I think that I heard that the Ultra doesn't have this problem, maybe because of the different heat sink.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.
- Thread starter AdamSeen
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think that I heard that the Ultra doesn't have this problem, maybe because of the different heat sink.
About to get the mac studio 10 core $1999, but now im reading about a problem where the fans run 24/7 and sounds like "coil whine". not everyone has the problem of course, but i keep seeing alot of threads and videos but they are a while ago. worries me
I am a full time music producer and mixer. I also record in the same room. I have a Mac Studio Ultra about 1.5m from my head and while I can just about hear it in my acoustically treated room, it is so quiet. It's absolutely fine. I'd bet £100 that my room is quieter than 99% of people on this forum. I have no problem recording quiet acoustic guitar in the same room as the Studio - at least one that's functioning correctly - which is the vast majority of them.
Place it under a desk and you won't hear it at all.
Some perspective is required here because people are getting carried away. The vast majority of Studios are absolutely fine, and very quiet.
This thread is just going around in circles.
Place it under a desk and you won't hear it at all.
Some perspective is required here because people are getting carried away. The vast majority of Studios are absolutely fine, and very quiet.
This thread is just going around in circles.
Last edited:
I am a full time music producer as well. I currently use base model M1 mac mini. i want to upgrade to the $1999 m1 pro mac studio. and i started seeing all these threads and videos about the whine. but the examples they show are audio recordings of next to the fan boosted like 40 DB so im not sure whats realistic and whats not. i am spoiled by M1 mac mini having ZERO fan sound always though. i am just scared i will get a noisy Mac studio. also some people say the Ultra model that you have has different cooler or fans so its less likely to have the whine than the base model im getting. i dont know what to do.
but what i do know is i always have my mac mini on top of my desk because i have a sit stand desk which goes up, and if i have a whiny Mac Studio fan that makes a high pitched whine, its going to ruin it for me since i have sensitive ears and half the day im soloing resonances in Fab filter pro Q at 40 Q listening to the most minute details and mixdowns and a whining fan is going to kill the experience for me
a few people here mentioned their replacement did the same thing
. i guess ill take a chancea few people here mentioned their replacement did the same thing
It would be a lot easier to exchange them if they were in the stores. I personally hate shipping stuff back and rather do a ton of homework on something instead of ever having to drive to UPS to send something back.
That solves the issue of returning it but then you have to wait for them to send you a new one.
if they have it in stock and i bring the one i got and exchange, they would give me a new one at the store
here in new york its today in stock pick up. (the base model MAX. the ultra is august 15 as well for me) i guess states vary
I know why. The three stores near me are in NH and I'm near the MA border. So MA customers come to NH to buy them so that they don't have to pay MA sales taxes. 6% on a $2,000 purchase is $120. They're probably in the stores in MA. As you might guess, there are no Apple Stores near the NH border around me in MA because people would just drive to NH to buy them.
For example, here is someone who is a music/sound professional that says they can't hear the tonal components, even though they're clearly in the frequency response measurements they made:
Source for above image:
And below we have my Mac Studio at the same distance...using the same software to make it easy for people to read...
I've seen some other high quality measurements posted with the same tones...some also from users saying they're silent...also I've ran the analyser on every decent recording/youtube video I've found and they always show up...
Source for above image:
And below we have my Mac Studio at the same distance...using the same software to make it easy for people to read...
I've seen some other high quality measurements posted with the same tones...some also from users saying they're silent...also I've ran the analyser on every decent recording/youtube video I've found and they always show up...
Last edited:
Conjecture also. Just because you cannot hear it, does not mean it is not there...as I've shown in my class 1 measurements, in my Mac Studio, it is very low...at 1m (3ft) it is between 0dB and -3dB...below the threshold of hearing for many...
Even at 30mm (1"), the tonal components are less than 24dB, some wouldn't hear distinct tones even with their ear right up to it; just generic fan noise...and some might only barely hear the fan noise...
Some people can hear below -10dB at these frequencies...these are the kind of people who will hear these tones even in a loud enough room 1m away...possibly even with music on...I'm not one of those...(even though I've always worn ear plugs at live music, and even though I monitor at responsible levels: years of playing an acoustic piano for hours a day takes it toll, my mom is half-deaf from it lol)...
Last edited:
Could you isolate the audio and make a YouTube of only the audio? I'd love to try to see if I could hear it.
I'm in my 60s so there is the possibility that I've had enough hearing loss so that I wouldn't make it out but I'm told that my hearing is very good too.
I'll try make a recording that's useful in a few days...at different distances etc.
To try give a rough example, if you set your volume to a level that you can just barely hear the hiss in this recording, and just about follow the brushes:
And then play this:
The first few seconds is roughly how loud it is if you have your ear literally touching the exhaust vent.
Now without adjusting volume, play the Miles Davis recording again, in a dead quiet room at night it's very hard to hear the Mac Studio at 1m with that playing, just barely at the very start, if you're looking for it...
For anyone that wants numbers for above, playback the Davis recording at 52dB LAeq1 (around 52dBA averaged over the first minute)...if your device can't do LEQ and isn't calibrated, don't bother.
Last edited:
BS, I hear no noise about 24 inches from my Mac Studio Ultra either fan or whine and I have my hearing tested every year and I hear just fine, so you are doing some kind of voodoo science and my the way the background level in my studio/office is below 24 dB so it is not background noise that is masking my studio.
I just realized that my environment isn't quiet enough nor are my speakers clean enough to make it out. I could hear the brushes - was wondering what that sound was. I have old Edifier speakers that make a soft noise when nothing is playing if the volume is high. I guess I'll wait for the solo frequency. An alternative solution for me would be a dual M1 Mac mini and I guess I'll think about it for now.
Thanks for your efforts.
I should probably try this on the 2021 MacBook Pro.
It's really difficult to get a room down to 24dBA. All those phone apps and cheap sound level meters are not accurate. Even moderately priced sound level meters are not accurate at these low levels. Even some class 1 equipment can't measure 24dBA accurately...even the insanely expensive B&K 2270 can only measure down to 14dBA.
Please specify exactly what equipment you are using to measure.
I have specified mine, that is, Earthworks M30 microphones, with calibration files from factory loaded into SMAART V8 software, and all calibrated using a B&K Class 1 calibrator....I even posted a screenshot of the calibrator connected to the microphone earlier...I also posted a screenshot of a dummy load at the same impedance of the Earthworks, with the preamps at the same gain, so one could see the noise floor of preamps/cable...
Last edited:
If you don't mind the wait, and you're not fussy about a small bit of noise, and won't be bothered if you have to go through a return process if it does bother you...then maybe try pick one up and see how it goes. My advice is simply not to try return/replace it three or four times in search of the mythical silent one (as some have done).
I'm just getting over COVID so I'm a bit annoyed at everything right now. I'm leaning towards getting a second mini so this won't be a concern. I personally never return stuff. My usual practice is to give it away if I made a mistake in buying something. Obviously not something you want to do with a $2,000 item.
For anyone that is interested, I decided not to return it for various reasons.
1. I don't fancy going on a wild goose chase where you return/replace it 3 or 4 times in search of the mythical silent Mac Studio, as some have done, only to end up with a small change, none at all, or something even worse! All of which could be down to perception, and actually there was never any change at all...even if I did catch the unicorn after a few goes, it wouldn't be worth the hassle.
2. M1 Max Macbook Pro of a similar spec, in my case I'll also need dongles for 10G and extra thunderbolt ports...coming to at least 1000 extra just to circumvent a noise issue at idle, with no other advantage...and it'll be a messy setup, with extra points of failure...also, I've heard the fans on the M1MBP, when they do finally kick in, they're way more annoying than the Mac Studio at idle...
3. M1 Mac Mini will also need a dongle for extra thunderbolt ports...the 16GB 2TB Mac Mini seems like a lot of money for a lesser computer...would I get away with less RAM, I really don't know, there's mixed reports....I might regret not choosing this option if the tonal components get worse...
4. There's loads of ways I can mitigate the noise issue, macsfancontrol, put it under the desk, buy a 200 quid cable and put it over to the side of desk and below it, maybe even cover the area with acoustic foam...1.5k and 2.1k aren't difficult frequencies to stop...all of which will cost far less than a similar spec M1 Max MacBook Pro...
5. At 1100rpm it is pretty close to silent, to the extent that I started noticing the fans on the iMac 2019 (SSD only) at idle...and got confused with which sound was coming from which...I'd never noticed any noise from that iMac at idle before in the three years I had it...so splitting hairs...
BTW, I was about 50/50 on returning it and going with the M1 Mac Mini...the hassle of returning it, waiting for refund, ordering custom Mac Mini, waiting for that, tipped it over to f**k it.
1. I don't fancy going on a wild goose chase where you return/replace it 3 or 4 times in search of the mythical silent Mac Studio, as some have done, only to end up with a small change, none at all, or something even worse! All of which could be down to perception, and actually there was never any change at all...even if I did catch the unicorn after a few goes, it wouldn't be worth the hassle.
2. M1 Max Macbook Pro of a similar spec, in my case I'll also need dongles for 10G and extra thunderbolt ports...coming to at least 1000 extra just to circumvent a noise issue at idle, with no other advantage...and it'll be a messy setup, with extra points of failure...also, I've heard the fans on the M1MBP, when they do finally kick in, they're way more annoying than the Mac Studio at idle...
3. M1 Mac Mini will also need a dongle for extra thunderbolt ports...the 16GB 2TB Mac Mini seems like a lot of money for a lesser computer...would I get away with less RAM, I really don't know, there's mixed reports....I might regret not choosing this option if the tonal components get worse...
4. There's loads of ways I can mitigate the noise issue, macsfancontrol, put it under the desk, buy a 200 quid cable and put it over to the side of desk and below it, maybe even cover the area with acoustic foam...1.5k and 2.1k aren't difficult frequencies to stop...all of which will cost far less than a similar spec M1 Max MacBook Pro...
5. At 1100rpm it is pretty close to silent, to the extent that I started noticing the fans on the iMac 2019 (SSD only) at idle...and got confused with which sound was coming from which...I'd never noticed any noise from that iMac at idle before in the three years I had it...so splitting hairs...
BTW, I was about 50/50 on returning it and going with the M1 Mac Mini...the hassle of returning it, waiting for refund, ordering custom Mac Mini, waiting for that, tipped it over to f**k it.
Last edited:
There's always waiting for the M2 Studio too. I imagine that they will be sure to fix it by then. I'm currently testing alternatives to new hardware using old hardware. Two minis would be viable for me. The main thing that I need is additional monitor support and I can partition my workload so that I can distribute applications evenly between the two. I don't have the media engines but I have the 2021 MacBook Pro for that. An M2 Pro mini would also solve things for me. I don't have to decide this week or this month. I'm just trying to replace Intel equipment with Apple Silicon for more efficiency. I can live with what I have while trying experiments.
On dongles: I plug into a USB-C monitor with a hub and also into a monitor with a built-in USB-A hub. So I have eight ports between the two hubs and also get power (if using a MacBook) and display.
We're actually really fortunate to have Apple Silicon at all. Just imagine if our current Macs were Alder Lake 12th generation. The Mac Studio would be the Mac Tower.
People who claim they can hear an annoying high pitched squeal from their Mac Studios when sat three feet or more away from it aren't talking about some mildly annoying overtones quieter than a flea fart that not even an audio professional can hear and can only be registered by calibrated test equipment. IMO that's going down some totally irrelevant rabbit hole.
Anyhow this is a pointless argument I can't win. So I'm out. If I can't can't hear it and none of my clients can hear it then as far as I'm concerned it doesn't squeal even if it does, because it's not relevant.