M1 Max Studio vs M2 Pro Mac Mini. The result surprised us.

[@TrollMeister_]

I edit 4k/60 in full res , no proxies, and my m2 pro/32 GB does it with aplomb. I was considering getting the Studio last year but I am very glad I held off. The m2 pro mini is what I needed.

[@beyosose_knowls]

Hi. .... Is it the one with 12core ? I am planning to replace 13y.o. iMac to Mac Studio or Mac mini.

[@wildeyestudios5]

10 or 12 core cpu?

[@RadAlzyoud]

An excellent review. Precise and direct to the point with no blah blah. Thx and subscribed.

[@nicolev_portfolio]

Perfect timing for this! I was just trying to compare both of those exact models last night. And thank you for doing the real world examples. I’m starting to lean more towards the M1 Max studio now

[@chumbawumba1959]

The architecture of the Mx SoC is materially different between Mx Pro and Mx Max, so most "in the know" would expect the Studio M1 Max to outperform the Mini M2 Pro. And much larger thermals in the Mac Studio further enhance overall performance. You are spot on about how video will become necessary even for commercial audio recording studios ... just remember the immortal words of that very first music video that appeared at the launch of MTV ... "Video killed the radio star!"

[@bigad23]

Exceptional attention to detail! GREAT JOB 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@jibester1]

I spent weeks researching these two models at length and ended up choosing the Studio, mainly for the better cooling, quietness, and more GPU horsepower. This video confirms that I made the right choice. Thanks for this video.

[@rondeangelis7384]

Can’t get any better comparison.. bravo. Won my vote for the M1 Studio. I should have mine very soon .. thankx for this professional video 👏🏻👏🏻

[@vewilli]

Very good comparison. The M2 Pro (12 Cores, 19, 32 GB, …) seems to have been my right choice as I don‘t do videos at least so far.

[@watchtheskies]

Ram is still king when it comes to huge audio sessions, with lots of soft synths and huge orchestral sample libraries, I would go for the M1 Max Mac Studio, and get the 64GB unified memory

[@chloewilson4362]

Great video! My Mac Studio is being delivered today. Costco is having a huge sale on the M1 Mac Studio Max and it ended up being $1500! Great deal for a great computer!!!!

[@Featherlightstudio]

Wow, great deal!!

[@HomesickMac]

Oh what a great comparizon, it proved me right in that I'll wait until the fall and see if the M2 finds it's way to the Mac Studio. I'm on a 2021 M1 MacMini that works great with livestreaming (3 cameras at once on the screen, 3 mics audio...) and my simple 4K video projects. Sometimes it's a bit slow with heavier photo editing (but mostly blaiming the app I'm editing in - Luminar NEO..) but overall, it's an amazing machine. Thanks for the great video!

[@wernerxldata]

There's some video's around showing it depends even more for what software you use. Have seen a comparison with a few daw's on a M1, M2 and M3 cpu. Some of them performed better on the newer generation, others the other way around. Apple increases the total amount of cores in the newer gens but they're efficiency cores instead of performance cores. Quite a few well known daw's, including Ableton and Apple's Logic only used the performance cores, so stepping to the M2 and M3 actually decreased total performance. I was really surprised to see that, why doesn't the OS handle that properly ? Why is some piece of software (Cubase for example) able to use the efficiency cores and others (logic for example) isn't ? Normally it's the operating system's task to decide what lands on what core and do the management of it, not sure what weird solution Apple figured out to break that idea. Nahh, in the end most people will end up with a system powerfull enough to do their work on, it's not like 15 years ago anymore. Thanks for testing this, always interesting to see real life scenario's.

[@SteveW928]

Thanks for this video and deep/careful comparison! Many other 'benchmark' tests I've seen had me leaning towards the M2 Pro, but especially the noise test has pushed me back towards the M1 (ultimately, I'm going try and hold out to see what the M3 brings... but my son needs one of either of these soon). Hopefully I can find a more 3D-centric comparison of this quality, as I work more in that realm than audio/video production. Well done!

[@RonaldKasper]

Thanks! Since I'm a video creator I'm really glad I saw this before buying the M2 Pro.

[@sonysoni5079]

Hi. Thank you very much for this amazing and very informative video. I have one question. Can you please tell me did you have a chance to test this M Mac Mini desktops with any Acustica Audio-s plugins (Nebula, or they're Acqua plugins) , witch are notorious for having high CPU usage? Or some of new new technology AI capturing plugins, with algorithms to create realistic captures of analog hardware units. NAM (Neural Amp Modeler) and Proteus plugin. This plugins are designed for capturing profiles of guitar amps and pedals, but are unbeatable for any analog hardware emulations that needs nonlinear behavior like saturation, distortion, compression. This plugins are also pretty CPU demanding. Can this Mac Mini-s work with solid amount of tracks, and large number of this plugins on them? Sorry on my bad English.

[@Featherlightstudio]

good suggestion, I dont have any of the Acustica stuff to test here but will definitely look into that and the NAM stuff!

[@chicagobob]

I am primarily all audio but got the Studio Ultra so that I could future proof this for a while -- I agree that moving into video is more about when not if.

[@robertjoyce8527]

Considering a studio upgrade. Will be running two external TB3>PCIe chassis’. One will have an RME MADI FX card, the other will contain two UAD2 OCTO’s. Will also be using a pair of 4k, 32” LG monitors. The M1 Max with a 1 TB and 32g looks like what I would need so thanks for this. I may want to be tracking using direct monitoring in Cubase 12 at 32 sample buffers. Wondering how the M1 Max Studio would perform tracking 24 simultaneous inputs or as many as possible at 32 sample buffers. Very curious about the M1 Mac Studio single core performance at lowest possible buffers.

[@Featherlightstudio]

The M1 Studio has more than enough power for that setup but the overall system latency is really dependent on the audio interface. If single core clock is your most important factor than, the M2 ultra chip probably makes more sense.

[@robertjoyce8527]

Thank you for the feedback. That’s a great help. 👍😎@@Featherlightstudio

[@wilkinsi]

I am just days from upgrading from a mac mini 2018 with i3 intel cpu to a mac studio m2 max. I am hoping it will beat the mac mini m2 pro in every regard. I am not looking to do video straight away, but I don't want to get caught out when I get to that stage.

[@ChatGPT1111]

I just upgraded my M1 Mini to the Ultra Studio and love it. I wanted the extra ports plus the ability to connect 4-5 monitors. Plus it is going to be my last computer for probably 10 years. Well worth the money.

[@Featherlightstudio]

The Ultra is a beast!!!1

[@johnwade7430]

That’s the one I wanna get; the 128GB version; Orchestral Samples use so much RAM. The more you have, the better ….

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

Very helpful information! I was really thinking of the specked out Mac Mini (4Tb/32Gb/12 CPU/19GPU) as a replacement production computer but I’m really taking another look at the Mac Studio here. If I went 2Tb/64Gb/10 CPU/32GPU I think it would work better for my studio workflow. Thanks for the video!

[@norfolknonsense7578]

In terms of noise testing there are some things to keep in mind. Very few user will have this kind of extreme load for a longer time period. The Mac Mini stays dead silent for a long time even with heavy load. Other music production channels went for the Mac Mini because it is way quieter with light to medium load. In fact the fan stays at it's base rpm in these situations. Furthermore you sqeezed the two systems in a rack, which is not ideal for air flow (unless your rack has active cooling) as these machines are built to live on a desk

[@Featherlightstudio]

The rack has two large low rotation fans that create airflow through the entire structure

[@SteveW928]

@@Featherlightstudio That test was most helpful to me, as I had seen so many places describing the Mac Studio as noisy, even at idle. I'm quite familiar with the mini fan-sound, as I currently have a i7 mini with Blackmagic eGPU. Looks like the Studio wins for consistent quiet, but is also pretty quiet (if not silent) even under extreme load. Yes, the key is big, slow fans. I'm not sure why more gear doesn't move in that direction. I had a really nice amp years ago, that I had to get rid of because the fan was one of those small, shrill ones.

[@Teluric2]

Silent under heavy load? No. Even of 4k youtube and excel its not silent

[@SteveW928]

@@Teluric2 This is odd... some people talk like they are near silent, while others complain they are noisy. Is it workload differences, or are some units more noisy than others (or different expectations of what noisy/quite are)?

[@adobedirtblues1321]

O my. Best test for these contenders in a recording studio by far. I’ve seen over 15. U da best yet.

[@sly2792004]

i ordered the m2 pro mini which is probably way more then i need for causal use but now the studio is on sale for $1500 which is tempting me

[@delsurmusic]

Thanks for doing all the hard work for us!!!. Great channel!

[@cassiocastro7610]

Thanks for the tests 👍🏻

[@ChatGPT1111]

I love your vintage Astatic D104 microphone. I use them for my ham radios.

[@briandolson2941]

Impressive that the Max Studio can render full res non-proxy video so smoothly! Looks like the PC may have to be retired for audio/video work.

[@Teluric2]

Because you never tried a 13900k PC.

[@stephanemignot100]

@@Teluric2 no thanks, efficiency matters

[@DynamicRockers]

Congrats for the video, it's nicely edited and produced!

[@Heydjcam]

This was the best comparison video I’ve seen. Thank you!

[@jayaben2412]

Thanks! Very helpful comparison.

[@jtmix5545]

thanks for the comparison! I am in the market for a new desktop for my studio. The mac studio makes sense for me.

[@johnwade7430]

Thanks for a really interesting video. I’d love to see you putting various virtual instruments through a similar test. I.e, Orchestral template especially.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Great suggestion! I wish I could have kept the M2Pro much longer, Apple is not so great about the return policy time.

[@MichelBarbaro]

I'm not a tech guy, but is it fair to compare a 32Gb RAM machhine vs a 64GB? Speciallly for heavy video playback wouldn't that be crucial? Thanks for the video anyway. Great demo of both machines.

[@Featherlightstudio]

both the tested machines had 32 gigs of main memory as well as identical OS setups from a Carbon Copy ISO.

[@MichelBarbaro]

@@Featherlightstudio Oh sorry my mistake then! I was confused by the image on 3:56

[@mrfroopy]

I would like to have seen the export times for that video project.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Total Project Time 12 Mins 46 Secs Mac Studio Export 5 Mins 27 Secs M2 Pro Mini Export 11 Mins 58 Secs This is probably due to the dual encoders and additional GPU's on the Studio.

[@mrfroopy]

@@Featherlightstudio Yes the encoders. thanks. What about compared to the old intel one? I have a similar intel mac so was curious. But I also have an external RX580 gpu (oldish)

[@Featherlightstudio]

@@mrfroopy My old intel Macbook was an 16" intel i7/Radeon Pro 5300m with 16 gigs and it took over 38 minutes to render the same project.

[@EricBadderMusic]

How did you guys go about bringing everything over to your new studio? Plugins, Ilok? Did you use migration assistant or start fresh?

[@Featherlightstudio]

We took each system out of filevault and used an ISO of our system on external SSD. None of the auths are on HDD, all are on external iLok and USB keys.

[@pl2514]

Interesting tests but Cinebench stress test not 'real world' but other tests seem more relevant. The Mini M2pro really is a power house for its size and portability but the older Studio M1max video bus rate and more gpu core count a bonus for video work, mind you I can't get the mini M2pro to make any noise with all I chuck at it so sticking with the mini for 'real world' use. Thanks.

[@billk5864]

Interesting test results but not surprising to me. I upgraded from a 2015 iMac to the Mac mini M2 pro with 1tb storage. Being an amateur photographer I was tired of waiting for my raw picture processing taking so long. Every time I made a change I would have to wait minutes for the picture to process the change. I bought the M2 wanting instant processing but it wasn’t meant to be. Still takes around 15 seconds per change or changes, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but if your processing 25, 50, 100 pictures it all adds up. I wish they would have made the video (graphics) capabilities just a little stronger. Im now wondering if I should have waited for the updated M2 studio.

[@mjlcarguy54]

Thanks looking right now for my next option, great video 👋

[@jdvindas_music]

This was very useful! Thanks.

[@thehourshow2851]

thank you for this i really needed this

[@carlosread5887]

very helpful! Thanks for taking the time to do a real world comparison.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Glad it was a help to you!

[@bluematrix5001]

Hi, I was checking this exact machines.. I do Mixing ... but seems for audio the difference is very, very small in favor of the M2 Pro, but in video the M1 Max Studio seeems way better..... is that correct? seems that for basically the same price you get an overall better computer with the mac Studio

[@Featherlightstudio]

Thats basically the conclusion we came to as well.

[@Rhythmattica]

Also , Consider the implementation of FX running on the GPU cores.... Its already in beta for apple silicon... GPU audio and its SDK will make use of these Computers a game changer..

[@Featherlightstudio]

Great point! Universal Audio has been using essential a similar process with the Sharc chips on their proprietary plugin accelerator cards for years until the bulk of processing got bundled with their interfaces.

[@Rhythmattica]

@@Featherlightstudio From the Days of TDM I've been in the scene... DSP still has its reasons.. But Today, compared to decades ago, theres way more reasons not to need it. But alas, accessing the GPU , mainly for say FX, means more CPU processing for algo's more refined for native processing... EG.. Kontakt, VSL, etc Sample libraries... Etc .. Good times in coming... Especially for scoring methinks.

[@thomasbain3013]

A really good comparison. The best I have seen on You Tube. I got the M1Max Studio but I regret they didn't bring out an M2 Studio.

[@Featherlightstudio]

I was hoping for the M2 Max as well but it’s pretty clear that Apple’s focus is on the upcoming M3 now.

[@yojoeaxeman]

you convinced me... studio it is!

[@quantic7722]

I know its been a few months but this video is even more relevant as here in the UK the M1 Max Studio is on offer for £1500 new. The exact same price as the M2 pro!. Really needed a video like this to sway me and its become a complete no brainer to grab a studio!

[@accentontheoff]

Which monitor did you guys get to go with these machines. Thanks.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Its actually a 55inch Oled TV. Makes an incredible monitor

[@accentontheoff]

@@Featherlightstudio Ah ok. That’s interesting.

[@smellyrhinostudio]

Thank you so much for this video!!!

[@rickx86]

Why should the M2 pro easily beat out the M1 Max studio like you said in the beginning of the video when they are not on the same level?? Kinda comparing apples to oranges yes they are both fruit but not on the same tree. If you want a fair comparison shouldn’t you compare it to the M1 Pro? The only way this could be fair is if they are the same price right? So if I want to spend a certain amount and the M1 Max and M2 pro were the same price then I would want to know which is better. But when they are on different price points doesn’t make sense unless cost is not a deterrent. I just ordered the Max Mini M2 pro with the base CPU / GPU and upgraded the RAM to 32 GB and 1 TB memory for $1,899. Can you find me an M1 Max studio with similar specs (or better) for the same price? If not what’s the point of comparison because most people need to stay within a certain budget and need to make a decision first based on price and secondarily based on performance. Edit: as of right now if I spec an M1 Max studio the same as the m2 pro meaning same ram and memory it would be $2,199. $300 difference might be a small difference to some but are you really getting that amount of increase in performance. That is all dependent on the user. If the M2 pro can handle what a person needs in regards to what they will be using it for why spend the extra money? Problem is most people don’t understand their computing power needs and just want the better one even if that extra power goes completely unused.

[@JohnWilliams-gy5yc]

Seeing a Mac user straight roasts a newer gen chip is so rare. This is how we break off that stereo type of cult culture.

[@mariodasilva8729]

Well done with the comparisons, I went for the 32 core GPU (for a couple hundred more)only because I didn't trust using the BINNED 24 core one. Thanks so much.

[@edmoss2020]

Best review ive seen...thanks

[@mrfroopy]

Wish you could do a test on Premiere Pro or Resolve or Avid as well.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Just getting back from the NAB show and after all the info on Resolve 18.5, I can't wait to get into that and see the difference.

[@garanceadrosehn9691]

Thanks for doing this comparison work and making a video with the details. I think these are two great machines, but close enough in power/performance that people really have to focus on what they're going to use the machine for. Neither machine is better for all work loads. For me the M2 Pro Mac Mini would work out best, although the quieter running of the Mac Studio does make that more tempting than I would have thought it was for my work load. Nice attention to detail in this comparison. Thanks again!

[@TucsonBillD]

For many of the same reasons I upgraded to the Mac M1 Studio… BUT… The Mac M2 Max Studio is now out… the M1 is still a hell of a machine, and I got it for $450 less. Not too shabby. If I were to return it and go for the M2 Studio there will be a M3 Studio next year… and I’d go insane attempting to keep up.

[@Featherlightstudio]

I’m the same way as well, if there was more than a 25% increase maybe, but Apple is spending a lot to try to get you to upgrade every year now. The Max Studio in each version is a beast regardless of chipset.

[@marcpinion]

This has been the most useful Mac video I have seen. I am using a PC at the minute in my studio. I am thinking about moving to Mac and this has defiantly helped. I am using Studio one as my DAW and that is M1 native, I use a Studiolive 32s with an NSB 32.16 as my audio input and I have 20 usb inputs into my PC and that is only lightly to grow. So what do you do about usb inputs to your Mac. Any help and suggestions would be gratefully received.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Heh Marc, on Mac all the USB inputs are handled by the native Core Audio system so no drivers needed. They all just show up as available inputs in your DAW. I have the StudioLive 32SC for live recording into Cubase and just use it as straight up audio interface and bypass Capture altogether.

[@marcpinion]

@@Featherlightstudio what I was asking is how you actually plugged the individual instruments into the Mac. I don’t really use virtual instruments I have a lot of synths ,drum machines guitars piano and bass so I have a lot of stuff that has to have a usb input to the computer.

[@marcpinion]

Most of the hubs I can find only offer maybe 4 usb inputs. I have found 1 19 inch rack in Germany that has 16 inputs but I would need 2 at £160 each.

[@Featherlightstudio]

@@marcpinion Oh Got it, I would be interested to see what you find as well, as I mostly use my keyboards as MIDI controllers for VSTi's, unless there's something on the YC88, and my other Yamaha's that I can't find in software.

[@marcpinion]

@@Featherlightstudio Thomonn in Germany sell the 19 inch rack usb hubs I was saying about as it stands at the minute I was thinking about plugging the 32s into one of the 2 USB ports and 2 19 inch racks into 2 usb 4/ lightning ports. I just wondered if any one had any other suggestions.

[@-GBD-]

wonder when they're gonna release an M2 Mac Studio

[@SergiuSalcau00]

They wont. They re crankin up the Mac Pro, or at least that s what Mark Gurman said.

[@FreestyleGalaxyNMore]

😂😂😂😂

[@cdauterive1]

Are you using an exterior door to your studio

[@Featherlightstudio]

Several, the studio, and the associated ISO booths and offices are built inside a larger structure.

[@Justgodswarrior]

Great production quality

[@uncleanAlibertine1]

What was the video codec which nitrate and how much resolution?

[@vivekjadhav2210]

32 gb and 64 gb best for orchestral music composing

[@DerekDavis213]

M2 Pro Mac Mini maxes-out at 32GB of RAM, which is not enough for large Blender or Maya projects. Mac Studio has the advantage there.

[@bryans8656]

Since its release I've thought that the M2 Pro fits perfectly between the Mac mini and the M1 Studio Max in Apple's desktop lineup. Depending on what you're doing each has its place. For me the base model Studio Max was the right fit.

[@johnwade7430]

Why? - please explain:-)

[@bryans8656]

@@johnwade7430 The extra headroom from more unified memory, GPU cores, and the ports on the front of the device were what sold me. Having said that, the M2 Pro mini wasn't an option when I bought my Studio, and the price difference would have made it tempting.

[@johnwade7430]

Funny you mentioned the extra GPU cores; there was that mention in the video about the latest versions of Cubase being graphically more taxing than version 1.0; well i had a very early version of Cubase for my PC and it came in floppy-disks no less;-). If latter Cubase is taxing, what on earth would something like Nuendo with its Post Production techniques be like…..

[@johnwade7430]

Also, Wavelab and its Mastering effects and all of those graphics for the sound-envelope…..

[@johnwade7430]

Sounds to me like I am talking my way back into buying a Studio… Max or Ultra though…..; i do keep scouring the returned pages on the Apple Store but those Studios are still going quickly…

[@N1BNfilms]

Well done. Thanks

[@universalvibe72]

Great video. Clean well spoken.

[@vivekjadhav2210]

For Music composing wich is the best in between two

[@Featherlightstudio]

Either would be great but for big sample libraries, more memory is also a key factor

[@vivekjadhav2210]

@@Featherlightstudio so i give Mac studio M1 Max 64 gb?

[@vivekjadhav2210]

@@Featherlightstudio please reply me

[@OrangeismyNewGreen]

Great review and super interesting, it confirms I made the right choice!

[@moetarded7757]

Dude I bet you got some FireWire in that studio. How do you get FireWire to work. Steinberg driver no more support after 10.4.5!

[@Featherlightstudio]

Yep, several. I use a OWC 13 port Hub that has a firewire 800 port and a 800-400 cable to the interfaces. All core audio support thru Mac. I just won't go past Monterey, as that's the last Mac OS that includes the firewire core audio support.

[@redcomn]

So if all I did were basic recording with few plug-in here and there would basic Mac mini will suffice. Most of the times I’m using real amp and drums

[@Featherlightstudio]

Effortlessly.

[@redcomn]

@@Featherlightstudiook now i’m waiting for your overview of base m4 mac mini and m4 mac studio (whenever it ever release) 😂

[@JohnLemieux]

Can't wait until the Mac Studio gets newer chips (if that happens).

[@SergiuSalcau00]

It won t. They ll release the Mac Pro with M2 ultra or some shit

[@cun7us]

@@SergiuSalcau00 Lol

[@ASMRJeremiah]

This was the video I was looking for! Thank you! I wanted a direct comparison of editing 4k video in real time... Studio wins by a mile. Now I'm just wondering if I can wait until August for the M2 Studio... fml...

[@SergiuSalcau00]

What monitors do you use/recommend for use with the Mac Studio?

[@Featherlightstudio]

If your running directly out of the Mac Studio into Monitors, something at least with good shielding as all computer sound cards tend to be noisy.

[@SergiuSalcau00]

@@Featherlightstudio i was actually expecting some names

[@Featherlightstudio]

@@SergiuSalcau00 5" options: KRK ROKIT 5 G4 5 inch Powered Studio Monitor JBL 305P MkII 5-inch Powered Studio Monitor PreSonus Eris E5 5.25-inch Powered Studio Monitor

[@PoorAlchemist]

wtf. I work sometimes with 200 tracks on some project on my 2015 macbook 16go, and it work perfectly

[@JulianFernandez]

thanks!

[@peterlewon7956]

Thanks, excellent comparison. Timely for me, as these were the two I was contemplating to replace my 2014 Mac mini. I'm immediately going out the door to pick up an M1 Mac Studio Max at Costco for the unheard of price of............wait for it................$1499.99!!!! Really, seriously, I hope they have one left.

[@Featherlightstudio]

Wow, that's a killer deal!

[@andrewharman6861]

Great stuff as ever Featherlight Anyone who is going for the M2 I would like to add some good advice if your going to push that m2 machine oh well I guess the best of both worlds would be an m2 Mac studio yep the one that’s being held back This M2 mini is a caged animal it’s a beast a v8 engine in a mini coupe body it’s cruel to see a powerful bear in a cage it needs space to breath and move if not it may have a short life expectancy or is that the plan ? Hmm food for thought….. The old Mac Pros lasted for donkeys years but not so sure about this monster mini ,,and if you don’t keep it cool you may well need dig that old Mac out sooner than you ever imagined but for all who have invested in them I hope I am wrong although take note if I was living in a hot country I would invest in one of those old laptop cooling trays to sit it on or at best keep it out of the sun and placed away from heating and any heat sources shut as amps and racks of hot buns and old analogue equipment. This may help extend the life of thousand’s of these little gems

[@Teluric2]

And the fanboy of the year prize goes for.... Caged animal? Hahahha

[@elzippo488]

The glue under the motherboard connectors tends to let go eventually and then the solder paste cracks.

[@aaronalter2000]

Great video! It's very surprising how close these machines are in performance.

[@dahlhousestudios]

Love seeing pros using Cubase!

[@fivstaa]

For music production i guess 64GB RAM will help especially for sample based instruments vsti like Native instruments, avenger etc. and it is also future proof. The disadvantage is that we are stuck with the 1st gen of max/ultra chips with the mac studio. The issue with the mac mini will be resale value because very few people will be interested in maxed out mac mini with such a powerful CPU but a less powerful GPU (more video editors than music producers out there). So for pro music producers (people who make a living out of making music) should go for the Mac studio ULTRA(64gb RAM 1TB SSD 20 core CPU) (3999$) since budget shouldn't be a problem. Semi-pro producers should go for the Mac Mini M2 Pro but save some 300$ with the 10 core CPU instead of 12 core CPU since the GPU is irrelevant at 16 or 19 core but do make sure you get atleast 32gb RAM and 1TB SSD (internal SSD does make a difference) (1899$).

[@samjf1]

I’ve been looking at M1 Mac Studio or maybe even stretch to the M2 studio. I was looking at 512 gb. Will it make a big difference then to get a 1tb ? I use Logic x and Komplete 14 standard

[@fivstaa]

@@samjf1 always better to have more storage as a lot of vsts these days are huge in size! However, if budget is really an issue then you can go for an external SSD which will do the job but not as efficiently as an internal SSD would!

[@samjf1]

@@fivstaa thanks for replying. My budget would be an m1 studio with 1tb or m2 studio with 512gb, what would you go for ? Apparently the performance cores are the same in both ?

[@fivstaa]

@@samjf1 always go for the newer model, buy an external ssd whenever the need arises! happy producing 😃

[@williamfletcher5760]

I am running a cheese greater on Mojave and render is less than 45 seconds on a very large pro mix with over 100 tracks. I am looking to upgrade as the apple rip off stopping plugin suppliers from selling new stuff to legacy users. I am thinking of moving from apple.

[@TonyCrenshawsLatte]

On top of other advantages, that 10+ dB noise difference is truly a cherry on top for Mac Studio.

[@neointhematrix_8]

Thanks…👍🏾

[@davidjones5547]

The storage and the memory in the M2 Mac Mini does suck

[@wedoluxury]

nice

[@uncleanAlibertine1]

cool

[@LoveItDirtyOffroad]

Im not impressed with my m1 studio max with audio; too easy to bog down one thread when using busses which render the rest of the cpu useless. Even putting plugins on individual channel strips to lighten up the busses didnt help much. Total about 100 3rd party plugins in a project; I expected more as my old 5,1 2009/2012 cheese grater could just about hang with similar projects.

[@RollingShutterFilms]

I use audiogridder on busses. Problem solved

[@Anonymous99997]

This is confirming that my purchase of a refurb M1 Mac Studio to replace my iMac Pro was the best choice.

[@Phunker1]

Those differences are software-related. Not CPU. This shouldn't be this way.

[@antomarhal]

Thank you for sharing