Nothing on my end. Got mine in July and it's the quietest Mac I've had.
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Whine or No Whine - Does Your Mac Studio Suffer From It?
- Thread starter southerndoc
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Got my repaired machine today, they said they heard nothing but still replaced the fans, new fans are quiet, no whine.
As a middle aged+ I find it strange that the much younger repair-folks all seem to have terrible hearing.
Anyways, I'm happy for now, but who knows, maybe it's just the fan being brand new and it will start to whine in a week or two 🤷🏼
As a middle aged+ I find it strange that the much younger repair-folks all seem to have terrible hearing.
Anyways, I'm happy for now, but who knows, maybe it's just the fan being brand new and it will start to whine in a week or two 🤷🏼
interesting that a fan replacement had an effect, not sure anyone on this thread has done so (just complete machine replacements)
I'm 5 months in with my Utlra and no whines, I've now got to the point that I'm running the fans at max (a 56C-64C MacFanControl profile, but the perf cores are max'd, so therefore are the fans). It don't make that much noise compared to my NAS's and 2010 Mac Pro (though I can hear it, but really it's background merged in with the other devices fans ... my office isn't what you could call silent, not even quiet) ... I even had my Ultra thermal throttle last week (max fans and 2Ghz vs 3.2GHz performance core frequency) due to the high temps in the UK, but it was 45.8C (115F) in my office, so seeing as Apple quote 35C max for operation temps, I really don't think I can complain ... after all, the studio didn't fail or crash, just ran slightly slower
Update, seems the replacement didn't have any effect after all, still some whine. Anyways, I got the base model so not gonna worry about it too much (mostly have headphones on anyway) and just add to the list of "do not buy first generation Apple hardware" mistakes I've made 😂
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It has been pointed out in numerous posts that at least two different PSUs are being used in the Mac Studios, which may play a part in the "whine" that some Mac Studios have.
Unfortunately, there is no identified way of telling which PSU your specific Mac Studio has, and hence no way of making sure, unless you are willing to open up the Mac Studio, which may or may not void the warranty.
Unfortunately, there is no identified way of telling which PSU your specific Mac Studio has, and hence no way of making sure, unless you are willing to open up the Mac Studio, which may or may not void the warranty.
Mine is totally quiet. Even in a completely silent room I can't hear it at all.
The fans are definitely audible (whine or not) in a completely quiet room, even with tinnitus
This is also why it's so hard to gather any kind of information in a forum like this, nobody has measurements on their noise floor and what's totally quiet for some is actually quite noisy for others. Compare being outdoors in a winter landscape far away from any civilisation to any apartment in a city and you'll have two very different "completely silent", just as an example.
The fans are definitely audible (whine or not) in a completely quiet room, even with tinnitus
All I can tell you is that I live in a home in a neighborhood with a fairly decent size office in it. I can close the door at night and in the morning and its a completely quiet environment and I don't here the fans or any kind of whine coming from my Mac Studio. I have excellent hearing and it isn't there.
I agree. All I can hear from my Mac Studio, in our basement, with the furnace and A/C turned off, my NAS and Sonnet box turned off, my Mac Pros turned off, and all that is running is my Mac Studio, is the very faint hum of the fan. For sure no whine as can be heard in several videos, and actually the fan is less noisy than is the one in my 2013 Mac Pro, and for sure less than the fans in my 2019 Mac Pro.
Of course the second I turn it all on, the noisiest thing in my office environment is the ticking of the disks in my NAS, and my 2019 Mac Pro when it is working videos.
Of course the second I turn it all on, the noisiest thing in my office environment is the ticking of the disks in my NAS, and my 2019 Mac Pro when it is working videos.
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Even running my Mac Studio like this, I can't really hear it, and it's literally less than 100cm from my head...
M1 Max / 32c GPU / 64 GB Ram / 2 TB SSD, received on June 25th
Mine does have a really faint high-pitch whine.
You have to pay close attention in a really silent room to hear it, distinct from the “hum” of the fans.
If i put my ears next to the exhaust i can hear it pretty well, like a distinct high-pitch “electrical” noise.
During daytime , when background noises are higher (a/c, voices etc.) it’s pretty much “silent”.
At night, alone in the home office, with zero background noise, you can tell there is some faint high-pitch sound there
Mac Studio it’s on my desk, against a wall, next to Studio Display.
The fans “hum” is totally fine with me and i don’t think it’s bad at all. The high pitch is making me thinking about a return.
I have few days to decide if i should try my chances on another unit.
I am afraid that the replacement may be the same or worse
Mine does have a really faint high-pitch whine.
You have to pay close attention in a really silent room to hear it, distinct from the “hum” of the fans.
If i put my ears next to the exhaust i can hear it pretty well, like a distinct high-pitch “electrical” noise.
During daytime , when background noises are higher (a/c, voices etc.) it’s pretty much “silent”.
At night, alone in the home office, with zero background noise, you can tell there is some faint high-pitch sound there
Mac Studio it’s on my desk, against a wall, next to Studio Display.
The fans “hum” is totally fine with me and i don’t think it’s bad at all. The high pitch is making me thinking about a return.
I have few days to decide if i should try my chances on another unit.
I am afraid that the replacement may be the same or worse
Yeah, i’m really on the fence about it
Maybe i got a “mild” case of the whine syndrome , maybe all of them are the same and this thing it’s “within spec” … i don’t know.
I asked my wife to listen to it and she doesn’t seems to notice it that much … if at all.
So i might have supernatural powers
One thing for sure: this little machine it’s really cool.
Maybe i got a “mild” case of the whine syndrome
, maybe all of them are the same and this thing it’s “within spec” … i don’t know.I asked my wife to listen to it and she doesn’t seems to notice it that much … if at all.
So i might have supernatural powers
One thing for sure: this little machine it’s really cool.
It's not perfect, if you can perceive a whine then I'd return it.
When I bought my 2011 iMac, there was a slight vibration through the case from the 2Tb hard drive. I ran it for a couple of days, quickly decided that it wasn't acceptable and got on the blower to Apple. They agreed immediately that it wasn't right and as I wasn't satisfied, they'd provide me a replacement unit.
For sure my unit is going back to Apple today.
While i tried to figure things out i put my ears on the bottom air intake while the unit was running.
I also noticed some “crickets” coming 100% from the PSU , these are different from the whine coming from the fans.
Now i am 100% positive Apple does have issues on some units.
I had a mild case of both: PSU “crickets” + Fans “whine”
While i tried to figure things out i put my ears on the bottom air intake while the unit was running.
I also noticed some “crickets” coming 100% from the PSU , these are different from the whine coming from the fans.
Now i am 100% positive Apple does have issues on some units.
I had a mild case of both: PSU “crickets” + Fans “whine”
I'm now about 6 weeks into my Mac Studio, which has been on 24/7. This morning I noticed a high pitched whine that's not incredibly loud, but definitely noticeable when my HVAC is not running. It is quite annoying to say the least.
Not sure how many others have developed the high-pitched whine over time. This is clearly different than the fan noise that was barely audible.
Not sure how many others have developed the high-pitched whine over time. This is clearly different than the fan noise that was barely audible.
The later onset has been reported before by some, so you're not alone. Sorry to hear about your issue (no pun intended).
Do you guys think Apple will acknowledge this issues and start some kind of recall program to fix it ?
Basically, even if you get a replacement there is no guarantee that issues will not arise later on.
It’s sad though. The product it’s truly revolutionary.
I have to wait for another 3 months for my second unit.
Basically, even if you get a replacement there is no guarantee that issues will not arise later on.
It’s sad though. The product it’s truly revolutionary.
I have to wait for another 3 months for my second unit.
I'm surprised some attorney hasn't filed a class action lawsuit since we've had so many in the past. It could help us get $20 for our $3000+ computers.
With the small number of affected computers or at least small group of people who even notice this, I do not think so.
Also, according to Apple tech spec, the Mac Studio has a declared sound level of up to 15dB, and the fan noise and the whine probably does not exceed that:
Mac Studio (2022) - Technical Specifications – Apple Support (UK)
Sony has the same issue with the PS5, different suppliers of fans, different sound levels and general quality.
This is one of those things that most people would never care about or even notice, I’d say there’s a zero chance Apple will do anything about it on a larger scale.
This is one of those things that most people would never care about or even notice, I’d say there’s a zero chance Apple will do anything about it on a larger scale.
BasicAppleGuy just released an interesting article speculating that the whine is actually caused by the holes in the case causing whistling. Worth a read for more details on the issue, testing, and possible fixes.
Relevant bit:
Relevant bit:
I don’t think it’s a resonance issue.
If the holes were creating resonance the whistle will become louder with larger air volume (fans increasing speed).
On my unit when i pushed the fans to the max, the high pitch noise was mostly overtaken by the big “hum” coming from the huge airflow.
If it was resonance, the “whine” will drastically increase.
Also, i think there is a big chance that such design flaw was discovered easy during dev and testing.
I think it may be the fans, different manufacturers, supply chain issues etc
If the holes were creating resonance the whistle will become louder with larger air volume (fans increasing speed).
On my unit when i pushed the fans to the max, the high pitch noise was mostly overtaken by the big “hum” coming from the huge airflow.
If it was resonance, the “whine” will drastically increase.
Also, i think there is a big chance that such design flaw was discovered easy during dev and testing.
I think it may be the fans, different manufacturers, supply chain issues etc