reports that replacement machines have seen the same issue. It is not clear if this is something that can be addressed in a software update or if it's a hardware issue that Apple is dealing with.
Have you noticed a high-pitched whine from your Mac Studio? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise
I undertsand you. I know many people with m1 mac mini’s and they are happy. So, i said to myself, lets buy a mac studio with some more horsepower. Apple advertised it as a on desktop machine. I my opinion thats needs to be silent. Why would i put it on the desk?!
It's still a concern for some... Having some hearing loss in the high range (and I always have since I was a kid) doesn't mean I don't hear the noise. (and I'm 62 now).
I'am 42, have a hearing loss on my left ear since 2 Years, and i have tinnitus on both ears and i still hear this very noisy fans and whine...Hope Apple will do anything, because i'm very happy with the Studio, but this noise ist very near to a deal breaker...i thinked to sell the Studio and buy a Macbook...but i don't need a Macbook...that's the Problem...
The whine is at ~2khz, which is not in the territory of typical high frequency hearing loss. It's honestly not even all that high frequency in any terms. In piano terms it's roughly a match for C# at 4 octaves above middle C with some variation within an additional octave above that point.
I truly hope you don't think 42 is even remotely "senior".
I've had my Mac Studio Ultra for 24 hours now, am sitting at the computer now; it's about 3 feet to my right.
Totally silent. I know there's a fan in there, but even though I've done some digital recording with Pro Tools, which is a CPU hog, it's remained totally silent. No whine, no fan noise... NOTHING.
I replaced an M1 Mac mini with this machine; the difference in speed and power is immediately apparent. Where I used to get some CPU warnings in Pro Tools, I have none of those issues; having 64GB of RAM helps, not to mention the quantum leap in speed and power.
Totally silent. I know there's a fan in there, but even though I've done some digital recording with Pro Tools, which is a CPU hog, it's remained totally silent. No whine, no fan noise... NOTHING.
I replaced an M1 Mac mini with this machine; the difference in speed and power is immediately apparent. Where I used to get some CPU warnings in Pro Tools, I have none of those issues; having 64GB of RAM helps, not to mention the quantum leap in speed and power.
No, not all Mac Studios have this issue; I can hear just fine, and I have no whine at all. Mine is a Mac Studio Ultra though.
I definitely believe not all have the problem, I just wish I wasn't one of the ones that do. The whole thing is just weird.
Maybe a water-cooled case is better for Mac Studio since it's already a full metal case now.
Replace the heavy fan cooler! It's not so APPLE?
Replace the heavy fan cooler! It's not so APPLE?
The M1 max/ultra, for most tasks should need very little airflow to stay cool. It surprises me this is such an issue, and is most likely caused from a batch of bad fans… I had a Macbook Pro fan that apple replaced for me, that produced a similar issue when it hit max speed; when i took it in, they told me a lot of people won’t even notice the high pitched sound. Shame we still have fans… After the success of the A12x, I thought Fans might have become a “just in case” kind of thing for future all M1 variants. Maybe with the M2.
Maybe the fan size is not big enough for this tiny case and need a very high speed spin up for a short period of fan cooling strategy to keep cool&quite.
A m2 upgrade is the answer, I guess
No. This is not the issue. The fans stick at ~1320 RPM constantly even under maximum load. It's not a fan speed or airflow issue. It's simply coil whine in some of the fans. It's a defect in a part. Nothing more complicated to figure out than that.Maybe the fan size is not big enough for this tiny case and need a very high speed spin up for a short period of fan cooling strategy to keep cool&quite.
A m2 upgrade is the answer, I guess
One of the downfalls of not having employees in person.
So I've been living with this issue for about five days of real use, trying to decide what to do. I will concede that mine may not have as loud of a whine as some others and that it may become worse over time like the whine in my 2080 Ti fans did. However, every single other aspect of this machine is making me really happy and models of my BTO spec are 12 weeks out now.
I've decided I will just keep it and live with it.
Maybe it gets worse and in that case I'll engage Apple Support. Maybe by then there will be repair options to ensure 2 quiet fans. But the reality is it's not noticeable in real conditions most of the time, and if I return it then there is no high end Mac option left for me until the Mac Pro which is almost certainly going to cost even more money for the same power, is expected to keep its same design which means a huge waste of space for my needs, and the fans are known to be significantly louder (even if it's a pleasant sound). Also I don't want a laptop, I never take them anywhere and the last time I had a MacBook Pro that I never unplugged, the battery swelled TWICE (Apple fixed me up no charge despite being out of support coverage). Besides, the work I do really benefits from having more RAM. For the first time in years I can comfortably leave my work related apps up and running when doing non-work things and not worry about running out of memory. 128GB is apparently my new minimum.
The funny thing about nuisance noises like this is that when you're someone who is sensitive to them, you can get yourself into this psychological state where the impact is vastly greater than the real problem could cause alone. If I had never heard about this problem, I really doubt I'd have questioned this sound at all. Maybe it would occasionally annoy me and I'd think "hm, hoped for a nicer sound" and then get on with my life. And honestly the conditions in which it's most noticeable: evening, relaxing doing nothing at my desk... I should really just put the machine to sleep and get out of my office anyway.
This is more or less a note to myself—not an effort to debate the matter—but, perhaps my decision and its reasoning can help some other concerned forum members with theirs.
I've decided I will just keep it and live with it.
Maybe it gets worse and in that case I'll engage Apple Support. Maybe by then there will be repair options to ensure 2 quiet fans. But the reality is it's not noticeable in real conditions most of the time, and if I return it then there is no high end Mac option left for me until the Mac Pro which is almost certainly going to cost even more money for the same power, is expected to keep its same design which means a huge waste of space for my needs, and the fans are known to be significantly louder (even if it's a pleasant sound). Also I don't want a laptop, I never take them anywhere and the last time I had a MacBook Pro that I never unplugged, the battery swelled TWICE (Apple fixed me up no charge despite being out of support coverage). Besides, the work I do really benefits from having more RAM. For the first time in years I can comfortably leave my work related apps up and running when doing non-work things and not worry about running out of memory. 128GB is apparently my new minimum.
The funny thing about nuisance noises like this is that when you're someone who is sensitive to them, you can get yourself into this psychological state where the impact is vastly greater than the real problem could cause alone. If I had never heard about this problem, I really doubt I'd have questioned this sound at all. Maybe it would occasionally annoy me and I'd think "hm, hoped for a nicer sound" and then get on with my life. And honestly the conditions in which it's most noticeable: evening, relaxing doing nothing at my desk... I should really just put the machine to sleep and get out of my office anyway.
This is more or less a note to myself—not an effort to debate the matter—but, perhaps my decision and its reasoning can help some other concerned forum members with theirs.
I had to return my Mac Studio (M1 Max).
Going from an M1 Mini to the Studio, I found the noise of the fan itself jarring after a few minutes (my office is otherwise very quiet). Sure, when you first hear it, it's not exactly "loud" in the grand scheme of things, but after a few minutes in an otherwise silent office the noise is quite deafening.
And that's even before the higher pitched whine, which I could also hear and started to really grate.
I recognize others may find the noise acceptable, or perhaps they're using it in an office with more ambient noise, or they're using the more expensive Ultra which apparently is quieter, but personally I couldn't stand having this sit on my desk just a few feet from my head so I returned it.
I'm now using the M1 MBP 14 as a desktop (Hooked up to external monitors) and it's basically silent except under heavy load, but I'm finding it much more tolerable. Waste of a beautiful laptop screen though.
Going from an M1 Mini to the Studio, I found the noise of the fan itself jarring after a few minutes (my office is otherwise very quiet). Sure, when you first hear it, it's not exactly "loud" in the grand scheme of things, but after a few minutes in an otherwise silent office the noise is quite deafening.
And that's even before the higher pitched whine, which I could also hear and started to really grate.
I recognize others may find the noise acceptable, or perhaps they're using it in an office with more ambient noise, or they're using the more expensive Ultra which apparently is quieter, but personally I couldn't stand having this sit on my desk just a few feet from my head so I returned it.
I'm now using the M1 MBP 14 as a desktop (Hooked up to external monitors) and it's basically silent except under heavy load, but I'm finding it much more tolerable. Waste of a beautiful laptop screen though.