The Ultimate M1 Mac Buying Guide for Music Production: M1 vs M1 Pro vs M1 Max vs M1 Ultra

[@JamesZhan]

🔥UPDATED 2023 VERSION IS OUT! ➡The Ultimate M1/M2 Mac Buying Guide for Music Production: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHfTdJWKaLerars

[@Ultrarmx]

You are the only KZbinr who explained it in simple and straight to the point. Others just talk and talk and never tell you what you really need.

[@roobsrooby6589]

Absolutely agree with you. I've been ploughing through a pile of videos on Macs trying to find the right one for music production and James has laid it out in a such a straight forward way that I now know exactly what to purchase. Thank you James. Now subscribed.

[@ChunkStyle]

Thank you so much for this video!! This is a great start to helping me make a buying decision. I have a 16yo autisitc son who plays guitar and drums, and he shocked us all when he played for us a multi track Beatles cover that he recorded on Garage Band using nothig but his iPhone. His drum teacher, after seeing/hearing the project, recommended we get him a Mac, a mic, and Logic if we want to encourage his interest and development in this area (which of course we do!). He would mainly be recording live instruments (guitar, bass, both acoustic & electric). I had no idea how to even begin to figure out what specs I should be looking into for a Mac for him. But your video has given me a lot of information that I didn't know before. I can't thank you enough. Your information and advice are going to help me and my wife make a young, musically talented autistic boy very happy come his birthday later this year.

[@JamesZhan]

Wow, this is incredible and I'm humbled to hear that my video helped you choose a birthday gift for your son! Please feel free to reach out to me via social media or email if you guys ever need any help on the audio production part for your son. I wish you guys all the best and I hope one day he will become a successful musician (if that's what he wants to do)!

[@devanshissoni]

You're a very proud father of your son who supports him in his interests. i wish every parent would support their child...

[@southghost149]

This lights me up hearing this! I love that , I hope that he makes incredible music on his journey using a new Mac!

[@bernardoestrela6029]

this is beautiful

[@tommystratpaul]

This was the most uplifting and wonderful little glimpse of humanity I have read and seen in a loooong time. Your son is a lucky little man👏 My heart bursts with joy and pride for you. As a son, I thank you. You make all the difference!

[@ChunkStyle]

Had to come back and send you a little thank you gift to show my appreciation after I left my last comment. Thanks again!

[@JamesZhan]

You are too kind! But thank you very much!

[@MarkusBoettner]

I have owned my M1 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU and neural engine, 16 GB of unified RAM and 1 TB of SSD for 11 months now, and I love it. I use Logic Pro as my trusted DAW and VoiceOver to run the whole computer as I am a blind self-producing musician. I had to wait a while for my Waves Audio Grand Rhapsody piano to be updated, and I know that Native Instruments needed some time to upgrade Komplete Kontrol to the ARM chip set. (but that had already happened by the time I purchased the machine. I have not had issues with my M-Track interface more my blue Yeti USB condenser microphone. All is good in my working environment. :)

[@JamesZhan]

That's amazing to hear!

[@richardjames111]

This is the video i needed to watch!!!! You've just talked me out of a M1 Max 32GB 1TB and I've now settled on the idea of a M1 Pro with 32GB and 1TB for music production... Many thanks from myself (and my bank manager 😂😂)...

[@bryans8656]

I purchased the M1 Studio Max (base model) as soon as the Studios were announced so I've had it since late March. It's overkill for a lot of what I do but I like having the extra overhead. So far it has been stable as a rock and I'm very pleased with it.

[@JamesRoneyMusic]

People such as myself reported severe latency problems that are not fixable at this time. Are you not having latency issues with the Mac Studio like the rest of us?

[@bryans8656]

@@JamesRoneyMusic I'm not but it's likely I'm not running the same apps as you. Which application are you experiencing latency issues with? BTW, I just looked at some of your videos. Very nice.

[@SeanRainey]

I wish I could share your sentiment... I got a Mac Studio M1 Max 64gb ram, and I've been getting nothing but CPU% spikes. I did migrate my whole system from a Mac with Mojave, but that shouldn't give me performance issues, right? I can't use Synthogy Ivory II without getting audio crackles and pops. Also Logic's native Drum Kit Designer plugin causes my CPU% to spike to 100% when I use it!!

[@JamesRoneyMusic]

@@SeanRainey _ I'm having the same issues, but worse. The Mac Studio is simply not built for have workloads. I'm running into all kinds of issues. Lot's of spinning balls, crashes, locking up, video play back often stutters during transitions. I wrote down everything as it happened. It's a very long list. ☹ And making 10 hour sleep videos on the Mac Studio with three or four effects layers cause the Mac Studio to operate at a crawl. I as well have 64gigs. The issues are so bad, that two chips would not have solved this. It's okay for the average user, but not for large video productions. It sucks.

[@Dustiliciousz]

@@SeanRainey In hindsight, would 128gb ram have been a better choice? I’m considering a Mac Studio for both music and video production

[@4killsfreddy148]

i have to say i love how you DON"T spend the first few min begging for like subscribe blah blah blah. you're right to the point. that gets my subscribe bro!

[@nicholasriley4729]

M1 Mac mini user here. I do a ton of mixing and mastering and it’s very very fast and plenty for my needs. Best to use M1 native plugins if you don’t want bottlenecks

[@alanrogers989]

Do you have any issues with RAM usage? Probably the biggest negative of the mini is the 16GB limit.

[@samjaush6309]

@@alanrogers989 As a M1 Mac mini user myself, nope. I have 16gb, which is more than enough for me

[@whitehair8824]

@@samjaush6309 so do yóu record music.with plugins etc and you find it's good

[@nine27]

how big are your sessions though? cause Ive heard that sessions with 70 tracks even using this m1 ultrachips can crap out???

[@a.t.hustle1583]

So running ableton 11 with 8-12 tracks (my average) with a handful of VST plug ins, should run smooth with little to no cpu overload??

[@jorgeferrer77]

Thanks!

[@rlatimer1962]

Hi James! Can't thank you enough for the review. I am a professional drummer that records at home and almost got caught up in the hype of purchasing more computer than needed. Thank you for explaining the tech of Mac. It allows me to purchase what I need versus overreaching. I could probably afford to spend more but why if its not needed. Thanks again, James.

[@JamesZhan]

Glad to hear my video helped! You are totally right about not spending more money to buy a computer with specs that you don't need. It's probably better to spend that extra cash on drum gear!

[@chucksaeger7500]

Lots of great info here. You’ve got me heading towards the correct and most cost effective unit. Thanks!

[@haphaz7ard]

Going strong with an M1 mac mini here since the december 2020!

[@zedstatistics]

Came here for this one video and love your vibe, man. Subscribed.

[@gns_prod]

8:19 Yes James! Yes! I really do care about cost effectiveness!

[@AndyParkinBali]

Thanks

[@girishpatro]

I am using M1 Macmini with 16 GB RAM and 256 GB space since 2020 for Audio Production professionally. It works very smoothly because of following optimised work flow for Audio Production. I had a MacBook Pro 13" 2011 version with i5 dual core, 4 GB RAM and 320 GB HDD, later upgraded with 16 GB RAM and added 256 GB SSD using a caddy case by replacing built in dvd drive. Please note that LG V20 has a built in audio converter chip featuring higher resolution of audio that Apple Computers could adapt so that we don't need to purchase an external audio converter/sound card for Audio Production purpose. No body has explained yet about audio converters used in Apple Computers

[@back-seat-driver1355]

Wow! What a clear, comprehensive and competent presentation! Looking for those reviews for quite a while this is a objective and rational reflection in contrast to many “Reviewers” which are too much excited about everything in the case of monetarization their channels. Thanks a lot, James!

[@raw_pc]

As of today (10.2022) M2 MacBook Air is an absolute beast and for most people it will provide more performance than they will ever need for a really good price. Even M1 MacBook Air is still extremely good today and for even lower price. Light, no fans, long battery life. Truly great times

[@davinademers9545]

I want to switch from a windows to a mac for numerous reasons and this video has helped me more than any video ever! Thank you!

[@JamesZhan]

Great to hear! 😊

[@jimmyk9998]

My name i Jimmy K. I had a imac for ten years loved it. After researching I landed on the base model Mac Studio. My usual work load is 60 tracks 200 plugins or more, I have yet to slow this thing down. I usually run at between 18 to 30 percent. It may occur to you that I over purchase, not so. I had my iMac for a little over a decade. I plan to keep the Mac Studio about the same time . 250 dollars a year is cheap. When you purchase make sure you have room to grow. The Mac Studio is beyond a power house. If you take one for a ride hang on.

[@Knarryofficial]

very wisely explained man, thanks and many regards 🙌🏻

[@GuitarManLobo]

Who loves this guy?! I do! Thanks for making excellent, valuable videos. Cheers mate.

[@MatthewChristianMurray]

I currently use a mid-2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB DDR3 RAM and a 2TB SSD. I do multitrack production on it with GarageBand. Sometimes, when I have a lot of tracks and a lot of effects running at the same time, it exceeds the CPU capacity. Certain VSTs are more CPU-intensive than others, of course. There are times when I do feel somewhat limited by my current setup. Eventually I hope to take professional recording training, and upgrade to a silicon model, Logic Pro, and a full-sized keyboard. I’m not making any commitments or counting anything out just yet. I want 32 gigs of RAM at minimum. I will likely still be using my current laptop on the side for other things. I want my new SSD to be either 2 or 4 terabytes. Thank you for the detailed discussion of various aspects of the M1 chips. I like to do my research well in advance.

[@FranckWolf]

Great comparaison! I’ll just add that the M1 air and M1 13“ MBP support only one external display, which may be important for some of us…

[@JamesZhan]

That's a good reminder!

[@famousaudio]

They can support 2 with display link. Which has a tonnnn of latency here and there. I don’t recommend it !

[@paulthiebaut]

As an orchestral amateur composer, this video was exactly what I needed to think about my future purchases, thanks a lot for this comprehensive summary. You just have a new subscriber ! Hope Apple will soon release computers with configurable RAM without having to pay for a super expensive chip...

[@paulthiebaut]

​@Carlos Roque Hey Carlos ! I haven't bought a new Mac since I last saw this video. I still own the same 2020 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with 16 Go RAM and it still runs perfectly. Logic runs flawlessly on those M1 machines even the first series and I seriously don't regret this purchase. For your usage, I think a simple M2 MacBook Pro is more than ok ! The reason I might upgrade in the future is because I want at least 32 Go of RAM since I produce orchestral music and it requires a whole lot of RAM. But honestly I'm totally satisfied with my current mac 🙃

[@fprguitarrepairs7360]

James thank you very much indeed for your video. I believe it is the most professional buying guide that I have seen. Excellent analysis. I subscribed to your channel. I'll follow your videos closely bro!

[@alchemyonthabeat1390]

I just ordered the Macbook Pro Max with full specs! Looking forward to receiving it in a few weeks. Thanks for the review.

[@JamesZhan]

Awesome choice! Hope you have fun with it!

[@pegtownmanproductions9106]

Great video! Thanks for the clear and concise explanation.

[@LKV089]

RAM TESTED/REVIEW // So I got my MBP M2pro 16inch a few days ago. Got the 16gb/1TB version at a discount for 2780€s, while the 32gb version would cost 3550€ (to all non EU people yeah our prices are this ridiculous). I did not think blindly spending 800€ more for RAM that I might or might not need is worth it so I got the 16GB version to test it out: First, I mostly mix and master and dont really produce much anymore. For my fellow engineers, I can assure you now you will probably never need more than 16gb on your Mac. 16gb on my previous windows laptop was not really much, since basically already 8gb of the 16 were occupied by win/other programs. Not sure if permanently or not, as I did not have the memory pressure graph on there. Loading up some of my newest projects that had my Alienware m17 r5 running on 100% CPU (and 80% occupied RAM) in Ableton run on my new mac with 25-30%. I had to duplicate all tracks and all plugins 4 times in order to fill up the CPU. At this point, the ram pressure graph was still around 25% (which makes sense as I only duplicated tracks and didnt add new ones). Still, adding other tracks with 60mb per wav would still allow 100 more tracks, filling up 6GB more. Even then, we would hardly fill up 10GB of the 16. So I guess, engineers definetely can stick with 16, unless you mix 250+ track projects on the regular. I dont think you will ever exceed that (and even if you would once in like 200 projects, the hotswap ability could still handle a lot by loading samples from the SSD directly and the CPU would still struggle before that - as I said, I was able to run 160 tracks with lots of plugins until it struggled). This is also why I would recommend the M2pro with 16gb over the M1max with 32gb if youre not using tons of sample libraries. For producers, I think it is still tough to fill up the ram. Did not test this yet as I dont have omnisphere kontakt etc on my mac, but I think you should definetly be able to have a few instances running, even in full mixing projects as I explained above. I recon if you really need more than a few instances of Kontakt running every project (maybe 7-10+? just a guess tho) you can opt for 32gb (or more if youre making film music), but still, with a price difference this significant Id still recommend you to test if you really need to spend the money, as it saved me 800€ that I would have never used on my mac. At most stores, you can give your device back for 30 days anyway, so if you notice you really need more RAM, you can justify the expense and buy more.

[@JamesZhan]

Thanks so much for the information! I'm pinning your comment for now so other people can see it :)

[@LKV089]

@@JamesZhan Thank YOU James, you helped me out a lot, just tring to give back something to the community 🙏

[@LuisHernandez-dy1rq]

Tt

[@TheoreticalRobot]

Thanks for the tips mate! I’m working on a lot of cinematic Bass stuff with loads of sidechain and comfesssors, noise gates etc. i have the m2 8gb ram. But I’m thinking i made a mistake and should buy the 16gb. Still not sure like you said have about 14 days to decide before I’m forced to make decision. My projects run 130 tracks with 4-5 plug-ins on each track, with occasional busses and what not. Nothings worse than working on a track and the CPU overload pop up comes on.

[@LKV089]

@@TheoreticalRobot considering your lots of plugins cpu should be the prio nr 1 but still make sure to check out if your RAM is enough. Maybe leave your test results here as I am only able to judge 16gb

[@bagheeramusic2452]

That's the video I'm searching for such a long time!! Thank you man! Now I know I don't need the 10Core M1 Pro and the 8core is enough :)

[@JamesZhan]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@dylanfreud226]

@@JamesZhan After watching this video, I bought m1pro 8 core 32gb 1tb😂

[@citytonightproductions]

Great and thorough video! I went with the M1 max chip with 64Gb ram on a Mac Studio considering future need over the next 5 years of audio and video requirements and possible changes to them. Today my mac studio is a beast and overkill, but could be insufficient within a few years. Technology is moving so fast these days.

[@JamesRoneyMusic]

How come your Mac Studio is not suffering from severe latency like the rest of us?

[@citytonightproductions]

@@JamesRoneyMusic not sure, it runs perfectly so far and I don’t want to jinx it!

[@citytonightproductions]

@@mandable look I’m no tech guy by any stretch. But my m1 Mac mini was struggling with audio production, constant system overloads etc. and I was running it fully with Logic Pro settings maxed out using all CPU cores etc. and 1024 sample rates etc. it was choking constantly for the productions I was tasking it with daily. So I needed an upgrade. I also do video production and wanted to ensure I’m good for the next 5 years at least before even thinking about buying another computer. if I’m wrong so be it. My Mac studio is rock solid now with absolutely zero issues with CPU or RAM and I focus on making music and videos without any concern.

[@gauravsingh2760]

This has been a super helpful video , I’ve finally narrowed down on a 16” - 1Tb/ 10core/32gb - All thanks to you !

[@JamesZhan]

Dang, so happy to hear my video helped you out!

[@worldsheaviestjamband93]

I’ve been watching countless hours of videos on this subject and this was easily the best one. Easy sub. :)

[@yochillsmith]

This is the best video I’ve came across, I’m on the market for a new Mac, I’m a audio engineer, producer.

[@JamesZhan]

I'm flattered to hear that! Good luck with your hunt for the right computer!

[@youtubefields3917]

the best buying guide i saw on internet ! cost efficiency on point !

[@johns860]

Thank you so much for the creativity and thought you've put into this buying guide - I solute you!

[@J.Livermore]

Thank You for the outstanding education!! In my opinion, You have the perfect personality for You Tube Videos. Thank You again!

[@JamesZhan]

Thanks! Nice of you to say that :)

[@m-fee4359]

you're the man James.

[@mikesmith1290]

M1 Mac mini base model user. I’m completely new to MacOS, and the M1 seemed to be the perfect intro to the platform. I wasn’t expecting much, but damn I’m impressed! I’m running superior Drummer 3 at just 32 buffers. It runs my UAD Apollo thunderbolt 3 perfectly! When I had it hooked up to my very powerful windows box(i7 9800x, 64 GB RAM, etc) it dropped out constantly even at 128 buffers.

[@Vrainy]

Subscribed, liked and watched all of it! Great guide, really helped me on decision making. Going to get one myself but very indecisive about how to spec it out. Thankfully there's people like you who delve into a lot of information for us newbs lol.

[@JamesZhan]

Really happy to hear that my video helped! Did you end up deciding which one to buy?

[@Vrainy]

@@JamesZhan I have decided to get the MacBook Pro 14" with the M1 Pro (10 Core CPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD Storage), I think that would be ideal for my usage since I am from a Windows PC with like 48GB of RAM and Ryzen 5 3600X

[@Vrainy]

@@JamesZhan Also, question, looking at my videos, do you think my choice is reasonable?

[@JamesZhan]

@@Vrainy Yeah your videos seem to be rather straightforward. I think the M1 Pro will definitely serve you very well!

[@Vrainy]

@@JamesZhan thanks for the input!

[@zacharymiller7763]

Just ordered a M1 Max with 4TB of Storage. Enjoyed the video. Very interesting. I decided to invest in future proofing my system in aim of longevity from my computer

[@veschil]

Great video? Seems like the M1 Pro is the way for me. For the record, I record, mix, master and do everything else on my MacBook Pro 2017 edition. Is it worth upgrading to the new M1s if my current Mac works fine? Also, should I wait for an M2 Pro?

[@DeadlyRythmnStudio]

The most helpful video I’ve seen recently, thanks for this

[@jeremylundin]

I have a 2019 16 Inch MacBook Pro with 64gb ram using int. And I have not run in any problems at all. I mixed, master, produce, edit videos, use heavy effects. I never have to be cautious of how many plugins I’m using or anything of the sort. I will keep this MacBook Pro (that costed over $7k) until it can’t attend to my needs anymore. The only itch I have is I feel like I’m missing out on faster export time that the new macs have to offer along with the longer battery life. I’m a fan of the Touch Bar too. The only complaint I have is sometimes the fan is a bit loud

[@narima_atmosphere]

this is such a great comparison. thanks so much. I am music guy, do not need too much GPU OR fancy display...Might go with MAC MINI or MAC STUDIO is M1 Pro

[@xaosm_os]

I feel all these M1 M2 M3 releases and their Max Pro Ultra whatnot are basically like choosing a BigMac, BigCheeseWhooper or the Maxxed out BiggestrippleMacFettBurger. I guess good biz model and offers the consumer the apparent choice levelled to their economic possibilities, whilst upgrading by very small increments (since the M1 tech jump). Thanks for the vids, ive seen like 4 of them to get a good perspective on the M lineage.

[@RogerioValgode]

It’s hard to find a video like this, great info!! Very informative. 👌👌

[@empresssunbow]

I just got my 14" M1 MacBook pro (8 core) for music production! Everything is running smoothly and no crackles with over 90 tracks playing, Of the 90, there are 13 midi sythn and 19 vocals tracks. When playing them all together, the CPU is still at 25% at peak of the song. Although the CPU warning light just came on when I stop playing the track even tho everything is running smoothly. Not sure why. Either way, it is sooo much better than my 2018 macbook pro!

[@empresssunbow]

Oh I figured out! There were a couple of CPU inintense vocal tracks (Ableton 11 new feature - indiviual track cpu meter 🙂). I just have to freeze those 2 and the CPU overload warning light went away! Lowering my sample rate and increased my buffer size also helps too! But it was mainly the 2 tracks

[@JamesZhan]

@@empresssunbow Glad to hear you are loving your new machine!!

[@BillRayDrums]

I have a M1 Studio Max in the "stock configuration" with 32GB RAM. I added an OWC expansion dock for the storage and port expansion. I'm able to livestream and track my entire 5pc band at once, as well as leave Photoshop open by accident. It never chokes and runs like a champ.

[@kennethbobu3989]

Nicely done, James. Good job in breaking down all the component related pros and cons. Thanks!

[@sazzafrazz2652]

Thank you loads for this video. I was considering buying a Studio for my music production, and really didn't want to spend the big bucks! This really helped put it all into perspective. Much appreciated.

[@JamesZhan]

No problem! Glad it helped 😊 Now you can invest the money you saved into something that matters more for your music production!

[@kennethjackson4858]

Hi there, thinking of purchasing a MacBook M1. I use an iMac with 32 gigs of Ram now. The MacBook I want to have when I’m on the road or have to go somewhere and do music for someone else. I use Logic and I have a few orchestral libraries, but for sure if I purchase a MacBook it would be the Pro. Even though I’m not a full time professional, I do like orchestrating and experimenting in writing with libraries and doing whatever is requested from someone who wants to work with me. Do, my question is would it be better to have the 8 core or 10 core and what about the 1 or2tbs? Hope I hear from you. I will go over your video again. And learn more. Thank you.

[@camstanley]

Brilliant video, so helpful as I'm trying to decide what to upgrade to. Thank you!

[@TheWickedblues]

Hi James, thanks for putting out this video. I'm in the middle of shopping for a new Mac since my iMac 27" is 9 years old and can not update to current specs. My main use is for running Logic Pro doing live multitrack recording of small projects that require 20 plus tracks and about 8 to 10 aux effects channels. I am doing some mastering (dabbling) to get the hang of it and potentially make some extra side $$. I've been hedging on getting a Mac Studio but the price tag is a bit daunting and may be more horse power than I need. The only video work I do currently is some editing in iMovie. I'm running UAD interfaces (Apollo twin and Apollo 8)... Wanted to get a recommendation from you as to what you think may suit my needs. Thanks.

[@JamesZhan]

Based on what you told me, I don't think you will ever need anything more than an M1 chip! 20+ tracks with 8 to 10 effect channels is going to be a smooth sail for the M1 chip. If you are itching to get some "newer" tech, go for the M1 Pro, but the M1 chip itself will definitely have enough power with a lot to spare.

[@TheWickedblues]

Thanks for the advice James!

[@TheWickedblues]

@@JamesZhan What do you think about running with a refurb Mac mini with a 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 64GB of 2666MHz DDR4 SO-DIMM memory 2TB PCIe-based SSD1 instead of the M1?

[@dougtheriault9854]

I’ve had 3 Apple silicone Macs. A MacBook Air, A Mac Mini and a 14’ PowerBook pro. I don’t need any of these. I still have a 2013 MacBook Pro i5. I’m a professional electronic musician and it comes down to optimizing your setups. But this is just me. Everyone is different.

[@patrick-ch6te]

Thanks bro, I needed this video, my last by few years back was a big regret

[@sinchlair]

this is the best video in youtube about this topic, thank you so much!

[@tommystratpaul]

Fantastic video, just found you while looking for proper reviews of the M1 Macs for audio. The best video on the subject bar none! Very user centric and focused on what you would ACTUALLY need. Great stuff, instant subscribe. Looking forward to see what more videos you have 😁

[@JamesZhan]

Thanks a lot for the kind words! I've always thought there was a lack of emphasis on what you actually need when it comes to tech stuff, but I think it's important especially if you want to optimize the return on investment, which is why I included it! Thanks for the sub :)

[@Alexholbert]

Thanks for the information. I like that your video is straight to the point not not trying to be forcefully funny. Keep up the good work!

[@Mehlo1212]

best video and explanation possible broholy, u nailed this thanks sm

[@bruunm1975]

I just ordered the MBP 14”. 10/16 with 16gb and 1tb drive. My old and still amazing 2014 MBP 15” is getting on in the years. Seeing how amazing my wife’s MB Air M2 is i decided it’s time. Should be here tomorrow/Friday. Exciting! I do medium session of 40-60 tracks with a mic of audio files and VSTs in Logic and Reason

[@JamesZhan]

That's super exciting! Hope you enjoy your new machine!

[@bruunm1975]

@@JamesZhan I got no doubt I will. My wife’s M2 is mental already! Shipping delayed until Monday. But it’s ok. Been thinking about upgrading fro 2 years so another few days matter little.

[@JamesZhan]

@@bruunm1975 And how have you been liking your new MBP? I assume you already got it?

[@bruunm1975]

@@JamesZhan It is pretty epic and battery life is also crazy. I had some logic projects that needed track freeze to run and now it barely gets to 20%.

[@Tanner6991]

This is an amazing video. I’ve seen so many videos trying to find one with exactly this information. Keep it up!

[@matthewhuber8697]

Dude this video is extremely helpful! And well made too. Thank you!

[@jeremiahcooper3172]

love the video! One thing to potentially add (if you don't already have a video on it) when talking about form factor is the difference in peripheral connectivity since air, pro, mini, and studio have vastly different port options.

[@craigstyles8455]

Best M1 comparison on KZbin by far! Was just about to buy a Mac studio before watching this and you really helped me understand that I don't need Max or Ultra. Looking forward to getting my hands on my first ever MacBook 🎉

[@peterm9955]

Agreed. It seems The Macbok pro14 2tbssd 10 core 32 ram is the one to aim for. I might wait for m2 though.

[@nebulonv6015]

INCREDIBLE video, just what I was looking for... was about to pull the trigger on an M1 Max, and now I'm definitely backing off to M1 Pro. Thanks for saving me bucks!!

[@JamesZhan]

Now you can put the money you saved into something else that gives you a better return on investment! :) And you are welcome 😃

[@calvingudu9237]

Hey!! Great video. Could you do a similar video showing the best Mac M1 for music production . Thanks

[@jasongravely7217]

This is so precise and helpful. I was using a M1 Pro w/ 16GB and 512GB SSD because costco had it on sale for $350 off but returned it because it didn’t make sense for the long term. Was considering the M1 Max chip but now I think I’ll stick with Pro and go for more memory and SSD, because I don’t do complex video editing. Excellent video.

[@sunitjoshi3573]

What did you go with?

[@jackedkerouac4414]

I'm working with an M1, 32gb, 512 gb ssd and experiencing buyer's remorse. It was fine at first but now my daw crashes using a favorite de-noise plugin. Not even in real time during render if I don't dial it back. Learned my lesson though always go a little overkill. I'll naturally advance in skill and that involves a powerful computer that can handle the workload.

[@rocarius14]

Finally!!!! first time ever understanding 100% everything we need to know. Infinite thanks

[@elvirastalos89]

Great review👏🏼👏🏼I WISH I WATCHED THIS BEFORE I BOUGH MY MAC😥

[@dustinmetcalf7837]

Not even 10k subs?? I’m surprised. Great video

[@JamesZhan]

Subs come over time with consistency of quality content! I'm not trying to chase sub count-I'm just happy so many people are finding this video helpful!

[@pocket1684]

Wow James, You are so great.. So much info and answers to my questions.

[@JamesZhan]

Thank you for the kind words! Glad to hear that :)

[@mattiefuller]

This was extraordinarily helpful, and likely saved me a considerable amount of money. Thanks James!

[@lukecuerden6986]

Thanks so much for making such a clear, logical and easily understood video. I'm a full time guitar player using Logic Pro and a pretty old MBP (2013) which is dying. Apple tech is far from my forte and this video completely took all the heartache out of it. The cost of most things in Australia is prohibitively expensive so you really do need to know what you're paying for and what you do and don't need. Even my ailing old 2013 MBP with 16GB Ram stayed green on the memory pressure test using Logic Pro. Tracking, using mastering software and bouncing a project. All same result. Thanks again.

[@JamesZhan]

Hey Luke, glad to hear you found the video helpful! Hope you find a new mac that suits your needs :)

[@TSTBand]

This is so well explained, one of the few that take in consideration every important aspects about getting a new Macbook, thanks for your vídeo and i hope you keep growing!, i've suscribed to your channel

[@JamesZhan]

Thank you for your kind words! Much appreciate it.

[@nukenoly8751]

My base MacBook Air m1 runs all my native daws (Cubase, Live, Logic, Studio One, Reaper, FL Studio, Bitwig) flawlessly. Nothing else needed for audio work.

[@elizabethamoroso4132]

This video has been incredibly helpful, thank you so much!! Also love the new cut!

[@Jamie-B]

Fantastic video. I bought a Mac Studio M1 Max 64GB RAM, and use it for high end video and music composing. You helped assure me that I got the right one for my needs. I paired it with a HP Z Series widescreen monitor to replace my old cinema displays. Very happy so far and glad Rosetta is there to help bridge my software that isn’t M1 native yet. Subscribed! Love your presentation. You’re a smart and talented guy, James. Thanks for the video.

[@JamesZhan]

Sounds like you got the right machine for your needs! I barely have any plugins that need to run on Rosetta 2 now (thank god). Thank you for your kind words; really appreciate it :)

[@AtommHD]

Thank you this has helped narrow my choice for an M1 audio production system..Appreciate the time and work put in.

[@marknyberg1884]

Hi James I bought a MacBook Pro 14 10 core 1 tb drive as I use spitfire audio plugin’s and native instruments via midi files the machine is great after 95 track in midi

[@JamesZhan]

Amazing!

[@cdscores]

Thanks for this. I have a Mac Studio with the max chip and 64 gig of ram . So glad I didn’t get the ultra! Def have huge sample library templates I load for my work but now I will check that memory pressure graph!

[@urbanman1516]

On point video. So straightforward.

[@TheDenOfTimbsStudios]

As someone who owns the base model M1 Pro, i can say it as been the best laptop I have ever got my hands on. 16GBs of memory works great for my videos, the media engine works great for 4K videos, now the only thing is that is hard is having good Wi-Fi! I will say, thanks James for the help with this video.

[@JamesZhan]

Glad to hear that! What happened with the wifi? Wifi is very fast on my M1 Max computer!

[@TheDenOfTimbsStudios]

@@JamesZhan, where I live in Georgia (US). A lot of the suburbs have trash connections to Wi-Fi, although it has gotten better.

[@iamALPA]

Great solid M1 buying guide and excellent video production! Thank you!

[@JamesZhan]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@peterm9955]

It seems The Macbok pro14 2tbssd 10 core 32 ram is the one to aim for. Maybe wait for M2 though. Hope they bring it out this year.

[@johndeefair]

Wow. What a great clear professional video on exactly the topic I wanted to understand. Liked and subscribed. Thanks for helping me.

[@JamesZhan]

Glad to hear it helped!

[@vinn.4615]

Thanks for such a great video! It helped me a lot :)

[@letmebreakitdown2u152]

This is by far the best review! I just watched other so-called experts give reviews, and they were saying that these machines are perfect for music. They were basically saying the exact opposite, but without no substance. This review explain why these machines are overkill for someone who is just doing normal music. But all of these other KZbinrs who are commenting on the Mac studio, is saying that it is perfect for music.

[@JamesRoneyMusic]

However, these reviews and most comments, are not from real world heavy users running big projects on them. I’ve run into serious slowdowns and extreme latency on both Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro on the Mac Studio resulting in endless spinning balls. If your video projects are small you should be ok. But for audio productions serious latency anywhere from a quarter of a second to a full two seconds. Others running into the same latency problems as well.

[@letmebreakitdown2u152]

@@JamesRoneyMusic so you are saying you have the Mac studio and you do above what a normal music hobbyist would do? You do large scale music producing and it's a bit slow? So for everyone but someone doing big time music production on a large scale it would be ok?

[@morganhuggins6367]

This was the video I was looking for - thank you

[@jamesmurff193]

Just subscribed. I would like to know your take on the m1 ipads, and usability. You are very knowledgeable. Thank you for your approach. Everyone else seems to be giving opinions instead of facts.

[@JamesZhan]

I think M1 iPads are amazing for what they can do, but I think iPadOS is still not there yet for more professional uses. But for some pros, like digital artists, iPads with the Apple Pencil is actually a sufficiently pro setup. For music production, I think iPads are still far away from joining the ranks of computers.

[@drewhamre]

I’m so tired of my PC blue screening for no reason and projects progressively get slow as hell despite having a relatively expensive machine with a 3900X 12-core CPU and 32GB ram. As a lifetime Windows user, I think Im finally going to permanently switch over to Mac.

[@JamesZhan]

I was also a lifetime Windows user before I switched to Mac. Windows still has advantages over Mac, but for professional work at least, macOS feels SO MUCH more stable, polished, and easy to use, imo! I use a Mac for all my professional work, and kept my custom build PC for gaming 😃 Best of both worlds haha

[@drewhamre]

@@JamesZhan That’s a good point. I think the main thing that kept me from switching was just familiarity with Windows and of course gaming. But since I decided to completely quit gaming 5 months ago there’s really no reason not to switch 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@JamesZhan]

@@drewhamre There was definitely some getting used to. To this day, I still think Windows' taskbar is way better than the Dock in Mac, so is the Alt + Tab (Cmb + Tab in mac) behaviour. I will tell you now, if you want Windows' style Alt + Tab behavior, get Contexts.co. Been using it ever since I first bought a Mac and there's no way I'm going back lol.

[@elementsmusicproduction692]

really good comparison. Thank you :) Now I know what to get next! ... I also love how detailed the comparison is.

[@Raju]

Amazing video, brother. Keep it up!

[@jeausy]

great video, thank you. just the sort of comparison video i was looking for

[@aldo34]

Really useful comparison, very clear and totally focussed on the area of value v cost. Thank you!

[@JamesRoneyMusic]

What this video does not address is very serious flaw in the architectural design of the Mac Studio when it comes to using it for a digital audio workstation. There is severe latency issues that continue to go unresolved.

[@borismccutcheon6743]

Super helpful and practical video. I went for the MBP 8 core with 32 ram after watching. Thanks!

[@JamesZhan]

Enjoy your new machine!

[@MrTupeloFlash]

Just bought the Mac Studio…Will be returning it & waiting for the studio M2 …hope it will be released soon 🤞

[@sgeggbub1008]

Overall a very great and informative video, and here's a summary of my experience. I have been using the M1 Max and the M1 ultra for some time now and I can say that both have worked very well for what I do. I use logic pro at a 64 buffer size (for ideal latency when recording guitar and other live instruments), and both machines have been really good. Both have the binned chip as I have no need for graphics, and I decided on the Max over the Pro largely because of the double memory bandwidth. I can agree that it's definitely overkill as I usually track largish rock and create pretty large electronic pieces, but I wanted to future proof it, hopefully I won't have to buy another studio computer for the next 10 years, or until the support drops. I also do light gaming with compatible games, or via steam remote play at is has worked very well. In all of these tasks, I have notice that I still need to monitor the CPU on the M1 max as it still peaks sometimes, but on the M1 ultra, the thought of never needing to check it is great and I would say psychologically it has improved my music production. There are negatives though which are to be expected. A lot of plugins that I used to use haven't been updated yet, and some will never be. I contacted novation about how long it would take them to update novation B-station (which I had religiously used), to which they responded they wouldn't. There have also been problems due to migration assistant and transitioning with a time machine backup. Sometimes Logic did very weird stuff which was largely fixed by reinstalling it, but there are still a few bugs here and there. Not sure if it's compatability, migration, or just monterey, but they're there nonetheless. Overall all the M1 chips have been great IMO, though only get the ultra if you do GPU intensive stuff or plan to not upgrade for a long while. I would rather pay extra for something I might not take advantage of, than be stuck with something not powerful enough.

[@JamesZhan]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Based on what I've heard from people, if you are migrating from an intel Mac to an M1 Mac, the migration assistant can cause a lot of issues, which was why I didn't bother with it, and just set up the computer from scratch (it was a good opportunity to purge junk, anyways). I totally understand the desire to future-proof, but I still believe the M1 Max and M1 Ultra would not be cost effective for music production needs for a couple of reasons. 1) Apple is still in active development of Apple Silicon Macs, so I suspect new Apple Silicon Macs will come out every year. One might be able to find a Mac with great CPU power but not crazy GPU power in the future; 2) These M1 Max and M1 Ultra Macs are very expensive. For the same amount of money, one could most likely build a PC where most of the money is dedicated to the CPU, and not buy a dedicated GPU. This way, your money is spent to exactly address your needs, and I would argue that you could future-proof even further this way. Of course, one major downside of this approach is that you would need to switch to Windows, which is a no-go for many. But still, it's something to be aware of as a buyer, imo!

[@sgeggbub1008]

@@JamesZhan Yea exactly. I know people that get what they need and do incremental upgrades every year, but in a decades time, they will have ended up spending more than to just get something overkill that would last 10 years. For my current workflow it’s definitely overkill, but I soon plan to some sort of kontakt string and orchestral library for uni, for use in tandem with movie editing in premiere. I would think that should be able to somewhat saturate the performance offered in the M1 ultra, and if not, I guess that’s just even more peace of mind haha. Keep up the good vids James!

[@Plastidon]

@SGEGbub so with the ultra the cpu spikes haven't been an issue anymore? I do the same type of rock and metal recording. On the M1 I get spikes or clipping using a buffer of 128 some master buss processing Superior and a few nureal dsp plugins active. It's a lot of money to upgrade, so really want to make sure it can Handle basic audio stuff like that. Thanks for any feedback

[@francissreckofabian01]

Me too. I don't need the graphics (now) but I want to future proof.

[@sgeggbub1008]

@@Plastidon well in my experience, the cpu does spike sometimes but the sheer headroom in performance of the ultra makes it unnoticeable. I’d say make sure all the plugins are native and support M1, and also keep your eye on activity monitor

[@shakisso8646]

Thanks James,I found you accidentally ,and I enjoyed your explaining,discussing,and teaching system. Thanks very much.