Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise

[bukalemun]

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.

Everyone is voting here with their wallets. That's why we return our whining computers. Trying to have Apple fix their computers that cost $3000-8000 that do not have inferior whining parts would benefit all in my opinion. But since your opinion is more valid than ours as you are in the "majority", I recommend you just unwatch this thread instead of trolling it.

PS: As we peasants return or replace the whining computers like you "recommended", the price increases for everyone since the devices need to be refurbished, the supply chain works multiple times for us etc. So much irony for your "very valid" and much worthy recommendations.

 

[G5isAlive]

Everyone is voting here with their wallets. That's why we return our whining computers. Trying to have Apple fix their computers that cost $3000-8000 that do not have inferior whining parts would benefit all in my opinion. But since your opinion is more valid than ours as you are in the "majority", I recommend you just unwatch this thread instead of trolling it.

PS: As we peasants return or replace the whining computers like you "recommended", the price increases for everyone since the devices need to be refurbished, the supply chain works multiple times for us etc. So much irony for your "very valid" and much worthy recommendations.

Whatever. Every person who reports no problem here gets attacked and told their experience is not valid. The only experience allowed is there is this huge problem Apple must fix right now. Not sure why you all resort to such vitriol.

 

[MajorFubar]

Update: four months in, no whine or squeal.
I feel bad for those who have suffered repeated problems, but perspective is needed: people mostly don't join computer forums to just say hello I have no issues, so threads like this are only ever going to be overwhelmingly and disproportionately biased in one predictable direction. There are thousands of owners (tens of thousands probably) using Max and Ultra Studios that don't whine or squeal, most of whom won't ever post here to restore some kind of balance.

 

[Jackpaultechnab]

Thanks for the valuable information!

 

[bukalemun]

Whatever. Every person who reports no problem here gets attacked and told their experience is not valid. The only experience allowed is there is this huge problem Apple must fix right now. Not sure why you all resort to such vitriol.

Nobody attacks anyone who reports they don't hear any whine. We get happy for them and hope that our replacement machine gets to be like that. But we get irritated even more than the whine, by people that attack us with sarcasm, get offended more and more when we reply back so that they ultimately get so delusional on their high horse that they think their opinion is more valid than us. Read your own answers here. You look like a huge projector with minimal efficiency right now.

 

[G5isAlive]

Update: four months in, no whine or squeal.
I feel bad for those who have suffered repeated problems, but perspective is needed: people mostly don't join computer forums to just say hello I have no issues, so threads like this are only ever going to be overwhelmingly and disproportionately biased in one predictable direction. There are thousands of owners (tens of thousands probably) using Max and Ultra Studios that don't whine or squeal, most of whom won't ever post here to restore some kind of balance.

Agreed. In decades of purchasing electronic equipment I’ve gotten a couple lemons that needed to be returned. And sharing that experience can be helpful to others experiencing similar.

However, that is not the same as insisting a lemon is representative of the whole line and that the company must address this serious flaw. Then people who haven’t even bought one chime in. At that point it is valid for people to say, ‘hey, no problem here’ and not be attacked for it.

There is some responsibility of the buyer to take appropriate actions as well, like returning the lemon.

 

[bukalemun]

Update: four months in, no whine or squeal.
I feel bad for those who have suffered repeated problems, but perspective is needed: people mostly don't join computer forums to just say hello I have no issues, so threads like this are only ever going to be overwhelmingly and disproportionately biased in one predictable direction. There are thousands of owners (tens of thousands probably) using Max and Ultra Studios that don't whine or squeal, most of whom won't ever post here to restore some kind of balance.

This is the kind of conversation that is needed. You have no problem and that's great. We have a problem and that's unfortunate. That's it. But when you have no problem and start trolling a thread with sarcastic replies, no one wants to hear your worthless opinions anymore. I think some people can't get that.

 

[TightLines]

Whatever. Every person who reports no problem here gets attacked and told their experience is not valid. The only experience allowed is there is this huge problem Apple must fix right now. Not sure why you all resort to such vitriol.

I have been following these threads since they first came up when the studio was released and I haven’t seen anyone who doesn’t have the problem “attacked or told their experience is not valid”. I think you are now just wildly exaggerating what is being seen in any of these threads… do I see concern, do I see disappointment, do I see people exhibiting frustration with Apple on this, yes I do… but none of that hardly equates to how you have just described it.

You would find yourself better served if you just stuck to the facts about what people have written and leave the defense of Apple and their propaganda out of it all… your comments in previous posts about how people who are experiencing this problem on these overly priced machines, being able to solve the problem on their own with some sound proofing and that somehow them having expectations of quality products from Apple, who themselves command high prices, is going to cost us all more, was beyond ridiculous…

 

[bobcomer]

Update: four months in, no whine or squeal.
I feel bad for those who have suffered repeated problems, but perspective is needed: people mostly don't join computer forums to just say hello I have no issues, so threads like this are only ever going to be overwhelmingly and disproportionately biased in one predictable direction. There are thousands of owners (tens of thousands probably) using Max and Ultra Studios that don't whine or squeal, most of whom won't ever post here to restore some kind of balance.

One must also remember that there are people that do have the problem that wouldn't even think of posting here, so thinking that this small sample of people is all that have the problem is not realistic either. All I want to do by participating in this thread is to figure out what is causing the sound, and trying mitigations suggested by others, that's all. I'm not interested in hearing about anything else, and I sure as heck do not like to be insulted like some are doing here.

 

[MajorFubar]

I sure as heck do not like to be insulted like some are doing here.

Hopefully I haven't ever done that. Certainly I haven't intended to.

 

[bobcomer]

Hopefully I haven't ever done that. Certainly I haven't intended to.

I don't remember if you have specifically, sorry if I implied that. I try to just forget about such messages as they really don't do anything except make people mad. Post #418, 420, and 421 (especially 421) are the types I'm talking about...

 

[ProfessionalFan]

I don't remember if you have specifically, sorry if I implied that. I try to just forget about such messages as they really don't do anything except make people mad. Post #418, 420, and 421 (especially 421) are the types I'm talking about...

I'm post #420 and I am not sure what I said wrong there. This was that post:

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.

I do apologize though if I somehow was rude in that, as it was not my intention at all.

 

[bobcomer]

I'm post #420 and I am not sure what I said wrong there. This was that post:



I do apologize though if I somehow was rude in that, as it was not my intention at all.

It came off as telling me what to do -- like I hadn't thought of that. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but so many messages like that put me over the breaking line. And apology gladly accepted. I'm sorry I am more sensitive than I should be on the topic.

 

[bukalemun]

Looks like my replacement machine is at the customs in my country. It should arrive in a few days. I'll update when it arrives. I will not tolerate any whine significant or otherwise though. If it has a whine, I'll immediately return it this time and wait for another iteration of the machine. I am sure Apple is aware and they will fix this in the next hardware version (with M2 Max, Ultra or whatever) even if they don't acknowledge this whine ever for these machines.

 

[Strider64]

Putting all this bickering aside, it would be interesting to know what the average age of the people experiencing this whining? Don't laugh, but as we age people don't hear some high pitch noises as younger people do. I'm 58 years old and I know my hearing isn't what it used to be.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Putting all this bickering aside, it would be interesting to know what the average age of the people experiencing this whining? Don't laugh, but as we age people don't hear some high pitch noises as younger people do. I'm 58 years old and I know my hearing isn't what it used to be.

I’m 39 and don’t hear the sound.

 

[southerndoc]

Putting all this bickering aside, it would be interesting to know what the average age of the people experiencing this whining? Don't laugh, but as we age people don't hear some high pitch noises as younger people do. I'm 58 years old and I know my hearing isn't what it used to be.

47 and don't hear the whine, but I can hear the whisper quiet fan noise (i.e., the wind from it). I do know I have a slight hearing deficit from working on a helicopter many years ago.

 

[bukalemun]

Putting all this bickering aside, it would be interesting to know what the average age of the people experiencing this whining? Don't laugh, but as we age people don't hear some high pitch noises as younger people do. I'm 58 years old and I know my hearing isn't what it used to be.

Nearing 45. As established here, the whine frequency is around 2 KHz. So it is not a frequency that you generally completely lose the ability to hear with age. I heard 20 Hz to 20 KHz when I was younger. Now I can hear 20 to 16 KHz. I’d be concerned if I stopped hearing 2 KHz even though I would love not hearing it from the Studio.

 

[bobcomer]

Putting all this bickering aside, it would be interesting to know what the average age of the people experiencing this whining? Don't laugh, but as we age people don't hear some high pitch noises as younger people do. I'm 58 years old and I know my hearing isn't what it used to be.

I'm 62 and already have some hearing loss from when I was a kid. Apparently not in the range of the whine as I can hear it enough to be annoyed if nothing else is making noise.

 

[Bob-K]

Age-related hearing loss starts well above 2k. I've heard that it starts at around 12k. This article from a well-known medical journal shows that it can start lower than that, but significant loss in the 2k range only begins around age 80.

In other words, if you're under 80 and you don't hear the whine from your Mac Studio, then it doesn't have the problem, or you're far enough way that the sound doesn't reach you, or it's being masked by other sounds.

 

[bukalemun]

Looks like my replacement machine is at the customs in my country. It should arrive in a few days. I'll update when it arrives. I will not tolerate any whine significant or otherwise though. If it has a whine, I'll immediately return it this time and wait for another iteration of the machine. I am sure Apple is aware and they will fix this in the next hardware version (with M2 Max, Ultra or whatever) even if they don't acknowledge this whine ever for these machines.

The unit came today. Assembled in China with most probably the same PSU. Expecting another whiner, I did not even connect a monitor, keyboard etc. Did not even unwind the power cable. Only removed the packaging of the computer, connected the power cable still in its packaging to the Studio, booted it up, heard the whine, shut it down and put it back in its packaging. I am returning it for a refund this time and will not purchase again till another hardware revision. I hope a 27” iMac happens shortly so I don’t even care about the Studio ever again. Apple is trying too much to create miracles. They failed miserably for a small percentage of their users this time.

 

[simacc]

The unit came today. Assembled in China with most probably the same PSU. Expecting another whiner, I did not even connect a monitor, keyboard etc. Did not even unwind the power cable. Only removed the packaging of the computer, connected the power cable still in its packaging to the Studio, booted it up, heard the whine, shut it down and put it back in its packaging. I am returning it for a refund this time and will not purchase again till another hardware revision. I hope a 27” iMac happens shortly so I don’t even care about the Studio ever again. Apple is trying too much to create miracles. They failed miserably for a small percentage of their users this time.

There's plenty of them assembled in Malaysia that have it also BTW...given that most of them have the assembled in China designation, there's probably no correlation...(also I'm of the opinion that all of them have it, as I've yet to see/hear any concrete evidence of a "silent one"...but let's not get into that...definitely don't bother trying replacing it 2 or 3 times as some people have done...)...

One thing I'll say is, if you want to try clocking the fans down to 1100rpm, and set it up as you would use it, and see if that helps. See settings below for a safe way of doing this. My studio is about 23dBA, with most other equipment powered down, and I really can't hear it at 800mm using these settings. Although if you wouldn't be comfortable doing that long term, then yeah don't bother unpacking it.

 

[bukalemun]

There's plenty of them assembled in Malaysia that have it also BTW...given that most of them have the assembled in China designation, there's probably no correlation...(also I'm of the opinion that all of them have it, as I've yet to see/hear any concrete evidence of a "silent one"...but let's not get into that...definitely don't bother trying replacing it 2 or 3 times as some people have done...)...

One thing I'll say is, if you want to try clocking the fans down to 1100rpm, and set it up as you would use it, and see if that helps. See settings below for a safe way of doing this. My studio is about 23dBA, with most other equipment powered down, and I really can't hear it at 800mm using these settings. Although if you wouldn't be comfortable doing that long term, then yeah don't bother unpacking it.

I tried that with my first machine. It still whined at 1100. I even tried to resonate the whine on around 1200 rpm, which it was loudest for days. That made it fainter at the default rpm but did not eliminate it completely.

I will not try to fix a problem that Apple should have detected while designing this machine, with their multi million dollar acoustic rooms that they boast about in their advertisements. I will not try manual overrides. As I said earlier in this thread, I would not accept this in a $300 machine, I will definitely not accept it on a $8000 machine that is said to be designed for “studios”.

 

[simacc]

I tried that with my first machine. It still whined at 1100. I even tried to resonate the whine on around 1200 rpm, which it was loudest for days. That made it fainter at the default rpm but did not eliminate it completely.

I will not try to fix a problem that Apple should have detected while designing this machine, with their multi million dollar acoustic rooms that they boast about in their advertisements. I will not try manual overrides. As I said earlier in this thread, I would not accept this in a $300 machine, I will definitely not accept it on a $8000 machine that is said to be designed for “studios”.

Bummer, missed that you are on your second machine, I've seen so many reports of people trying two or three machines with no change, I think it's safe to say it really isn't worth the hassle of going down that road...

Yeah agree with you there, I'm going against my better judgement using fan control software on a new machine to make it "acceptable"...

 

[^^BIGMac]

I will not try to fix a problem that Apple should have detected while designing this machine, with their multi million dollar acoustic rooms that they boast about in their advertisements. I will not try manual overrides. As I said earlier in this thread, I would not accept this in a $300 machine, I will definitely not accept it on a $8000 machine that is said to be designed for “studios”.

Completely agree with this. Apple has to stop releasing gear with these sorts of issues. It’s not like they’re giving this stuff away. It’s a major cash outlay and as consumers we deserve better.

Vote with your wallet indeed.