Philip OKeefe

I was trying to adjust one of my Acers the other day, and I couldn't remember where they hid the buttons. They're underneath, and slightly towards the back, which makes it next to impossible to see the labels on the buttons and the screen at the same time. But it keeps the monitor looking clean and sleek from the front, which was probably the design intention - but functionally, it's less than ideal. Enjoy the Mac mini and new monitor, Ken!

I ran across this while surfing the web the other day, and it looks pretty interesting... https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Hydrasynth--asm-hydrasynth-49-key-polyphonic-wave-morphing-synthesizer I often prefer modules over keyboards for the sake of space, but I particularly like the idea of the keyboard version with poly aftertouch. So few keyboards have that, it's nice to see it appearing on something new. Has anyone tried one of these out yet? Thoughts?

Thanks, Ken. It should get there on Tuesday. I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the M1 mini once it gets there and you have a chance to play with it a bit...

This - 100%. Outside of subscriptions for phone access, Internet access, and a few TV channels/services, the only subscription I have is for Pro Tools, and I have a perpetual license for Pro Tools Ultimate, so even if I let that subscription lapse, the only thing I'd lose would be software updates and access to their Avid Complete plugin bundle - and if I can find a way to buy that instead of subscribe, I'd do it. The annual subscription I have costs $400. The subscription for the Complete plugin bundle by itself is $49. I'm not sure if Avid's two or three software updates in a year are worth $351. I'd much rather pay for something once and be done with it. IMO, subscriptions are nearly always in the interests of the company, and not in the interests of the customer.

The entry-level Mac Studio has twice the performance CPU cores (8 vs 4), and twice the RAM (32 GB vs 16 GB) compared with the M1 Mac mini. The single core performance of the two models is nearly identical, so they can function similarly, depending on what you're trying to do with them. However, for larger, more RAM-intensive tasks, and for programs that can utilize multiple CPU cores (such as most DAW programs), the baseline Mac Studio has twice as much horsepower. It also has significantly improved memory bandwidth (400GB/s memory bandwidth vs 68.25GB/s), so it moves data in and out of memory much faster, which makes that 32 GB of RAM even more efficient. Add to that three times (24 vs 8 ) the number of GPU cores, and the Studio has a big edge over the mini when it comes to GPU-intensive tasks. The GPU difference doesn't really make a difference for audio recording, but for video, it's a significant improvement. The Mac mini with 16 GB of RAM is certainly no slouch (I would recommend against the 8 GB version if you want to use it for music), and depending on your workflow, it may be more than enough for your needs. Paired with an Avid Carbon, I have been able to run sessions on it that my 32 GB RAM, quad core i7 3770K PC with Pro Tools HD4 Accel struggled with, and with the CPUs sitting at around 25% use on the Mac mini. And all with zero fan noise (the mini's definitely quieter - as in silent - than the very quiet but audible Studio), and with a 32 sample buffer setting.

Ken, I have a 2020 M1 Mac Mini with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB drive. I bought it new in December, and it's just been sitting on my desk (with light use) ever since. Apple wasn't going to give me much for it, and an online shop was only going to give me a bit more... It's a great machine, and I've been thinking about keeping it as a backup, but if you want it, I can give it to you for much less than Apple will charge you for a new one...

...And start paying a monthly subscription fee? I haven't had time to read the details yet, but that doesn't sound like a good deal to me. I prefer buying things over subscriptions, by a HUGE margin.

Looks like it's a monthly subscription for plugins. And they run natively... https://spark.uaudio.com/ Windows compatibility is apparently coming this fall.

Even when I was using a self-built Windows PC as my main DAW computer and running a Satellite quad FireWire with it (which worked great on that system) , I always had the sneaking suspicion they were more focused on Macs than PCs. It just seemed like there was more Mac supported platforms overall.

Roland is doing some fun things to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Here's one of them - a mini TR-808, TB-303, and SH-101, all in your browser.

What Boutiques do you have? I have a pair of JX-03's and a TB-3. I have a few things I wish they had done differently (1/4" outputs being the biggest one), but overall, I've been very happy with mine.

Well, it's here. I now have most of my stuff loaded into it. It's a beast. Sessions from the M1 Mac mini are running at about half the multicore CPU percentage on the M1 Max Mac Studio, which is what I expected. It does make sense - the single core performance is basically the same across the entire M1 line, and since the M1 Max has twice the performance cores of the M1, that explains the improvement in terms of multicore CPU percentage scores. Yes, it's very quiet, but unlike the M1 Mac mini, it is actually audible - barely - without having to lean down right next to it. But it's not loud at all, and the fans have never ramped up from that baseline, even when I loaded a moderately large Pro Tools session and ran it on loop for a half hour. I tried to measure both machines with an SPL meter, but they're both below the noise floor of the room, which is around 30 dBA SPL, so while I can hear it, I can't measure it. Anyone have an anechoic chamber I can borrow for a few minutes? I seriously doubt fan noise is going to be an issue for the vast majority of users, but when I have some time, the real test will be setting up some mics in the control room and seeing what I hear through them. Stay tuned.

Yeah, I saw that they are no longer available. Someone over on either Gearspace or The Gear Page was saying someone at Sweetwater told them they had "sold out" of all the first run production, and that Behringer was planning on changing the name and graphics a bit and doing another run. If that's true (and I have not confirmed it yet), it sounds like someone at Mutron complained about the name. Yes, mine arrived on Sunday. I have only played with it for a few minutes, but my initial impressions were very favorable. How about you? Have you had a chance to play with yours yet?

Fingers crossed that you're right.

I wonder if they're going to release native versions of the UAD plugins? Maybe tied to Luna? Or maybe they're working on a DSP/Native hybrid like Avid did with Carbon? It's also possible they're going to announce a cloud-based subscription plan or a time-limited use (rental) licensing option. I really don't know what they've got in mind. I am a fan of the sound of a lot of the UAD-2 plugins, and I just bought a Thunderbolt Octo a few months ago, so at the risk of repeating myself, I really hope they're not going to discontinue the UAD-2 stuff...

Thanks, Ken! I've heard a few more reports and almost all are saying that the Mac Studios are very quiet, and it's nice to hear your editor's experience confirms that. In my experience, the M1 Mac mini is basically silent. I literally have to put my head down next to it to ever hear anything from it. It seems that's another nice benefit of the lower power requirements of Apple silicon - the cooling requirements are a lot easier to deal with while still keeping things quiet.

Now they're saying it will be here on Monday. A different group of theys are saying it will be raining here on Monday, so I will have to watch for the delivery truck. I don't want it sitting out in the rain. The Mac Studio, that is. It won't bother me as much if the delivery truck is sitting out in the rain. I don't use my phone a lot. I'm still poking along on an iPhone 6s. I may have to think about getting one of the new iPhone SEs eventually. I do tend to use my iPads a lot. I have an old iPad mini 2 (that I mainly use to run Arturia iSpark) and a newer iPad mini 5. I like the smaller size of the iPad minis. They're easy to take with you. My 2012 MacBook Pro has been a really good computer. 2.3 GHz quad i7 with 16 GB of RAM. I pulled the optical drive out and put in a second SSD. For now, it's just fine for my general mobile computing needs, but I'll probably upgrade to an Apple Silicon laptop eventually, too. They're just so efficient in terms of power use and battery life... I think that will ultimately be what moves me in that direction. Since all my astronomy software is PC-based, and my dedicated laptop for that is old and slow, I'll probably start using the MBP to run Windows and use it for astronomy once I upgrade to an Apple Silicon (main) laptop. But one thing at a time - the Mac Studio still hasn't arrived yet... 🍎

I ordered an M1 Mac mini in December, and a Mac Studio on the 8th of this month. No problems with either order. You'd think if they were worried about hoarding, someone who bought two computers in less than six months would be far more likely to trigger their automated alarms than someone making their very first purchase. Maybe there's someone else out there with a similar name to yours who has made multiple purchases from Apple, and that's what triggered it? 🤷‍♂️

I'm shocked, too. Very sad news.

That came up for me too when I did a Google search this morning. Based on that, it could be almost anything.

I have no idea what it's going to be. I just hope it doesn't mean they're going to discontinue the UAD-2 stuff...

Just got a note early this morning that the new Mac Studio has shipped. Apple still says it will be here by the 30th, but the shipping tracking says it will be here on Friday. I'm really looking forward to testing it out, and comparing it to the M1 Mac mini. I watched teardown videos (Max Tech on YouTube) of both the M1 Max and M1 Ultra versions of the Mac Studio, and it turns out they have socketed SSDs, although it looks like a real PITB to get to them. Definitely not a job for the average consumer. There's actually two slots on both models, with only one slot filled from the factory when the Mac Studio is ordered with a smaller-sized ( 2 GB or less?) drive. They look similar to M.2 format SSDs, but the drive size and plug format look like they're a bit different. Still, that's good news overall IMO. It means that SSD failure is not going to brick the machine; they should be able to be replaced if they fail. And it might mean they'll be upgradeable at some point. I could see OWC offering compatible drives eventually, or maybe even your local Apple Store. In the video above, they go into the noise levels and cooling of the two versions of the Studio. They didn't measure fan noise with an SPL meter or anything like that, but they did use a fan utility to check the fan speed range (1,000-3,500 RPM) and the speed the system runs the fan at when it's at idle and while under a stress-test full load on all CPU and graphics cores. Regardless of load, the fans on both Studios stayed in the 1,300 range, and temps stayed at around 60-70 degrees or below. They appear to be pretty quiet, and they seem to run cool, even under full load. Good thing, too - when he cranked the fan to full in the Mac Studio Ultra teardown video using the fan app, it sounded like a leaf blower. I'm really hoping it will be a quiet system. The M1 Mac mini is shockingly quiet for such a powerful little computer. If the Studio is within 10 dB of that like Apple claims ("15 dBA @ the operator position" vs. 5 dBA for the mini, IIRC), I'll be happy. I guess I'll find out on Friday. Or next Wednesday. And Pro Tools Ultimate is now compatible with/supported on macOS Monterey 12.3, which is what my new Mac Studio will have installed from the factory...

That's pretty darned impressive, and it gets the point across in less than 40 seconds. It certainly got my attention.

Oh, here and there... That would be fun!

Good point!