Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise

Fenderborn said:
Right. Thats why i stopped buying windows machines.
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Very telling how far in a bubble one lives when they refer to the many hundreds of manufacturers of computers by one of the OS's that those computers are capable of running.

You keep enjoying all that "great build quality" of your Mac Studio. I'll continue to enjoy working on my "Windows machine" which cost half as much, will very likely last (and be fully supported) for much longer, and which continues to be completely silent, even under load.
 
jakey rolling said:
Very telling how far in a bubble one lives when they refer to the many hundreds of manufacturers of computers by one of the OS's that those computers are capable of running.

You keep enjoying all that "great build quality" of your Mac Studio. I'll continue to enjoy working on my "Windows machine" which cost half as much, will very likely last (and be fully supported) for much longer, and which continues to be completely silent, even under load.
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Whats your role in this forum anyways? Since your clearly not here to discuss thw issues the mac studio has. I wanted to switch things up. My windows machine is not completely silent. No system with a fan is. My linux machine is. But its used for different things. We got over 2000 “machines”. Most of them PC’s, some mac pro’s….different tasks require different tools.
 
Fenderborn said:
Whats your role in this forum anyways? Since your clearly not here to discuss thw issues the mac studio has. I wanted to switch things up. My windows machine is not completely silent. No system with a fan is. My linux machine is. But its used for different things. We got over 2000 “machines”. Most of them PC’s, some mac pro’s….different tasks require different tools.
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I'm just here to remind people that there is more than one computer manufacturer in the world, and that they need not feel needlessly tethered to one manufacturer and suffer when that manufacturer builds something with dubious build quality. Regardless of what Apple's marketing department might want you to think, there are very good quality machines out there not built by Apple, and which handle the same workloads quite admirably. Customers don't benefit from being "loyal".

Edit: It's quite ironic the number of people voting "disagree" on a comment that is simply saying that there are other computer manufacturers around, above additional comments clearly showing that Apple has not only not addressed a serious problem with the design of this computer, but hasn't even acknowledged that a problem exists. Considering how many of you are already planning to send Apple more money while "hoping" that the next machine doesn't have this problem, I would say you absolutely deserve the terrible treatment you are getting from Apple.

My "loyal" comment above still stands. In spades.
 
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jakey rolling said:
I'm just here to remind people that there is more than one computer manufacturer in the world, and that they need not feel needlessly tethered to one manufacturer and suffer when that manufacturer builds something with dubious build quality. Regardless of what Apple's marketing department might want you to think, there are very good quality machines out there not built by Apple, and which handle the same workloads quite admirably. Customers don't benefit from being "loyal".
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I would say we are all capable of making that decision for ourselves. It's nice to have someone looking over your shoulder guiding us though. Thanks! :)
 
I keep hoping that I'll come back to this thread and see that newer production numbers no longer have this whine. Wishful thinking, I suppose....

Maybe the new Mac minis, whenever they arrive, will be better (and more affordable). Not holding my breath, but hoping.
 
mpetrides said:
I keep hoping that I'll come back to this thread and see that newer production numbers no longer have this whine. Wishful thinking, I suppose....

Maybe the new Mac minis, whenever they arrive, will be better (and more affordable). Not holding my breath, but hoping.
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I friend of mine got a studio max and he says it makes no noies. At work we also got 12 max‘s. I will runs tests with them all. And if one of those bastards sounds „silent“ , the world will burn at the apple reseller place.
 
Q00 said:
I made a video showing the issue on Mac Studio Max.
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Yeah that's the sound alright...in fairness it's only barely audible from 1 metre at a normal fan speed (1350), unless the room is dead quiet...wish I hadn't watched that video though as now I can really hear it lol...

The whining/whistling sound changes as you increase/decrease fan speed (use macsfancontrol)...it's 100% related...

As the sound is coming from the rear...if you place some acoustic foam about 10cm behind it, that more or less gets rid of it, as you're mostly hearing the reflected sound...up to about 1500rpm anyway...default idle is about 1340 BTW.

The macsfancontrol trick to bring it down to 1100 definitely works...roughly iMac 2019 at idle sound level overall...although with the acoustic foam behind it, the whistling at 1350 is fine TBH...if I keep it I'll try go with the latter...but even raw fan noise at 1350 is a bit much, it's not a bad fan noise though...but at 4am it's the loudest thing in the room...

Very disappointing though...what idiot didn't spot this whistling sound...I going to wager that they're all the same, and some people notice it more than others for various reasons...I would say that 99% of people I know would call it silent as-is...(including sound engineers/musicians)...I highly doubt recording acoustic guitar or vocals 1 metre away it would be a problem, for example...

All that said, disappointing, it's definitely way louder than an M1 mac mini which is nearly impossible to tell if it's on once you black out the light with blutack...it might be going back TBH, day 1.

I have a class1 measurement mic and calibrator, so I'll get around to it over the next week or so with some numbers...but as an educated guess, I'd say the 15dBA they have is correct for 1 metre from the front, but probably taken in an acoustically dead room...that whistle sound would have little effect on a dBA measurement...
 
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mabaker said:
The amount of cope people accept just to let that coil whine/PSU/fan whine slip. Hold Apple accountable. It's the same story like with the 2020 iMacs which never got fixed.
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I won't accept it... will send it back... But I'm curious: What was with those 2020 iMacs?
 
ProfessionalFan said:
I've now had my Mac studio for a little over a week and still can detect no sound from it.
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I’ve had mine several months. When this thread started I was surprised since I had previously thought it quiet, and got up from my desk and put my ear to the back and heard the tiniest of whispers. ‘Well darn, it does make a sound!’ The moving air also tickled my ear. Stupid Apple engineers! So i stood up and got back to work. My ear has not been tickled since. Non issue for me.

Apparently some small number of people are blessed with a broadened audio acuity. Congrats! What a gift.
 
G5isAlive said:
I’ve had mine several months. When this thread started I was surprised since I had previously thought it quiet, and got up from my desk and put my ear to the back and heard the tiniest of whispers. ‘Well darn, it does make a sound!’ The moving air also tickled my ear. Stupid Apple engineers! So i stood up and got back to work. My ear has not been tickled since. Non issue for me.

Apparently some small number of people are blessed with a broadened audio acuity. Congrats! What a gift.
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I'm happy for you but the sarcasm is not helping others... Every machine is different and for some of us, we can't accept what we got... I sit 1m away from the Mac, work with loudspeakers and not headphones, the room is otherwise very quiet. I don't have to hold my ear next to it, it just whistles loud enough. After many iMacs and Macbooks, I know these devices make sounds. They chirp, sometimes whistle, electronics make sounds. But a constant whistle that stresses you out is not a nice work environment to focus.
Your input is appreciated, it is good to know some people have a machine they deem perfectly acceptable. But the sarcasm and/or sadism is not that necessary...
 
MarckyG said:
I'm happy for you but the sarcasm is not helping others... Every machine is different and for some of us, we can't accept what we got... I sit 1m away from the Mac, work with loudspeakers and not headphones, the room is otherwise very quiet. I don't have to hold my ear next to it, it just whistles loud enough. After many iMacs and Macbooks, I know these devices make sounds. They chirp, sometimes whistle, electronics make sounds. But a constant whistle that stresses you out is not a nice work environment to focus.
Your input is appreciated, it is good to know some people have a machine they deem perfectly acceptable. But the sarcasm and/or sadism is not that necessary...
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Since it appears that the issue may only impact some of the Studios, maybe it is worth asking for Apple to check it out for you. Even without AppleCare+, you'd be under the included 1 year warranty.

I agree that it would be an awful experience to have that kind of sound happening near you while working. And if you're experiencing it, you shouldn't have to just live with it.
 
MarckyG said:
I'm happy for you but the sarcasm is not helping others... Every machine is different and for some of us, we can't accept what we got... I sit 1m away from the Mac, work with loudspeakers and not headphones, the room is otherwise very quiet. I don't have to hold my ear next to it, it just whistles loud enough. After many iMacs and Macbooks, I know these devices make sounds. They chirp, sometimes whistle, electronics make sounds. But a constant whistle that stresses you out is not a nice work environment to focus.
Your input is appreciated, it is good to know some people have a machine they deem perfectly acceptable. But the sarcasm and/or sadism is not that necessary...
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Yep I get that whining is the thing of the day. That everyone expects the right to what they want. And they want it cheap. Sorry. Perfection is never reached. And the drive to that only drives up the cost for the rest of us. So for the 99% of the people happy with the Studio. you feel you have the right to say, no no, pay more so that I like it too!

Or

You could do something about it yourself. There are plenty of sound absorbing technologies available to you at low cost that could solve the problem. But I get complaining is easier.

You are not helping the majority.
 
G5isAlive said:
Yep I get that whining is the thing of the day. That everyone expects the right to what they want. And they want it cheap. Sorry. Perfection is never reached. And the drive to that only drives up the cost for the rest of us. So for the 99% of the people happy with the Studio. you feel you have the right to say, no no, pay more so that I like it too!

Or

You could do something about it yourself. There are plenty of sound absorbing technologies available to you at low cost that could solve the problem. But I get complaining is easier.

You are not helping the majority.
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Wanting it cheap? Driving the cost up for others?
Just complaining and not doing something about it ourselves?
Building a sound absorbing booth?

Could you please kindly stop insulting us and let us contemplate on what to do with our purchases, while you can be happy and content with what you got. We are happy for you. Now let us be. Thank you.
 
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G5isAlive said:
Yep I get that whining is the thing of the day. That everyone expects the right to what they want. And they want it cheap. Sorry. Perfection is never reached. And the drive to that only drives up the cost for the rest of us. So for the 99% of the people happy with the Studio. you feel you have the right to say, no no, pay more so that I like it too!

Or

You could do something about it yourself. There are plenty of sound absorbing technologies available to you at low cost that could solve the problem. But I get complaining is easier.

You are not helping the majority.
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You are not helping, period.

The whine sound is legitimate problem and a sign of shoddy quality control. People have the right to expect perfectly working product from Apple - this is, after all, quite expensive computer.
 
MarckyG said:
Wanting it cheap? Driving the cost up for others?
Just complaining and not doing something about it ourselves?
Building a sound absorbing booth?

Could you please kindly stop insulting us and let us contemplate on what to do with our purchases, while you can be happy and content with what you got. We are happy for you. Now let us be. Thank you.
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AlphaCentauri said:
You are not helping, period.

The whine sound is legitimate problem and a sign of shoddy quality control. People have the right to expect perfectly working product from Apple - this is, after all, quite expensive computer.
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sorry guys, my opinion is as valid as yours. More valid perhaps, if we look at the much greater number of satisfied customers than dissatisfied. And you can vote with your wallet. I did. if for you the problem is systemic, don’t buy it. If you think you got a unit that slipped through QC, return it. But as stated before nothing is free. Stop trying to drive up the price of the computer, it’s high enough.
 
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