Mac mini vs Mac Studio/MacBook Pro for music production

[darkanddivine]

TLDR - with all the new M1/2 chips - what is the best machine/RAM etc for hobby music production?

Hiya folks. A buying question that I hope might be useful for others. I’m a longtime iMac user and I’ve had around 8-10 years of use from a mid-level machine each time. With all the changes since 2020, we now work at home more so I'd like to have others in the family be able to swap their machines in/out of our desk. As a result, I'm looking for something flexible for my next machine, either a laptop or a small desktop.

I should say that my personal primary use for the machine (aside from the usual TV watching, web browsing etc) will be hobby level music production. Even though it's just for fun, my main concern is that the machine can can handle EDM style music production, which can be RAM intensive to load all the libraries, plugins and virtual instruments (mostly running all this via Rosetta 2 for now.) With that in mind, I’ve narrowed the search down to the Mac mini, Mac Studio and the MacBook Pro.

I’ve been looking at the models listed above, and the Mac ecosystem seems to have changed a fair bit since I last bought. That's thrown my sense of the right level of investment off a bit (especially with all these M1/2 chips coming out.) I chose 16GB of RAM 10 years ago. And so I'm wondering if that 16GB of RAM in 2022 is actually an upgrade (in the Mac Mini) or is it a sideways step that will become redundant relatively soon as M1 becomes M2/M3 etc. I don’t need unbelievable processing power for editing and rendering 4k video or anything like that, but I do look for a machine that has reasonable specs for mid-long term use.

I’ve seen that others have spoken very highly of the Mac mini (apart from the Bluetooth problems) specifically for home level music producers. When I saw this video, it looked like the Mini can handle the kind of music I’m familiar with. I noticed that the memory pressure in this video rarely tops 50%, and I’m told that this is a key indicator of if the machine will work for your use case.

I've looked into a 32GB/1TB Macbook Pro and the same in the Mac Studio. The thing is, there's a huge drop of £900 down from a Studio to a Mac mini with 16GB/1TB storage. With the difference being so big, I’m trying to work out if the extra £900 for the MBP/Studio is either money well spent for the long term, or just headroom I’ll never actually use. In your opinion, is the Mac Mini with the new chip the mid-long term option for hobbyist music creation/production others say it is? Or is the extra £900 in the Studio/MBP worth the investment?

I’d be interested to hear the views of others who have used the current machines and have experience of the switch from Intel. Grateful for any advice

 

[Fishrrman]

The Studio has a fan which may or may not "intrude" into your music production environment.
(depends on whether or not you do live mic recording in the same room)

If that's not going to be a problem, I'd consider the Studio (even the base model would do fine).

If it IS a potential problem, might you "hold out" for the upcoming m2 Mini...?

 

[darkanddivine]

Thanks @Fishrrman - fan is less of an issue than it used to be. All my work is in VSTs & synths really (for now at least.) I used to do more "standard" stuff in terms of recording (mics, amps, guitars, vocals etc.) As time goes on, it's more on the software side, along with loading in samples etc.

 

[jav6454]

Are you always going to be mobile and on-the-go?

 

[darkanddivine]

Hi @jav6454 - mostly desk based. The flexibility is a nice to have, but not a must.

 

[darkanddivine]

Also of note here - I've been looking at the relative benchmarks of processing speed for this purchase vs my old iMac. I realise this isn't the same "real world" testing as the video in my original post - but the figures are interesting in direct comparison to the older machine.

Intel iMac: 3,014
M1 Mini: 7,434
M1 MBP: 12,011
M1 Studio: 12,333

 

[jav6454]

Hi @jav6454 - mostly desk based. The flexibility is a nice to have, but not a must.

Then I'd say the Mac Studio is your best bet based on that fact alone. I mean, both the 14" or 16" MBP or the Mac Studio will all work fine, but since flexibility is a none-issue.

 

[lcubed]

studio. lots of ports for flexibility.

we have both an m1 mini and an m1 ultra studio.

the mini requires a thunderbolt dock to bring in all the peripherals we're using
(scanners, 16 TB OWC raid, keyboards, various CF,SD, etc readers, speakers, monitors)

 

[SpotOnT]

Could you get by on the Mini? Probably. But the Studio would be a lot more pleasant to use, mainly because with the Studio you get more ports (with the mini you only get 1 TB line, since the second gets used up by the display). The price difference between the Studio and Mini also isn't that big (considering the 16GB vs 32GB RAM difference). Do you need 32GB of RAM today, probably not, but you might need that in 4 years or so and it sounds like you keep your computers around for a while.

As for the MBP, if you want the flexibility of mobile, nothing wrong with the MBPs. The only downside is the MBPs will cost even more than the studio for the same spec.

 

[darkanddivine]

To be fair @SpotOnT - you might have hit the nail on the head here. The Studio is the logical selection bar one technical issue which has come up in my research. One reason for considering the M1 standard is, as other forum members have found, there are some compatibility issues with music workflows in general. M1 seems to be having more luck, and in the end it might come down to "does it work or not?"

As you say, the typcial approach I'd take is to run a machine for as close to a full decade as it will handle. But perhaps, this once, I'm now thinking about whether a shorter run is wise while all the kinks get ironed out of the M1 move. And in that scenario, the M1 standard machines could make sense to "get by" as you say. Thanks for the responses so far - plenty to think about!

 

[darkanddivine]

studio. lots of ports for flexibility.

we have both an m1 mini and an m1 ultra studio.

the mini requires a thunderbolt dock to bring in all the peripherals we're using
(scanners, 16 TB OWC raid, keyboards, various CF,SD, etc readers, speakers, monitors)

This makes a lot of sense. I listed out my connectables, and the Mini (while costing less overall) does have a minimum upgrade needed to run all the inputs for a studio. I've specced up a couple of options ranging from £100-£250, so you have to add that into the Mini cost specifically.

 

[Wando64]

This makes a lot of sense. I listed out my connectables, and the Mini (while costing less overall) does have a minimum upgrade needed to run all the inputs for a studio. I've specced up a couple of options ranging from £100-£250, so you have to add that into the Mini cost specifically.

Keep in mind that the Audio Interface plus a lot of external instruments can easily run from a USB3 hub attached to the Mini USB3 port.
The bandwidth required is quite low.

 

[SpotOnT]

Wow, I am not involved in music, but I am actually in the exact same boat. I have a 2013 Mac Pro and am trying to hold out while Apple gets the I/O kinks worked out on the Studio. Apple really hit the ball out of the park with the CPU, did a pretty fair job with the GPU, but kind of bungled up the I/O a bit. I have no idea if it is just a driver issue, or if there are actual hardware controller problems, but I am hearing the same report for the equipment I use; connected devices don't work, partially work, intermittently drop out etc. Really hoping that Apple can get all the issues worked out for the M3 Mac Studio - cause that is probably about as long as I will be able to hold out. I guess the only concern I have is if demand for the Mac Studio is below expectations and Apple cancels the line in favor of a new, larger iMac. I much prefer having the computer and the monitor separate.

I had no idea that the plain old M1 was working in some situations where the M1 Pro/Max did not work. So that is good news, and completely new to me! Although it really doesn't make any sense at all.

Ya, I think getting a lower spec'd M1 Mini (as low as you think you can get away with) and planning on upgrading when the Studio matures a bit more sounds like a reasonable path forward as well. It is defiantly a tough decision, since as you said, the Mac Studio should be the no-brainer, most sensible choice.

 

[darkanddivine]

To your point about the iMac I definitley feel that. With the switch to M1, it feels a lot like it's "entry level (but still great)" vs "spaceship future computer" in a lot of ways. The higher spec iMacs always felt like a sweet spot inbetween those 2 things for lots of creative workflows like music, design, photography etc.

Similar to yourself, I don't know the exact technicallities of the M1 vs M1 Pro to be honest. But the basic story seems to be that people are running into issues on M1 Pro/Max, and there is visual evidence all over Youtube that M1 is working. It seems to be that (for whatever reason) the port to Rosetta 2 on the M1 chip handles things well enough for people to actually carry on making stuff. I have spoken to other producers who said that their software works in the M1 system pretty much without any issues. Essentially, if you want to run dozens of tracks with a shed-tonne of plugins in multiple instances, you could possibly overload the 16gb. But otherwise it's actually OK.

I feel like there's a lot of mileage to go in terms of switching over fully to M1 for many of the software synth creators. Typically the tech in music tends to remain similar to allow people to keep things stable in their system over the years. For example most external devices don't run on USB C, but the old USB A format. Garageband and Logic have naturally been ported over to M1. But as long as you have plugins and other software that isn't M1 compatible (which is most of them) then you'll need to use Rosetta. So while I do expect the rest of the software makers to make the switch or lose customers, it's not the sort of thing that will happen in months. A lot of them are moving to a subscription model which means they have to balance building new features and developing for M1. So it could well be a few years before most people can choose a setup that is all M1 compatible, and no issues with Pro/Max etc.

A couple of years from now, we might be in a position where all the apps and plugins are in a similar place. Until then, Rosetta will be a must. Basically, it feels like musicans (and perhaps yourself) have the trade off between longevity and stability and the accessibility of apps. The more I think about it, the more I worry that the Studio is the computer of the future - but literally. It looks like an insane machine, but it's one you need to buy with complete confidence.

 

[satcomer]

As I grow old I say which Mac is best you have to ask yourself what kind of user are you! The Mac Book Air is for beginners & surfers only! The Mac Pro is for students+ semi pros! The kind of people that make money with their computer! what user are you should make up what Mac you should use!

 

[TracerAnalog]

Macbook Pro M1 Max owner here: the switch from Intel to Apple silicon was surprisingly boring. There were very few plugins or soft synths that didn’t port directly to my new machine, and the few hold outs have been ported by now. I went for a MacBook Pro in stead of a Mac Mini/Studio because a. I wanted another good screen in my studio besides my 4K screen for my mixing plugins and b. because I get a built in battery to save my work when the power fails (which it does now and then). Oh and c. I can take that beautiful computer with me on holidays and continue some editing work 🤓

 

[jav6454]

Macbook Pro M1 Max owner here: the switch from Intel to Apple silicon was surprisingly boring. There were very few plugins or soft synths that didn’t port directly to my new machine, and the few hold outs have been ported by now. I went for a MacBook Pro in stead of a Mac Mini/Studio because a. I wanted another good screen in my studio besides my 4K screen for my mixing plugins and b. because I get a built in battery to save my work when the power fails (which it does now and then). Oh and c. I can take that beautiful computer with me on holidays and continue some editing work 🤓

That's the only issue with the Studio, you'll need to get your own display (which is expensive depending on type)