This process was relatively quick – just under two hours (for about 1 TB). Due to the large number of plug-ins, sound libraries, music projects, and other software I needed to install, I decided to use migration assistant over Ethernet (after a successful macOS update). These arrived on March 30th, 2022, and ran without any problems on the new macOS as well as with M1 Macs. Meanwhile, before making the switch I had to wait until the UA released compatible drivers and software for the Apollo. The price of a 2-meter Thunderbolt 4 cable is steep, so luckily I saved some cash here with the TB2 to TB4 adapters I bought for the Apollos and my external TB2 drives. One of my Universal Audio Apollo interfaces, for example, now requires a 2-meter cable to connect to the Mac Studio. The configuration I chose: Mac Studio Max with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine, 64 GB of shared RAM and 1 TB of SSD storage as well as an Apple keyboard including Touch ID (finally!). Waiting time: several weeks. Too bad.ĭealing with this requires even more adapters and different cables, which can be tricky. I often use larger instrument library plug-ins (Spitfire, Spectrasonics, and others) and extensive effects, as well as the software testing I do. The new brain of my studioĪlthough my late 2015 iMac 5k with its Intel i7 4.0 GHz CPU, 32 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD still runs quite well, I needed something faster. We know that choosing the Max over the Ultra doesn’t offer the same level of performance, but you sure do save on the finances. This means configure-to-order machines might only arrive mid-late August 2022 if you order today.Īs seen on the various forums and test reports, the M1 Max is completely sufficient for a recording studio computer. Unfortunately though, with the ongoing chip crisis, manufacturing and supply chain delays affect lead times, even at Apple. When you make your purchase, you have a choice of two configurable models: the M1 Max and the M1 Ultra.

Best year imac for recording music