Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.

[jmho]

For comparison my M1 Max MacBook Pro:

Off/0 rpm: 22.9 dB
1500 rpm: 24.7 dB
2000 rpm: 26.4 dB
3000 rpm: 35.5 dB
4000 rpm: 44.3 dB
5776 rpm: 52.9 dB

The difference being that the MBP sits at 0 rpm when idling / posting on Macrumors.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

So true. In the Gearspace forum one user got his 20 cores to play 304 audio tracks in Logic, each with 15 space designer plugins. That’s 4,560 convolution reverbs for goodness sake!

Obviously playing synths / samplers is more taxing to the CPU than just playing audio files, but it’s still an impressive result.

It is a monster, no doubt. I love the Studio and it is going to be my studio workhorse for next 3-5 years, unless… AS Mac Pro will offer significantly better single core performance.

That’s why I haven’t ordered mine yet, I need to check new Mac Pro first, when it is released. I don’t care about expandability or PCI-E slots, I just want as much raw CPU power as one can get from a Mac.

Best to get back on topic, though

 

[5883662]

For comparison my M1 Max MacBook Pro:

Off/0 rpm: 22.9 dB
1500 rpm: 24.7 dB
2000 rpm: 26.4 dB
3000 rpm: 35.5 dB
4000 rpm: 44.3 dB
5776 rpm: 52.9 dB

The difference being that the MBP sits at 0 rpm when idling / posting on Macrumors.

Dare I say you are an edge case as 25dB is universally accepted as absolutely not an issue and I wouldn't dare return a computer for that reason with idle fan speeds making 25dB. But that's me and you're you so there is that.

What I don't want to see is users complaining about fan speed noise without providing measurements as we did. Noise is subjective, as you know, but there is a limit to what is reasonable idle noise. This is a useful dB chart, for context: https://soundproofingguide.com/decibels-level-comparison-chart/

Yes, the MBP sits at 0dB but how hot is the CPU? Would be interesting to know. Current fan/temps attached of my Studio.

 

[jmho]

M1 Max MBP on the left, M1 Ultra Studio on the right.

The Studio is naturally a lot cooler at idle, which is to be expected I guess because of the giant heatsink and always on fans.

 

[bobcomer]

Fan idling at 1170RPM.

That's lower than the default, why did you change that if not for loudness? Or could we have a sign that Apple has done something new with yours?

 

[bobcomer]

I'm fully aware that this is such a ridiculous "first world problem" but there is something about the timbre of the noise coming from the studio at idle that is like nails on a chalkboard.

Exactly.

 

[5883662]

That's lower than the default, why did you change that if not for loudness? Or could we have a sign that Apple has done something new with yours?

As stated previously, I'm using MacsFanControl to customer fan speeds to keep things cool. This is the default setting for MacsFanControl and for more context, read here: https://crystalidea.com/blog/mac-studio-fan-control-and-fan-noise

I have been using MacsFanControl on all my Macs for years and did NOT install it due to any fan noise. In fact, I normally use it to increase fans to keep things cooler.

For the last time, 25-30dB background idle noise is definitely NOT like nails on chalkboard, that's a ridiculous statement to make and perception of dB levels, whilst logarithmic, is also highly subjective. This thread seems to be going around in circles by people stating 'it's too loud' without either giving measurements or just stating their subjecting impression. Personally I think it's near god damn silent at 25-30dB idle.

 

[5883662]

View attachment 1997311View attachment 1997310

M1 Max MBP on the left, M1 Ultra Studio on the right.

The Studio is naturally a lot cooler at idle, which is to be expected I guess because of the giant heatsink and always on fans.

I was alluding to that – MBP is 0rpm idle fan with hotter components. If Apple releases an update that would also allow 0rpm idle fan speed then there would not be this 'issue' about idle fan speed. In any case, I would expect the studio to be cooler, as you do presumably. So I'm not sure what that tells us?

 

[jmho]

For the last time, 25-30dB background idle noise is definitely NOT like nails on chalkboard, that's a ridiculous statement to make and perception of dB levels, whilst logarithmic, is also highly subjective. This thread seems to be going around in circles by people stating 'it's too loud' without either giving measurements or just stating their subjecting impression. Personally I think it's near god damn silent at 25-30dB idle.

Do you not believe that "nails on a chalkboard" is a real thing? Or do you think people just don't like those sounds because they're loud?

I think it's fairly accepted scientific knowledge that there are certain sounds and frequencies that produce stress responses in humans - grinding teeth, cutlery on plates, nails on a chalkboard etc.

Nobody quite knows why this happens, but they've shown that it's related to the dominant frequencies and have been able to replicate the effect using shaped white noise - often between 2 and 4kHz. One theory is that these frequencies resonate more inside certain shaped ear canals making some people perceive the noises far louder than they really are.

Also background noise matters. If I'm at a football match and someone bangs a drum, I'm not going to care - if I'm in a silent library and someone bangs a drum I might almost have a heart attack. Just saying "Well 25-30 dB is inaudible" is silly because our entire sense perception is based on contrast.

I mean I don't suffer from the OLED PWM stuff where a number of people claim that iPhone OLED screens give them headaches, but that doesn't mean I think they're lying because it doesn't affect me.

I don't know what to say. I own plenty of Apple products and I love them all, but for whatever reason I find the noise coming from my Studio awful, despite it being very very quiet.

 

[StudioMacs]

Do you not believe that "nails on a chalkboard" is a real thing? Or do you think people just don't like those sounds because they're loud?

I think it's fairly accepted scientific knowledge that there are certain sounds and frequencies that produce stress responses in humans - grinding teeth, cutlery on plates, nails on a chalkboard etc.

I’m one of those people who hates nails on a chalkboard and similar sounds. My wife and I have a constant back and forth in the car because she wants the AC fan to blow harder than I can stand the sound of for long drives.

That said, the quality of sound my Studio fans produce (or timbre) is not focused predominantly in the narrow frequency of 2kHz to 4kHz that repels me and many others. It’s much more of quiet breathing sound, like a soft exhale.

Put the back of your hand a few inches in front of your mouth. Exhale with an open throat from your diaphragm until you feel warm air instead of cool air. That’s the sound of my Studio, except the computer is much quieter.

 

[jmho]

I dunno, having someone permanently breathing 2 feet from my head sounds incredibly annoying.

I'm happy for you that you are unable to hear it though.

 

[5883662]

I just mean that 25dB is not loud per universally accepted scale. I fully accept that some people find that pitch or frequency loud but you simply cannot categorically say it’s loud full stop. It’s loud to you and I accept that.

 

[bobcomer]

For the last time, 25-30dB background idle noise is definitely NOT like nails on chalkboard,

For the last time, mine is louder than that, and if you don't hear the fingernails on chalkboard type sound, that's a good thing for you, but do not say someone else doesn't hear it, okay? You can't know that, period.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

For the last time, mine is louder than that, and if you don't hear the fingernails on chalkboard type sound, that's a good thing for you, but do not say someone else doesn't hear it, okay? You can't know that, period.

Sorry, you might have stated before, if so - I missed it. How loud is yours (idle, operator’s position)?

 

[5883662]

For the last time, mine is louder than that, and if you don't hear the fingernails on chalkboard type sound, that's a good thing for you, but do not say someone else doesn't hear it, okay? You can't know that, period.

How loud is yours? Not sure you’ve provided numbers.

 

[bobcomer]

Sorry, you might have stated before, if so - I missed it. How loud is yours (idle, operator’s position)?

I don't have any pro measuring equipment, but I can hear my Studio over a 40db background noise, as I've said before. As measured by my iPhone. I don't have any experience measuring sound at all, nor any interest in it, so other than background noise measurements, I'm pretty tapped out on experience. If I can hear it over that, it's louder than that, but like I also said, it's more of a pitch problem than a loudness problem.

 

[StudioMacs]

I dunno, having someone permanently breathing 2 feet from my head sounds incredibly annoying.

I'm happy for you that you are unable to hear it though.

Have you considered the possibility that your hearing is impaired to not completely hear the full frequency of sound, including all the overtones and harmonics, so that you only register a small spectrum of the sound produced by the fans?

If the sound of a soft exhale bothers you, I question how universal your opinion is.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

I don't have any pro measuring equipment, but I can hear my Studio over a 40db background noise, as I've said before. As measured by my iPhone. I don't have any experience measuring sound at all, nor any interest in it, so other than background noise measurements, I'm pretty tapped out on experience. If I can hear it over that, it's louder than that, but like I also said, it's more of a pitch problem than a loudness problem.

Hmm, my HP Z4 was 45dB and it sounded like a vacuum cleaner (my studio room is 17-20dB with everything switched off). I really think your Studio is faulty.

 

[Jrshelby]

Ive decided to rerun my 3rd unit. So depressing. Just went off the rails agin the last few days. Can't imagine Apple is gonna be OK with it but its their return policy. They need to come out and address this. I can ramp the fans from 1100 RPM to 1300 RPM and the fan noise is actually soothing its the high pitch noise that has me on the ledge.

 

[bobcomer]

Hmm, my HP Z4 was 45dB and it sounded like a vacuum cleaner (my studio room is 17-20dB with everything switched off). I really think your Studio is faulty.

It could well be faulty, but not enough to send it back. There may be a lot of them that are faulty.

There's really none of the other symptoms that I indicate it's faulty though, it's been rock solid. (SOOO much better than the M1 MBA I had before this)

No wide swings in temperature that would indicate the fans having trouble spinning or a severely restricted airflow. (though a slight restriction is what I suspect for the sound). There's no Apple store close to take it to to get it checked, and I'm well past that 14 day send back timeframe. I really don't want to play the applecare lottery and send it back and get something worse!

My hearing may be part of the problem, at least in what I perceive. I have upper range hearing loss, but it's been so long since checked that I can't give you any more info on that, and where ever that gap is maybe somehow amplifies what I do hear from the Studio. But like I said, sound isn't one of my experience areas. Background sound is an air cleaner, fan A/C, sometimes a vaporizer, and more computers.

All Apple would have to do to "fix" mine is to have it allow a slower fan speed so I don't hear it when its under a light load or idling. I expect hearing a computer under load, but not so much at idle. Normally, I would prefer a cooler machine over fan noise, but I never had a Studio Max before.

 

[bobcomer]

As stated previously, I'm using MacsFanControl to customer fan speeds to keep things cool. This is the default setting for MacsFanControl and for more context,

Sorry about that, I didn't read that message before I posted what I said. I don't have Macsfancontrol, so haven't seen that behavior. I use TG Pro instead, and the default settings of it don't lower the fan speed. I really didn't hear much difference between 1100 and 1300 though, but some have said it made a difference. Maybe I just have to give that another chance.

 

[jmho]

Have you considered the possibility that your hearing is impaired to not completely hear the full frequency of sound, including all the overtones and harmonics, so that you only register a small spectrum of the sound produced by the fans?

If the sound of a soft exhale bothers you, I question how universal your opinion is.

Yes, I get yearly hearing checkups and have perfect hearing across the spectrum.

Have you had your own ears checked, for say large amounts of wax?

 

[StudioMacs]

Yes, I get yearly hearing checkups and have perfect hearing across the spectrum.

Have you had your own ears checked, for say large amounts of wax?

It seems like you only want to argue, rather than understand the nature of your problem. At his point, I suspect that while some customers actually have a demonstrable issue with fan noise, you are not one of them.

 

[jmho]

It seems like you only want to argue, rather than understand the nature of your problem. At his point, I suspect that while some customers actually have a demonstrable issue with fan noise, you are not one of them.

You need to ask yourself why my having / not having a problem is so important to you. Do you take criticism of Apple personally? Are you afraid that my hearing might be better than yours? Do you think I'm lying for some bizarre reason?

I both understand my problem and I've been describing it in great detail, testing, and sharing a lot of data, and it seems to be consistent with that of the others who have this issue.

You don't have this issue, you haven't experienced it, and you don't seem to have any conclusive proof of what's causing it, but you seem to want to be an expert declaring definitively who does and does have it.

I'm not sure what you're doing here, other than trying to call me a liar for some reason.

I apologise for saying you may have ear wax (although that could be a reason - I had my own ears cleaned about 6 months ago, and it was very nice )

 

[5883662]

Ive decided to rerun my 3rd unit. So depressing. Just went off the rails agin the last few days. Can't imagine Apple is gonna be OK with it but its their return policy. They need to come out and address this. I can ramp the fans from 1100 RPM to 1300 RPM and the fan noise is actually soothing its the high pitch noise that has me on the ledge.

So just to be clear, you’re not talking about fan noise but some other noise such as coil whine? Can you record it please (even with your phone closely pointed at it), I’d like to hear what it sounds like. Can ton provide a measurement of the sound using a dab meter app and your phone? It’s just out of interest, I’m not disputing your issues.