As soon as Apple announced the new Mac Studio my alerts blew up. I was getting IMs on Facebook, WhatsApp, and on Messenger. All of them asking the same question, “when are you getting the new Mac Studio?”
“I’m not” was my reply, and here’s why.
Is It About The Power?
Even with its small Mac mini footprint, the new Mac Studio is a powerful machine.
In recent weeks there’s been a suggestion that there’s something inherently wrong with using Apple SoC (system on chip) for audio applications. We asked technology expert Mark Wherry to address the claim in his article Are Apple SoC Suitable For Audio Production?
So, I’m not avoiding the new Mac Studio because of some theory about SoC and audio production, they work just fine. Actually, the performance is outstanding.
Is It About The Price?
The new Mac Studio starts at $1999 if you choose the M1 Max and $3999 if you choose the M1 Ultra. The base machine comes with 10-Core CPU, 24-Core GPU, 16-Core Neural Engine, 32GB unified memory and 512GB SSD storage. It also sports a significant amount of connectivity, to the point you may not need a dongle, imagine that! If you need to use PCIe cards then a chassis is around $500. So for around $2500 you can get a powerful Apple Mac as the centrepiece of your studio.
We’ve done some work on comparing the price of the new Mac Studio with previous incarnations of Apple Macs used for professional recording studios. Our comparisons show that the new Mac Studio represents great value for money when compared to the older Macs like the Mac Pro.
If I purchased a fully loaded Mac Studio ultra that’s around $7999. As a business owner I’d depreciate that over 4 years, expecting my investment to last no longer - so that’s $2000 a year, or around $40 a week. Knowing that every Mac I’ve owned has lasted far longer than that, and the income created using them far exceeded the cost, I know they make a great investment. So no it’s not about the price.
So What Is It About?
So if I’m happy with the power and the price then why not buy the new Mac Studio?
There’s never been a more complete line-up of Apple Macs to meet the needs and wallets of those needing a Mac for audio production. We now have the Mac mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro M1, MacBook Pro M1 Pro and M1 Max. We have the M1 iMac, the Mac Studio, and finally the uber powerful Mac Pro.
Here are some of the test we’ve conducted using Apple Silicon M1 chips;
Apple now have computers starting at $699 with segments running up to $5999. Of course you can spec up any of those machines to get the one you need, with a fully specced Mac Pro running to over $30,000!
I need to run between the house and the studio and for a long time that meant a Mac Pro in the studio and a MacBook Pro for mobile work. Then I invested in the MacBook Pro M1 Max.
The reason I’m not buying a Mac Studio is because I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max. My MacBook Pro M1 Max can do the work of both my old Mac Pro and my Intel i9 MacBook Pro and some!
If I’m in the studio I attach two Thunderbolt 4 cables to the unit, a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and shut the lid to run it in clamshell mode. At that point I’m connected to a 4K monitor, HD grading monitor, 12 drives, audio interfaces, MIDI peripherals and other stuff.
My MacBook Pro doesn’t even break a sweat, even on the most taxing audio and video projects. Apparently there’s a fan inside the machine, which I am yet to hear.
I’m not buying a Mac Studio because the MacBook Pro M1 Max is the perfect machine for my needs. It’s powerful, quiet and when I need it to be, it’s portable. I’m happy.
Conclusion
It wasn’t a long time ago that if you wanted to do serious audio work on a Mac then you had a few choices with gaping chasms between each one. The leap from the Mac mini to the Mac Pro was huge, some people felt one too limiting and the other overkill.
Thanks to the new line-up of Apple Silicon powered Macs there’s now far more choice, which means less compromise for all of us.
I’ve made my choice and I’m delighted with it. Your choice may not even be a Mac but a PC, whatever it is, choose the computer that suits your needs. If you want to stick with Mac then there’s never been a better line up to choose from.