Considering a move to the dark side (Mac)

[kvotchin]

It’s finally come around. That time in life when Windows loses its shine, and Macs suddenly seem better than they are.

Yep, M1 it is. Maybe ...

What I’m hoping for here is any kind of interesting anecdote, specifically to do with the M1 family of Macs. Anything particularly good, especially with regards to music production? And better yet, anything bad, same again?

Power? Reliability? Compatibility (hardware and software)? Silent operation? (etc.)

Oh, and is there any really awesome (audio) software that’s Mac-only? I seem to recall that yes, there is. Just can’t remember what exactly ...

[Passing Bye]

There's Numerology I guess and that overpriced modular synth, P900... Logic Pro...
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/numero ... -by-five12

[Passing Bye]

Seems to me that Microsoft is copying Apple more and more and new Windows is prime example of that, releasing cosmetic update as new OS, that's the stuff Apple does every year, without any reason whatsoever, if anything Windows can take pride in keeping legacy stuff in life, Apple on other hand kills perfectly usable 3 year old OS, now they are in transition time and tons of stuff will stop working after they kill off last version of OS that supports Rosetta, like it was the case with Snow Leopard, last OS that actually lasted more than 3 years and which provided great support for their main audio app.

M1 Mac's are amazing, but Apple sucks, reliability sucks, compatiblity mostly sucks, audio interfaces run great, but there's always something idiotic only Apple can pull off and convince majority of userbase that it's the thing they need, but Microsoft does the same stuff now, so wager wisely.

[ghettosynth]

The new M1 macs run quiet and cool like no other PC I've ever owned. I've had multiple PC music machines that I've gone to great lengths to create super quiet cooling solutions and none compare to how quiet the M1 is out of the box. I don't even know that it's on.

Know this: you can't load kexts when you boot from an external hard drive...ok, why do you care?

You care because it means that to have a relatively seamless solution with existing non-class-compliant audio interfaces you will have to boot from the internal drive. This means that you should pay the apple tax and get the largest drive that you think that you will need as a boot drive.

Personally, I'm moving towards audio on Linux because both Apple and Microsoft want to lock everything down for their own benefit framed as a better environment for you. In the meantime, the M1s make for a nice enough audio machine using a commercial OS where most things seem to run well enough.

[chagzuki]

Apple are in such a good position right now. A laptop that can do music production with no performance hit running off battery, with no fan, for hours before recharging... that's really freeing. Perhaps not so important if you've designed a nice studio and like being desk-bound. The caveat is, of course, the ludicrous price for ram and ssd upgrades, which when factored in make Apple perhaps not particularly competitive. There's no doubt that a Mac mini with external SSD works out to be superb value for money. Maybe if you're using massive sample libraries right now there might not be a good M1 solution.

I've just started using Logic again and it's ludicrous value too. The included sound libraries and plugins cover so many bases, it may well be the case that not much else is needed. I'm accustomed to Falcon and Phaseplant, so I haven't delved into Logic's sampler and Alchemy yet, but I can see the sampler is versatile.

Mac OS runs ridiculously smoothly on M1... hard to go back to Windows afterwards despite the fact that I like Windows in many ways.

I actually kinda hope that the playing field is levelled quite soon, as I'm not particularly keen on being tied in to Apple's ecosystem, but what the hell, I can't complain.

[Bombadil]

It depends on which M1. There are trade-offs especially in terms of inputs. The Mini is the best value, IMO, but I would advise gettng 16 gb RAM. I am undecided about the new 24" iMacs. I had hoped they'd be cheaper. It costs something like €2300 to upgrade the RAM and SSD to 16gb 1tb config.
There are issues with software compatability with various plugin manufacturing companies basically shrugging their heads with a 'I dunnoooo' when asked when their products will function properly with M1 machine.
I am having an issue with Logic that nobody else seems to be having. The effected external audio cuts out when play is engaged. No solutions yet.

[sircuit]

Apple will eventually launch their M version for MacBookPro 16” and Mac Pro. There will be no shortage of ports, slots, ram or storage space.

I am on Windows, may be transitioning to mac (again) in 2-3 years when the waters will settle and all important software devs will become M-compatible.