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.
Poll: Mac Studio M2 whine noise?
- Thread starter Think77
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Because those are bass boosted, enhanced so we can hear it more loud. My whine is not as loud as every recording I have heard, but it is loud enough where it is nails on a chalkboard. Very very very VERY faint, but I can hear it enough to be REALLY irritating.
Agreed. Why should we take a risk at all for a $4,000 base, $8,799 maxed out system in the first place? That just speaks "Apple Apologist". We need to put the pressure on Apple to get this fix, not just "take a chance and oh well if you get one".
Return policies exist because they make companies more money, specifically by lowering the perceived risk that buyers have in buying something. It turns out that it's usually fine, because people are risk averse and tend to not have a great sensitivity to probabilities.
That's exactly my experience. It's in the sweet spot of human sensitivity, so it easily cuts through until background noise is quite loud. I couldn't focus on anything with that computer in the room, hence the return for a MBP. But, I really want a Mac Studio that doesn't whine, so I keep reading these threads.
If Apple would just admit what is making the sound so we could figure out the chances of getting a whiner, but Apple is so silent on the issue. And just telling me to return it if it whines is almost as annoying as the whine itself.
I didn't take the chance on buying a new M2 Studio, but I probably would have if I could be sure I wouldn't get one with the Whine. I might have even got a better configured one.
If Apple would just admit what is making the sound so we could figure out the chances of getting a whiner, but Apple is so silent on the issue. And just telling me to return it if it whines is almost as annoying as the whine itself.
I didn't take the chance on buying a new M2 Studio, but I probably would have if I could be sure I wouldn't get one with the Whine. I might have even got a better configured one.
If it were just an acknowledgement like "a small number of Mac Studios ...; we'll replace these under warranty," that would get me very interested. And, with a container config compiling everything under the sun right now, I could be talked into an Ultra (by myself).
Last edited:
Definitely. But that's not Apple's way. An acknowledgment would make it so much easier to return one and get it fixed after the initial return window. Without that, sorry, no sale.
For sure. I've been buying Macs since 2003, and you pretty much never get a repair program until it's been obvious to everyone else for at least a couple of years. Fortunately, few of mine have had any issues.
I think the Ultra is where it's particularly hard. There's no good offramp like there is with the Max, where you can get equivalent specs in a MBP that you put in a stand.
Yeah, it's hard to say. It seems like the reports of non-immediate whine are pretty rare compared to the ones that have it from the time it first turns on. If you wanted a base model, have a BestBuy membership, and aren't using a discount, I think you'd have a 60-day return window.
Unfortunately no, I need at least 128GB of RAM, I could definitely go for 192 now. It is very hard to make this decision. The whine is the only issue I have with the Mac Studio. But I don't want another $5,000 whine machine.
The lowering of the fan speed at least shows that Apple recognizes there is an issue with fan noise. I did not expect any hardware change with the M2. The M3 may require a beefier PSU/fan which is when Apple would at least look at it again with any design change.
At least now we know it is on their radar.
I didn't expect it but I sure hoped it would be true. As for the fan profile, that really doesn't indicate they admit the whine, that could have just them deciding that they had a too aggressive profile to begin with and I'd agree with them there. I'm not even sure a minimum of 1000rpm isn't high, but I'll never know because I wont buy one until they either admit it or there's a total redesign.
That's probably a year and a half away.
I feel very much not on their radar, no matter how many machines I've bought of theirs.
This thread is getting weird. There are people claiming some/many/most machines that have the "whine" and their owners just can't hear them, and there are people that the claim of the number of machines with the "whine" are over blow and can't believe someone can have exchanged multiple machines and every one has the "whine".
There are plenty of free spectrum analyzers, here is one of the first that showed up for me when I did a search.
If someone feels very strongly that their machine is silent, or at least does not have the "whine", they can make a recording and preform a spectrum analysis to see if they are missing something. This should confirm there is no "whine", or they might be surprised by what they find. Of course if you do see it then you will immediately hear it
If someone is sure they hear the "whine", it should show up clearly in the spectrum analysis. The same is true however some may be surprised and not see the "whine" in the analysis.
There are plenty of free spectrum analyzers, here is one of the first that showed up for me when I did a search.
If someone feels very strongly that their machine is silent, or at least does not have the "whine", they can make a recording and preform a spectrum analysis to see if they are missing something. This should confirm there is no "whine", or they might be surprised by what they find. Of course if you do see it then you will immediately hear it
If someone is sure they hear the "whine", it should show up clearly in the spectrum analysis. The same is true however some may be surprised and not see the "whine" in the analysis.
I did a spectrum analysis not long after I got the machine, trying to figure out what I heard... Big spike at 2.6KHz.This thread is getting weird. There are people claiming some/many/most machines that have the "whine" and their owners just can't hear them, and there are people that the claim of the number of machines with the "whine" are over blow and can't believe someone can have exchanged multiple machines and every one has the "whine".
There are plenty of free spectrum analyzers, here is one of the first that showed up for me when I did a search.
If someone feels very strongly that their machine is silent, or at least does not have the "whine", they can make a recording and preform a spectrum analysis to see if they are missing something. This should confirm there is no "whine", or they might be surprised by what they find. Of course if you do see it then you will immediately hear it
If someone is sure they hear the "whine", it should show up clearly in the spectrum analysis. The same is true however some may be surprised and not see the "whine" in the analysis.
Absurd. We've posted spectrum analysis that show no "whine" above the fan noise floor anywhere around 2.2-2.6 kHz in multiple units, including my own Ultra bought day 1. There are 2 distinct power supply board designs in the Studio, BOTH used in the Max and Ultra versions (and maybe more tweaks to the specific components used over time - no way to know about that). As a design engineer that has designed many products using switching power supplies I don't believe the problem is coil whine. I believe it is most likely caused by piezoelectric effects in certain MLCC capacitors which can be fixed by using MLCC capacitors with physically different construction, and/or by circuit design changes. This is not some new problem. It is a well known and documented issue in power supply design.
Here's a video showing a very similar problem fixed by changing a "singing" cap.
Last edited:
Sure bud. My ears work better than your fancy Radio Shack equipment. How many layers of processing does the sound go through to get from the Studio to YouTube and then to me?
LOL!!! What an insulting response. If you have nothing constructive or nice to say then just don't say anything.
This is what I’m talking about. We have people saying it’s not an issue for me. The conversation just leans towards “my unit is fine so all must be”. But I’m on the other side of the fence. I exchanged mine 5 times. All with a whine. Mine is the maxed out M1 Ultra except I got 4TB SSD. And my current one still has the whine. From the minute I turn on the device. Happened on all 5 I exchanged too.
Both situations can be true. It’s absolutely absurd we have to gamble when the device is this expensive.
I’m quite serious when I’m even considering the Mac Pro over the Mac Studio just due to the whine (PCIe would be a nice side benefit too). That’s how annoying the whine is to me. I would prefer the louder Mac Pro over this faint whine.
I don’t hear the fans on the studio, just the whine. I would prefer to hear a deeper whoosh and a louder fan over this nonsense.
Both situations can be true. It’s absolutely absurd we have to gamble when the device is this expensive.
I’m quite serious when I’m even considering the Mac Pro over the Mac Studio just due to the whine (PCIe would be a nice side benefit too). That’s how annoying the whine is to me. I would prefer the louder Mac Pro over this faint whine.
I don’t hear the fans on the studio, just the whine. I would prefer to hear a deeper whoosh and a louder fan over this nonsense.
I was called "Absurd", so I responded in kind. I made valid points, that people can trust their ears over YouTube videos that go through many layers of processing.
Then be the bigger person and don't retaliate.
Anyway, when a scenario is demonstrated and measured with professional tools its hard to ignore. And no, we shouldn't trust our ears as those are very subjective and vary from person to person. Data is collected from correct measurements - not from 'perceived experiences' so don't dismiss his intention to post a video where someone demonstrates how it can be measured.
This debate is about two things. Units with whine and units without - not many people posted real measured data and yet, people here argue one over another. This is not productive.
Productive would be to buy a unit, do the measurements and post the data here (some people did).
Posting video like Luke Miami is not very helpful as it only gives us a glimpse but no real data. Even he mentioned it didn't come back so was it just one off thing or not? Why not measured then?
My point is, can we just settle this with the fact that there are units that have the whine and we just wonder how widespread it is compared to the first generation? Isn't it better than insulting one another over a perceived issue?
I have very similar 'whine' on my radiator, drives me nuts so I can relate to those that have units with this. On the other hand, there are plenty of units without it. So, more time passes more 'subjective' data we will collect here but unless its measured than its always going to be inaccurate.
So lets treat it as such, please.
Anyway, when a scenario is demonstrated and measured with professional tools its hard to ignore. And no, we shouldn't trust our ears as those are very subjective and vary from person to person. Data is collected from correct measurements - not from 'perceived experiences' so don't dismiss his intention to post a video where someone demonstrates how it can be measured.
This debate is about two things. Units with whine and units without - not many people posted real measured data and yet, people here argue one over another. This is not productive.
Productive would be to buy a unit, do the measurements and post the data here (some people did).
Posting video like Luke Miami is not very helpful as it only gives us a glimpse but no real data. Even he mentioned it didn't come back so was it just one off thing or not? Why not measured then?
My point is, can we just settle this with the fact that there are units that have the whine and we just wonder how widespread it is compared to the first generation? Isn't it better than insulting one another over a perceived issue?
I have very similar 'whine' on my radiator, drives me nuts so I can relate to those that have units with this. On the other hand, there are plenty of units without it. So, more time passes more 'subjective' data we will collect here but unless its measured than its always going to be inaccurate.
So lets treat it as such, please.
Actually it was helpful. Nobody has tested these and even discussed the noise. The fact that Luke got some form of noise means SOMETHING is still going on. So it raises my concerns a bit.
But I think I’m done here on the fence on this. I think I’ll just bite the bullet and get the Mac Pro instead. Which is a shame since the whine is my only complaint with the studio. But I don’t want to get a chore again replacing my unit X times again. So Luke got something, so that helps my decision. Whether is the same issue or not is irrelevant. He got something that I don’t think a $5,000+ product should do. Will it come back next week and be permanent? Who knows.
I don't have a Mac Studio but I've been following this topic with interest as I might get one in the future.
It seems like the main issue is how intermittent it is and doesn't have any correlation to the chip model, position on desk, etc. Basically AFAICT if you get a Mac Studio there's basically a ~5-10% chance that you'll end up with a unit that has the fan noise, regardless of what config you get.
If I was buying a Mac Studio today I would test it out as soon as I get it, and keep returning/exchanging with Apple until I get a unit that doesn't have the fan noise.
It seems like the main issue is how intermittent it is and doesn't have any correlation to the chip model, position on desk, etc. Basically AFAICT if you get a Mac Studio there's basically a ~5-10% chance that you'll end up with a unit that has the fan noise, regardless of what config you get.
If I was buying a Mac Studio today I would test it out as soon as I get it, and keep returning/exchanging with Apple until I get a unit that doesn't have the fan noise.
Precisely. Do not settle for less.
I "lucked out" with my M1 Studio Base.
If it was noisy/whiney I would keep going back for a *new* replacement (not an in-stock refurb) until satisfied or get my money back.
I realize it is a total pain for people who are not located near an Apple store in an international location that adds more time delay and hassle.
I understand your struggle but honestly I think you should give it a try on the M2 machine as that is a 'new' system. Sure, you did 5 replacement but that was all M1 units. Give it one more try before you jump onto Mac Pro. 14 days is enough to know if it works for you or not.
Thats my approach - I would rather be sure than wonder 'what if' kinda thing.
$3000 extra is a lot of money so why not just do one more test
Thats my approach - I would rather be sure than wonder 'what if' kinda thing.
$3000 extra is a lot of money so why not just do one more test