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Mac Studio making high-pitched whine—anyone else's do that?
- Thread starter TimmyDee
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Whistling is also addressed in other threads here.
Here's my recording.
Here's my recording.
Base model ultra here and if I put my ear right up next to it, I can maybe kinda hear something if I'm trying really hard but otherwise it's silent to me. Certainly not the level of whistling of the recording. It would seem the turbine at lower speeds isn't creating enough random cavitation in the air that it creating a bit of a whistling sound that you don't get at higher RPMs. Might explain why the fans in reviews seem to be running at a higher RPM than needed to maybe minimize this for most units.
Wow. That's almost grotesq. You should send this to Apple via the Feedback Assistant. This needs to be flagged.
Do you have any record or display of frequencies? The Mac has to run for a certain amount of time for this to take effect.
I've uploaded a recording of mine here: https://voca.ro/15frniLrsVND.
It's incredibly annoying even stood at the other side of the room, just the right frequency and pattern to become irritating for me.
It's incredibly annoying even stood at the other side of the room, just the right frequency and pattern to become irritating for me.
Call them instead.
You can use an app like this to turn the fans off until you need them.
Macs Fan Control - control fans on Apple computers, also on Windows via Boot Camp
Control fans on Apple computers, also on Windows via Boot Camp. Monitoring of fan speed and temperature sensors. Solve fan noise and overheating problems, iMac HDD replacement
The whine on mine was very noticeable at first. It seems to be quieter today, but that may just be because of more background noise during the day masking it. I'll check again this evening.
I did have an HP printer a few years ago that made a very similar noise that was eventually traced to a particular batch of power supplies and required replacing the whole printer under warranty.
I did have an HP printer a few years ago that made a very similar noise that was eventually traced to a particular batch of power supplies and required replacing the whole printer under warranty.
My max studio is the exact same noise. It is unpleasant. Replacement for my 5,1 mac pro, which while loud was sort of soothing. This is a whine and its awful. Yes it is quiet but i can hear it when i am sitting on my bed about 15 feet away from the thing in a semi quiet room but not dead quiet.
I use the computer for audio, and since i had a 5,1 previously i wired everything to allow the computer to be in a separate room far away from the music area. So it doesnt affect my setup, but this would absolutely affect recordings with the computer in the same room. Definitely a good reason to dump this thing if M2pro mac mini every comes out.
I use the computer for audio, and since i had a 5,1 previously i wired everything to allow the computer to be in a separate room far away from the music area. So it doesnt affect my setup, but this would absolutely affect recordings with the computer in the same room. Definitely a good reason to dump this thing if M2pro mac mini every comes out.
I have the same issue with an intermittent high pitched sort of warbling whine on my Mac Studio. It is definitely fan related. I downloaded Macs Fan Control and the noise is much louder at specific (presumably resonant) fan speeds and can almost disappear just 50 rpm away from one of these critical speeds. Unfortunately 1150 RPM is one of the worst, and that is a very common idling speed on auto. It must be something to do with the fan bearings, or housing, or something like that. It is most noticeable at the rear left of the box. I attach a recording. The noise is faint, but clearly audible especially 25-29 seconds in when I was in the right place. Off to the apple store later today and will report back.
I took it to the Apple store. They said that they had heard the same thing from a couple of other customers, and in one case it had been resolved by plugging the power straight into the wall rather than via power distribution (which made no difference to mine). They had had no guidance from Apple so all the technician could suggest was to bring it back in a few months time if I could live with it, and to return it for refund if I could not. I decided that the whine was too irritating so returned it, but ordered a replacement which is due for delivery in August (!). Hopefully the issue will be resolved by then.
See my later post - the intermittency turned out to be that the noise was much more prominent at some specific fan speeds. This would make sense if it is a whistle from the air path - you can make a lot of noise with a flute, but if you blow too hard or too soft you get much less.
I can't hear that Im over 25.
yeah mine is much quieter. It just has the "shhhuushh" part but not the high pitches in yours.
There are indeed benefits to being older. I remember watching a news segment on Tv where kids were doing ringtones that adults couldn’t hear. I couldn’t hear it!
I realized at that moment that I could save a lot of $$$ when buying audio speakers.
Base Model Max and whilst setup etc then cannot hear it at all over ambient room noise.
If put ear right up against it then can hear air through the rear vent but certainly not where sat at the desk using the system.
Mine certainly is not exhibiting whine or noise as such.
So may have struck lucky here
If put ear right up against it then can hear air through the rear vent but certainly not where sat at the desk using the system.
Mine certainly is not exhibiting whine or noise as such.
So may have struck lucky here
I emailed Apple EU customer support to say I had cancelled my order because I expected a 5K recording studio computer to be fit for purpose. I just got a response that they don't offer email support. I had asked them to notify me when the problem was fixed so i could reorder. Disinterested is my impression! Apple - even their fans whine.
I wrote this in another similar thread:
Today got my CTO Studio with an M1 Ultra. Unfortunately it has the whine, so this is not limited to M1 Max configurations. Tried to change the fan speed using Macs Fan Control but even at 1100 rpm it is still audible, in fact it is even worse. I decided to try to get used to it while it is in the return period. If not, I may return it. It is unfortunate, because it is much faster than the iMac 2015 it is supposed to replace, which also was CTO with the highest CPU configuration. The Studio is 6 times faster for my workflow.
I don't think this is coil whine from the SSD. The dB and the frequency of the whine definitely changes with different fan speeds and it is a continuous whine unlike SSD coil whine. Most probably the fans used in the device are not very good quality and the sound comes from the bearings.
Today got my CTO Studio with an M1 Ultra. Unfortunately it has the whine, so this is not limited to M1 Max configurations. Tried to change the fan speed using Macs Fan Control but even at 1100 rpm it is still audible, in fact it is even worse. I decided to try to get used to it while it is in the return period. If not, I may return it. It is unfortunate, because it is much faster than the iMac 2015 it is supposed to replace, which also was CTO with the highest CPU configuration. The Studio is 6 times faster for my workflow.
I don't think this is coil whine from the SSD. The dB and the frequency of the whine definitely changes with different fan speeds and it is a continuous whine unlike SSD coil whine. Most probably the fans used in the device are not very good quality and the sound comes from the bearings.
Same here. M1 ultra with high pitch whine. I installed fan control and whine is gone at speeds over 1500, just a low level fan white noise. Delema to return or use fan control. ugh
See my post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ting-high-pitched-noise.2343201/post-31098905
I have been able to reduce the intensity of the whine. Could not eliminate it completely, but it may be enough for some people. I have one more week before I have to return or replace it. I'll continue trying to see what happens at the end.
Just chiming in that My M1 Max Mac Studio also has this issue, I think it's 'normal', just that some may hear it more than others depending on their hearing and proximity of the unit to their ears.
I tried using Macs Fan Control to lower the RPM to ~ 1200 RPM and for me that totally got ride of the slight whistling sound. Note, that at the default fan speeds, I cannot hear the whistling at all when my window is open, it's certainly lower than the ambient room noise in that case. I can only hear it with the window closed and the room totally silent.
My question is, is there some app that will let me set the default to 1200 RPM but still automatically ramp the fans up when/if it's needed?
I tried using Macs Fan Control to lower the RPM to ~ 1200 RPM and for me that totally got ride of the slight whistling sound. Note, that at the default fan speeds, I cannot hear the whistling at all when my window is open, it's certainly lower than the ambient room noise in that case. I can only hear it with the window closed and the room totally silent.
My question is, is there some app that will let me set the default to 1200 RPM but still automatically ramp the fans up when/if it's needed?
