Switched from PC to Mac: 1 year later. Is it REALLY better? 20-Year PC-DAW user's experience
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After having some issues with a 2019 i9 MacBook Pro I switched to a MacBook Air M2 and finally to a Mac Studio Ultra (M1) and MB Pro M3.
I can confirm everything you said in the video. Really the best choice I could ever make. The Sillicon Macs are just perfect. A game changer. Silent, powerful, efficient with great usability.
For all you gamer producers: there are way less games on Mac. And this is good. Because you should finish your song.
Lol, hey now, gaming is the perfect way to take a break from time to time...
Bad news... with the introduction of the M3, Apple have started making a drive into the game market.... so expect to see more titles coming to Mac over the next few years. đ€·đŒââïžđŹđ€Ł
But, if I wanna game, I have an Xbox Series X for that - something Microsoft actually makes well! Or, well, I have a number of high end PC's on a shelf that would run games if I wanted them to... not as if they do anything else anymore đ€·đŒââïžđ€Ł
@@mkgilmore The main reason I would like an M3 is because of the efficiency of the SoC ARM chip design, have 10-20 hours of battery life is awesome, but it is sooooooo expensive for not being able to run games properly yet. Once it can run overwatch at at least 240 FPS at 1080p with render at 100%, no stutter and minimal input lag, then I will be paying more attention.
They will get there, I know that, but right now I cannot afford to buy one, especially since my current laptop runs Ableton 12 pretty much flawlessly.
For the same price as the M3 I can build a PC that runs overwatch at 540 fps and buy a 540 hz refresh rate monitor. Which if you don't know what that means, lets just say it blurs the line between cgi and reality, it is soooo smooth to look at extreme refresh rate monitors (not artificial refresh rate like some tvs have, proper refresh rate renders every individual frame, no artificial copying.).
â@@vodkastudios4170worked in IT over 30 years mate, know exactly what you mean! They will get there, eventually for gaming - it's a serious goal for them now. But if that's what's important to you - then I for sure wouldn't be an early adopter of them for gaming. Everything else though, game on! They're just going to keep getting better, so they'll be ready, when you are! đ
@@mkgilmore If i could afford the expense, I would get one right now, that battery life is such a good selling point, it would make me go outside more to make music and that alone is awesome. Camping with it and only having to bring one jackery battery for a whole week of charging? Yeh it isa pretty cool lol. But I will wait a little longer.
Even if Mac's and Apple's ecosystem are better, I wouldn't leave Windows. I've built and DIY changed batteries, rams, drives, cards, etc on my windows laptop and desktop. The money I saved from all that vs a visit to the Apple center makes me happy where I am with my production tools. I've also been able to repurpose old windows machines into useful media devices--- like a retro game console.
You probably aren't fully booked in your studio and have enough free time for all that computer hands on work
@@Kris_jellybeard Probbaly doesn't need to be with all the money saved.
@@Kris_jellybeard I just like tinkering with things. The backup PC taking over production duties cost less than half of the Mac. If there's only one downside, it's the ILok-locked plugins I can't use when something goes wrong. If Apple concedes to a right to repair law, I'd be very willing to welcome a Mac in my space. At the end of the day, they're all just tools making the same result.
@@royaltyfreemusiccollective8662 If the money you save on tinkering your tools is compensating the income loss, then your business is not viable.
@@MattStevens9824 So you run a hobby, not a real business.
Same here, I gave up PC for 10 years ago before that I was a PC nerd. Now I use a Mac Studio M1
This is so interesting... along with the diverse comments. I'm a lifelong, advanced PC user. I build my own with high specs per what is compatable with my DAW software and firmware. I have not had any issues as long as I've been in the business, and I also edit video regularly. It's when I made the switch to the Mac Pro trash can unit, that's when I had major issues. The spinning wheel of death was haunting me every single day. Needless to say, I switched back... with again, zero issues. So my experience is the exact opposite of yours. Hence why I find this topic interesting to read.
This is simply because there are people grown up with Windows and others with Apple and yet others who discover that they were not in the right world all the time but thought it was normal - not until they change they notice they were in the wrong one all the time đ
@@blackcouchstudio6622 thank you for comment.
I agree with you. I would NEVER consider a Trashcan Mac Pro. Thatâs why I never went for it. But the big problem with many comments is they come from people that have ONLY used one of the two systems. Some of them are not only biased but also entirely wrong as they assume pros and cons for each platform. Itâs no surprise that the most meaningful comments (no matter the side) is from people who used both.
Like you đ
@@DomSigalas the Mac Studio specs look amazing for the footprint. I would consider moving back to that in my studio only, if finances allowed. But currently I couldn't justify the expense because my PC based system is working perfectly. (watch, I probably just jinxed it!)
@@blackcouchstudio6622 hahaha PCâs can provide amazing performance if you know how to navigate issues when/if they arrive.
For me it was the update situation that was the most problematic. I asked people from DAW building companies about this and they all agreed that this policy from MS is not very welcome to them either.
But other than that, if it works, donât break it- I wouldnât change my PC either if it wasnât that there was this big coincidence that when I was considering it Apple came out with the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra Silicons :)
You'll love the Macintosh computer until you have your first Hardware failure and find that you can't repair it yourself.
And they tell you it needs a new Logic board..which you can't buy yourself from anyone else
@@royaltyfreemusiccollective8662 and they spy on you too, and were called out for it a couple of years back.
@@royaltyfreemusiccollective8662Iâve worked for producers that use Macs and Iâve heard âitâs the logic boardâ multiple times at the Apple Store. Every single time they just bought a new MacBook because of the expense and they were going to lose everything on the laptop anyway. There was a period pre 2010 when Apple support was great but my experience the last 15 years has been âwhen thereâs a problem, open your walletâ.
been using iMacs since 1999.... out of the 4 Mac's I've owned over the last 25 years, only one iMac (2007) had a logic board failure and that was in 2021, 14 years after I'd bought it and used it daily. they're workhorses that dont break. I still have to use PC's every day at work. what a nightmare they are, continually needing an I.T. department to fix things like not recognising a printer on the network, you know... basic shit.
@@coldacre They aren't workhorses. They are shiny fragile unicorns. We have owned 5 Apple computers over the past 20 years and 3 have died due to poor thermal design. A 20" Imac, a 27" Imac and a Macbook Pro all under 5yrs old. The two Mac Minis have been fine which is probably because there's no screen built into them. I'm sure the M2 mini will be fine as it runs pretty cool compared to the intel based machines. I've never had a PC hardware failure other than an old style HDD go down which I was able to just swap out unlike the current Apple computers. If you are the type of person that needs an IT Dept to get basic things like a printer working then yes you probably are better off having a simpler OS.
I'm glad you made this video, it was weird that you didn't until now, I've been waiting.
A month ago I also made the transition, and I don't regret it for a moment.
The dumbest thing I've done, yes it cost me a lot, but damn everything works amazing!
I saw that mixbus also uploaded a video about it.
Just shows the change happening to all music professionals.
So friends, whoever is debating, has the opportunity to make the change. Totally go for it, you won't regret it!
We work with 22 PCs (Windows) in the studio (Nuendo and Cubase) and would never think of swapping them for Macs. That would be priceless. We digitize old tapes, vinyl, cassettes... We need so much special software, lots of hard drives and are much more flexible with Windows. Most importantly, 99% of our customers (cities, states, state libraries) are all on Windows. But you have to configure the PCs yourself and keep them clean.
Right. Add couple of pcie cards, a number of ssd or internal or swappable spinning drives (cheap!), and a mac doesn't do it.
you're a business with a Windows infrastructure that you've invested money into. of course you wouldnt be able to afford switching 22 PC's over to Mac. your customers though... arent they musicians? how does the operating system of your clients have anything to do with playing a WAV file?
I'm working on a Mac Studio and use a gaming PC privately, so I'm agnostic in this regard. If I think of the exhaust heat and enery consumption of 22 PCs compare to 22 M-Macs nowadays, I certainly would pick the Macs, but backwards-compatibility regarding software is really bad on MacOS because of all those CPU-switches. But probably is even worse with the ARM-Windows now coming and I doubt that x86 can compete on this level of efficacy.
@@coldacre well, for ex. Mac can't even properly extract huge archive files, quite a bummer for bigger data, also Mac can't decrypt Bitlocker external drives, cannot write to NTFS drives, recent MacOS version even corrupts external drives formatted as exFat... there's too much hassle with Win-Mac interoperability it's not worth at all at bigger scale of multiple studios (we're in similar situation like above)
@@TazzSmk I seen apps at the apple App Store that would let you write read and write on NTFS drives. I also tried to use exFat so it would be interchangeable with windows and Mac but exFat seems to make the files bigger or the drive space smaller.
Every MAC user ever: 'Everything just works for me'.
PC/Windows guy for more than 20 years here. I always loved to build or renew a system. I was searching for new computers for church and tested a Mac mini for the first time in my life. From the first tests the M1 series got me. Completely quiet, fast for everything throwing on it, no driver or USB issues - it was just perfect. I got a Mac mini for myself and just plugged off my PC.
Later I got a Macbook and as you mentioned Airdrop is so enjoyable to use.
I came to conclusion, that since Apple M Chips are all same as powerful in their specific generation, all I need is a Macbook.
Now Everything I did and do is running so smooth on only one system - a "Laptop" which is complete quiet, lightweight and portable. Wherever I go my whole Music Libraries are with me, ready to use. Crazy times.
I love my PC, and I love building them. I am due for an upgrade this fall when the new chipset comes out, however, I'm intrigued. Safe to assume you are a musician and record in a DAW, since you are here on this video. If so, if you had used PC and have all your VSTs in Windows format, do you have to buy them all over again for MAC, since that is a different installer/package?
If you've been a PC Windows guy for more than 20 years then maybe you can help me?
I have one Windows PC that is about 4 years old. It's been crashing quite a bit lately. Sometimes I turn it on and it doesn't boot up. Other times it boots up then I run software and it crashes within a few minutes. So I recently upgraded the boot drive with a brand new SSD. It still crashes. Doesn't seem to have rhyme or reason.
Any ideas on why (my) a Windows PC computer keeps crashing? Even with a new SSD?
I've had Macs for decades and they almost never crash. My one Windows PC has crashed more in the past 3 years than all of my Macs combined for over 20 years of Mac computers. I've probably owned at least 15 Macs.
@@777trader8 I know you were asking the other guy, but have you reseated your RAM? That can sometimes be an easy issue to fix, but it depends. Started by doing that first.
@@777trader8 Unfortunately there isn't a specific thing to name as a cause.
First I would buy a power supply with more wattage. Cause after years a "low quality" rig is loosing more wattage then a high quality one (still they loose some). In this case if your hardware takes to much energy it shuts down. Doing Paper work might be fine, playing card games too. But in the moment you run a specific task it needs just a strong energy peak for the system to shut down for security reason.
Buy It somewhere you are able to send it back if it still doesn't work.
Second I would take one RAM out. If you have 4 sticks, try it with 2, if you have two, try it with one. Try them on different Lane configs.
Depending on the CPU you might have onboard graphics. If so, take out your graphics card for testing.
If you don't have measuring tools than trial and error is your only option.
â@@KevboKev For some reason my answer wasn't saved.
Compatibility depends on the manufacturer. The VST/FX I use/used were available for PC and Mac on one purchase as separate downloads. But back then not every Plugin was Apple silicon compatible.
That shouldn't be an issue since it's 3 years ago, but if you use very specific, long time not updated plugins from small companies, then these might not work natively. Better check their website if your work depends on those.
Still there is a workaround to run your DAW through Rosetta (Virtual Windows and/or x64 MacOS), but with the cost of more resources.
I for myself had most troubles with some waves plugins.
I bought the M1 Mac Mini in 2020 with 16 gigs of RAM and 256 SSD. At first I loved it but after using it on projects I saw that it just wasn't quite enough. And I didn't see spending $2,500 just to get a functional machine so I bought a used I 7 9700 Dell computer for a couple 100 bucks; max out the ram to 32 gigs and put several 2 TB high speed SSD's in it and it is serving me well. Yes its slightly slower in some things but having the ability to upgrade my own ram and ssd's is priceless. Especially for the fraction of the cost. The M1 is my last mac unless Apple gives the user the ability to upgrade their own RAM and SSD with their RAM and SSD of choice.
@@perrykeshahwalker5321 same
This. I've been a mac guy since 2005 and I'm afraid I've bought my last mac. If I can't change the SSD (which is a wear part!) then the machine is going to landfill in a few years. That is totally not aligned with my values.
Apple is not in the PC business any more. You won't see anything reasonable from Apple any longer. They want the younger demographic, which doesn't relate to PC's. It's been about the Iphones till now but that's live it's purpose as well. Now they are a SW and services company. Recurring revenue every month, full access to all your date, unlimited advertising revenue. Steve would be proud of how they're ripping you.
I Changed to windows based computer in 2020 after 10 years of mac os...just because my mac won't start...I got my first job in the pandemic period and my mac won't work... so I got a pc, a very fast machine and installed windows 10 (now I'm on 11) and my daw and all plugins...everything works perfectly...don't had a single problem in 4 years now....I don't get the windows hate
đŻ
Same here mate. Everything just works for Windows with me. I hate the Mac OS window management as well so much I was ready to throw the computer. Windows shortcuts and os just make sense to me and it just works..
I had a Mac for 12 years and now I use Windows with no issues... I think it's up to you
Windows and RME UFX 3 are rock solid together and I never have to worry about an OS update bricking my plugins.
@@dannyprecysroadtoforever5234 Yes! RME! Rock solid!
13:33 It took me a second to realise dom didnât say it will last him 45 years đ
@@BleuNoirProductions đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł I doubt that !
completely opposite experience here. Been an Apple user since 2011 and since I switched to the M1 Mac Studio Max I had a shitload of issues and I've never ever been experiencing so many crashes and glitches in Logic. Switching back to Windows as of today
I have quite literally never heard anyone say they've had issues with Logic on Apple Silicon. I can easily run 140 tracks on my MBP M1 Pro, and crazy amounts more on the M2 Ultra - and I've never had glitching.
Is it maybe down to something like a third party plugin?
Yes, plus the annoying issue of OS upgrades completely breaking a lot of DAW software. It would be nice to be able to upgrade to new OS features straight away, and not having to lag behind OS releases just to make sure everything works
@@mkgilmore it's a combo. Mac studios have been reported by multiple users in Reddit to suffer from SSDs randomly disconnecting (this created a lot of issues with samplers like Kontakt f.e.) and yes 3rd party plugins. The problem is I'm using M1-Silicon versions of those plugins but yet they cause problems even tho Logic successfully validated them. And Native Instruments is not a random bedroom developer. I have 300⏠worth of plugins I wasn't able to use because of all these inconsistencies. The same plugins worked well in the Intel based macs for years. The new comer here is the Mac Silicon architecture. I have to point out I'm only speaking for the Mac Studio M1 based. I rarely saw bad reports from M1 Macbooks. Nor I know if from M2 onwards things got stable again. Mac Studio has been, by far, the worst investment I've ever made.
@@simonr344 so it's unreasonable to think that they have to stop developing the OS in such a way to not only maintain its security, but also add new features - but also not break things in the process, that developers need to change their code for? C'mon man, absolutely nobody that's running thesr devices professionally is going to update their OS to a brand new version, straight out of the box - without it being tried and tested in some kind of way.
Don't get me wrong - some of the updates have required more to be changed by developers than others, and that's not only meant that it's taken longer for 3rd party software manufacturers to "fix" their stuff, but also that they break more things in the process. That's just part and parcel of any serious featureset or security update, and the same happens on Windows too.
If your machine is critical to you, then you wait until such times as all your 3rd party suppliers have updates, and confirmed their software to work on the new version.
If you want to be an early adopter, have either a second OS partition installed on your device (same advice applies for both Mac and Windows), or a separate device that you use for testing or other purposes.
I'm not sorry to say, that only amateurs prioritise playing with new OS features, over the stability of their workstation. And the same pitfall is agnostic of whichever OS you choose. đ€·đŒââïž
@@mkgilmore you're right. It's easier for app dev to dev for Apple because of the hardware-software compatibility. In the Windows world, god knows what card, driver, ram, mainboard you use to build it? So it's very random and sometimes it just doesn't work with some combinations. But for Mac, everything is the same. Nothing in the world is 100% bug proof but Apple just does it better than other brands.
I have no clue how good the high end apple products are, but my M1 macbook air handles 40 tracks in Cubase with my windows computer doing 300. Both were 1k.
Knowing that you can hardly spend more than 1000⏠on a Windows computer, they have to be the way to go on restricted budgets
@@lanceevans1689 you can spend a lot of money, but it won't make the audio performance better.
Highest end desktop CPUs are priced well below 1000âŹ
@@lanceevans1689 Well the 14900 or 7960x I can get for 500âŹ. I don't think you can get better desktop CPUs, or can you?
I'm terms of audio realtime performance, that will be the bottleneck.
You can always spend a lot of money on ram, storage and graphics cards
@@lanceevans1689 and by that I obviously mean that you might still need 128gb of ram, but even that is rather very cheap
@@lanceevans1689 you can get it for pretty much just that (64gb ram, 1tb storage) with everything exceeding that being treated as add-ons. Idk you could shove a 1050ti in there to make it work.
My PC cost 1.1k before I upgraded my graphics card
I was a Cubase (beta) tester in the 80s on Atari đ
still RULES!!!
Similar transition after >20 years with Windows. I simply couldn't deal with it anymore. It was fun when I was a kid but the older I am the less I want OS to get in my way.
I'm getting a bit more juice and much lower latency from Mac mini that is 20(?) times smaller than my PC (3900x). It's insane.
Mac ARM and MacOS are awesome for audio - and a few years ago I was an "apple hater" :D
You want an OS that just is what it is and nothing more. Not one that doesn't get in your way. MacOS gets in the way so badly. Can't stand it.
@@rmcq1999 not for me. I'm turning Mac on, I'm opening Cubase and then I can work all day without any issue.
The last Windows that I enjoyed using was Win7. I can't stand Win10 and Win11 (the latter I still use for the Game Dev). Win11 is horrible for HiDPI and multi-monitor setup. So many issues with DAW and plugins it's crazy. On Mac zero issues with HiDPI.
How it gets in your way? Bugs? Errors?
@@rmcq1999Absolutely the complete opposite for me. Everything works on my Macâs and I never need to hack the system or anything of that nature. At work the IT department is constantly coming down to fix another problem on the PCs
@@lanceevans1689 Well that hasn't been my experience where I work, or indeed the other places I've worked. Maybe it has been like that elsewhere, but it has not been my experience. Big or small, the fact is, it's alway been the PCs that seem to always be needing assistance and maintenance in my experiences.
@@lanceevans1689 But many creatives don't want to be computer geeks, they just want a reliable machine so they can get on with creating which is perhaps the reason Macs are popular in the creative fields. I think it's something of a misconception that Macs are 'locked down' though. Sure, Apple have always tried to make things easy and reliable but it doesn't mean you can't go under the hood if you want to.
I'm just impressed it took you so long to do it! I did it in 2001 for the same reasons. Never ever looked back or had second thoughts.
2006 here. I had a similar experience as his. We had a professional recording studio, and we kept having a lot of trouble with PCs-constantly tweaking and tuning them-yet we never got them to work perfectly. Thereâd always be random crashes or clicks and pops in the audio. And we had a number of professionals come in and replace components, tweak the registry (which we all became experts on), and so on. Switching to Macs was a culture shock. We took them out of the boxes, plugged in the gear, and everything just worked.
Good one! I use a MB Pro M1 Pro for about 3 years now and it still feels like a brand new blazing fast machine. Very happy with this purchase.
Same, still runs like the day I got it, even after two major OS updates, to now running Sonoma. Most Windows laptops I've previously had would have either needed a full fresh install by now, or replaced! But the M1 Pro just keeps on running! I'll probably update it when the M4 comes out, but I'm certainly not feeling the need to from a performance standpoint. And as Dom also said, the resale market and value for these things is STRONG, as we all know just how much life and worth is still in these machines. It's insane!
How much RAM you have?
â@@takaliuang16Gb on my M1 Pro MacBook, and 192Gb on my M2 Ultra Mac Studio. I've never had any issues with either running out of memory, even with large video projects.
@@takaliuang 32GB, 16GB would have been fine tooâŠ
I made the switch half a year ago and I can confirm: no issues with drivers or detecting plugins. A total awesome experience for PC Usersđ. Sometimes Cubase crashes. Same as on PC (Win10). I only can recomment to switch to apple (for Music production).
I trust you because I switched to a MAC about a year ago too, and my experience has been exactly the same.
Think its easier to repair a pc yourself if your ram, grapics card, motherboard, etc need to be changed. Ive upgraded my three pc's multiple times without the need to buy a new computer and they just getting better and faster over the years.
I have never needed to repair my Macs. đ€·ââïž
@@RayyMusik Good . Because you can't - they won't sell you the parts. 75% of the 4 Apple computers I've owned have gone wrong.
@@RayyMusik Wait until they age. And moreover I had been a Mac Pro user since a long time now I've had the trustly old 2009 Mac Pro with dual CPU that thing was my favourite because it had modular components, I still use that computer for my works along with a custom built windows PC with i9 and 256gigs of memory but nowadays even tho newer macs are better I cannot simply afford to have a computer with all soldered-in hardware, if something goes wrong you'll have to take them to their authorised service centers and waste your time, that doesn't sound 'pro' to me.
@@junaidsiddiquemusic My iMac Pro is 6 years old without any issues. I donât expect it to run for 100 years.
@@RayyMusik That iMac Pro has modular components inside unlike todayâs Macs which is just a one logic board like a phone. đđ
Iâve been a Mac user for 22 years now and thereâs no way Iâd switch back to Windows. Everything youâve said here are truly valid points, especially since Apple introduced their M-Series chips and abandoned Intel. Brilliant video, as always!
Lots of utilities & other programs iLike won't run even on 7, let alone 10 or krapintosh. All the stuff he talks about U can do on windows XP as well or better, which is my main OS. Silly how many fools pretend they can't use N E thing but the 'latest greatest $camware' =)) Newer doesn't mean better. If a restaurant 'no longer supports' making real food & now only offers bowls of dog $hit 4 lunch, these clowns will gobble down the poo =P I'll stick with the 'stale pastry', thanx =D Nothing is perfect.
100% agree. I switched in 2010, and you couldn't pull any of my Macs out of my cold, dead fingers! The time I save alone, makes the investment worth it - easily!!!
So 22 years without a real comparison but sure everything here is valid, uhuh.
Hey, never say never. I mean, I NEVER thought I'd recommend a macbook (Air M1) as the best value computer when it came out. But I know what you're saying. For Music production, it's awfully hard to go against a Mac, unless you have a music PC maker.
I wish I could say the same for blender, but can't win em all.
Like Dom, Iâm a professional user and have come into contact with current Windows systems. Thatâs how Iâm able to make that claim. Iâve been using computers for music since the Commodore 64, then the Atari ST and spent 3 years on Windows before getting a Mac. Thatâs how I know what Domâs saying is valid and to say that a Mac isnât a real computer is just a sign of a Windows fanboy lashing out in anger. If something is better, then Iâll use it and especially since the introduction of Apple Silicon, a Mac is better. Simple as that!
Wow!!!! Thank you. đ
I Really appreciate it!!!!!!
For me, the calculation was simple years ago. Is my time better spent building PCs and tinkering with them and optimizing them, or literally anything else, from making money to spending time with my loved ones. Macs just work. MacOS just works. The tech support just works. Peace of mind and valuable time gained.
Mac works like a charm but exchange files from Mac or IOS devices with other platforms is nightmare. Thats main reason why I still use Windows. The second reason are ram upgrade prices. You have to buy new Mac to upgrade ram. This is ridicoulos.
it isnt difficult to factor in the RAM when you buy a Mac. I bought a Mac Mini Pro with 32GM RAM last year, I'm good for the next decade. this continual need to upgrade your computers parts is not something I'm interested in. buy it once, forget about it.... then get on with making music.
sorry to tell you that, you did not have understood apple... there is no need to share files they are all there on every mac or ios-device
Iâve been using Mac and Windows for a long time, and it is TRIVIAL to share data between the platforms, so I donât know what youâre talking about there. But youâre right about the RAM prices.
I use Airdrop and it just works...
@@fernandofragoso4118 AirDrop isn't available on Windows or Android. Only in Apple environment.
I switched to Mac in 2011. Never looked back. So fast and easy to use.
Hi Dom, just wanted to say thanks for making this update video. I'm die-hard windows audio guy and do video and game production yadda, so I'm keenly interested in learning how your migration goes. Glad to hear it's all working for you, man! Please do keep us updated.
I moved quite a while ago to Mac. Why? I was done with those endless tweaks of that bloody Asio Driver. Man, that thing drove me nuts. I moved to Mac also because of Logic Pro but since a few years I am a happy Reaper user on Mac. I made also a huge investment I think 2 years ago on buying a Macbook Pro M1 and it runs like a beast! I am so happy with it. I am not saying that everybody needs to buy a Mac but for me it was the best choice I did for music productions! I work within IT and work almost daily with Windows computers.
Was on Mac, then went PC, now back on Mac - and so pleased to be back. While the apps operate much the same, I just find that generally I can get on and work so much quicker because of how slick the interfacing is, just silly things like scrolling and 4 finger swiping between desktops is just so natural and quick....
All those time savers leaves more time for play (and family of course!) I really don't want to lose hours with configuring machines anymore, which is easily done with Windows. :)
Like there R not over a dozen different 'virtual desktop' apps 4 every version of WIndows = LOL
But you get exactly what you want and there are so many third party apps available to get exactly what you want. And if you're proficient, it doesn't take hours to configure.
I don't know what kind of PC you have, but my Ryzen 7 5700G works great. It has 32GB of RAM and a 3TB of internal storage. Total cost was under $1K. Have you had problems with e-cores being used instead of p-cores by the Mac? I have heard a lot of horror stories with people having audio spikes.
Never had an issue with spikes, ever on Mac, whereas got them regularly on PC (Ryzen 3900, then 5950x, 64Gb DomPlat, 2x Samsung 990 Pro PCIe v4 NVMe m.2, Nvidia RTXa5000 GPU). Whilst those machines were both specced and built for live broadcast purposes (and still fulfil that role), they have never been able to handle anywhere near the amount of tracks at the same time, as any of the new Apple Silicon. And the Mac Studio M2 Ultra (24 core) that I have now, will absolutely DESTROY the 5950x on any render too.
I did have to adjust the buffer slightly (to 512) on Ableton Live 11 and 12 on larger projects - but this hasn't been the case with Logic (10 or 11), Bitwig Studio (my preferred DAW), or Cubase. I've had zero issues with E cores being used over P cores either on my M1 Pro MacBook, or the M2 Ultra Mac Studio. They just keep slappin!
@@mkgilmore Spikes have been an issue for some time now, especially on apps the use the JUCE dev platform. (I beta test for PlugIn Guru Unify and many Mac M series users have complained.) See thread on the JUCE forum: "FR: Thread-Priority vs Efficiency/Performance Cores".
@@TonyThomas10000 I'll have a look at that later, interesting. I run some plugs that are based on JUCE 6, and I even think 7 too - but I can't say that I've noticed any spikes (and I can see all the cores easily via iStatMenus at all times). Be interested to see what's the cause of that, and try to replicate it.
@@mkgilmore There is a CZcams video "Roland Cloud VST plugins - XV-5080, JV-1080, SRX VSTi" that shows spikes in action. The person has a M1 Max. The XV-5080 VST works just fine on my Ryzen 7.
@@TonyThomas10000 cool, I should be able to replicate that, both ways - although I only have Ryzen 9's, that shouldn't matter.
When I made the move in 2002 i was scared to loose everything but I realized that I will never go back to windows ...
The year they released it, I bought a humble 8Gb M1 Mini to replace my frustrating Windows machine and was frankly gobsmacked at the difference in performance. I use Bitwig and VCV Rack as my sound design playground and Cubase for tracking and mixing. All of them operate flawlessly, plus I can now play my Helix floor and monitor from the DAW because I have no latency⊠Best decision Iâve ever made when it comes to music production on a computer! Great vid Dom, cheers.
Pretty much agree on everything. I'm an IT specialist that has been running Win, Macs and Linux for about 30 years in one form or another. I only have music production as a hobby, so I don't have the money to spend on a maxed out Mac Studio model, but a Mini is pretty much OK for most smaller productions. The on board storage can be an issue, but tag on a quick external drive and you're fine. (Backup your stuff! They do break!) With the new 'revelations' for Windows I'll most likely leave that behind and go full Mac/Linux.
what revelations on windows?
@@papahuge Win Recall, worst idea ever, security wise.
@@lanceevans1689 Until they decide it will be on forever. Remember telemetry that had an off switch before?
@@lanceevans1689 I agree with your words... Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
And Apple doesnt care about legacy audio gear. One update and your whole studio can get bricked. Some engineers are stuck, running Pro Tools 9 with its audio interface system and control surface on obsolete mac os because when they upgrade, everything wont work. I wont throw my money at Apple.
Some simple tips for that problem: Don't update your operating system the first day it arrives. No rush, wait for the upgrade to your audio interface manufacture has upgraded its drivers.If your hardware is way too old, you may not be able to upgrade your operating system at all. Buy a new audio interface. Pro Tools 9 is 14 years old. it's not Apple that doesn't care, it's your audio interface manufacturer that doesn't think it's worth creating new drivers for their older stuff. It applies to all types of operating systems.
â@@hedisenIt doesn't apply to Windows, or at least not anywhere near the same extent.
@@hedisen It's, in fact, Apple not caring. Every single major OS version (as far as one can call it major as it's still OS X) some production software or device suddenly stops working or being supported, due to some protocol changing on Apple's end. And sometimes companies go out of business, making it completely impossible to ever update Mac OS while still using the software or hardware. As someone used to both Mac and PC, I've never had that happen on Windows.
Apple is constantly improving security for you as a user, they cannot allow really old drivers from your audio interface manufacture to run on their more secure operating system. That would be a security risk. Windows and Android doesn't really care of your security and privacy. Don't blame Apple, blame the manufacture of the audio interface that doesn't care about their old hardware users. Should the audio interface manufacture care about a driver for a 14 year old product? - Well, that is a better question.
@@hedisen It's a false sense of security. When is the last time you've heard about audio hardware/software causing security issues? Now when is the last time you've heard of companies going out of business? Exactly, one never happens, the other does all the time.
When I own things, be it hardware or software, I very much would like the choice to still have it working like it did. Even if protocols are no longer supported by Windows, one can still get it up and running easily without hassle, whereas on Mac that's quite literally impossible.
Besides, if it was for the sake of Apple's security, it means their previous OS wasn't actually secure...
Great choice !!!
I bought my first computer in 2000, a Mac titanium laptop, and then bought the first version of the ProTools MBox. In 2022, I bought the Mac Studio M1 Ultra, and now have the ProTools MBox Studio. I make a new video every week, composing, playing, recording, mixing, etc. The Mac never kicks its fans up to a higher speed and is silent as a sleeping mouse. I am sure you will enjoy your new Mac !! Thanks for your excellent videos and great advice !!! Que va piano va sano y lontano!!!
I used macOS for composing and mixing for 12 years, had several macs (still have them), switched to windows for numerous reasons. Using windows after mac is a bit painful in some aspects, but once system is tuned well, the difference is insignificant for me.
I like Windowsâs freedom. As stuff works for longer. 15 year old software and devices still work. Also I can put anything anywhere without using symlinks.
The thing I like about Mac is aggregate device functionality. And the overall feel of the environment
Ever seen Loopback and Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba?
If you like Agg. Interfaces, prepare to have you mind *explode* đ€Żđđ€Ł There isn't anything you can't do with audio routing on a Mac! One of the reasons I love them so much!
and why would you use old software?
â@@Kris_jellybeardstrange question. Because it's good
@@pavelmolchanov7156 and not working on newer machines đ
I've still more years in experience with DOS/Windows/OS2, but I'm quite happy that I changed in 2012 (and since then could most of the time use Apple at work): User experience, calculation power for money with the Mx processors, durability of hardware, stability of OS, saved time to keep the system alive compared to Windows, etc. The worldwide "blue screen" problem right now is another hint to think about a change.
Upgrading my PC to the latest CPU, motherboard and RAM was 956,65 euro's and that is more important then what a MAC can do for me. The PC does for me what it should do without any problems and I use it for everything. After many problems with my G3 powerMac, I never bought a new Mac again, their support is just criminal.
Great video, and Iâve had a very similar experience
I went from PC to Mac Studio a year ago. I switched back. The Issues with Cubase kept compounding, and my Cubase workflow was just slower. Same with Finder. File management is still better in Windows, for me anyway. The mac was plenty fast, so that was not the issue.
đŻ
Agree!
Oh God, I despise Mac file management. Of all the reasons why I hate Macs, that one is very high on the list.
You don't use Cubase on a Mac. Cubase is a way better on a PC, because the VST formats work better on a PC in my opinion.
What's so good about file management in Windows? I sometimes miss the ability to calculate the sizes of all folders in a list view and then sort them by size, something MacOS has been able to do for ages.
By the way, I have a Windows 11 desktop at home and use a MacBook for work. I see advantages and disadvantages in both operating systems, but will admit I prefer MacOS overall. Except for gaming. :)
I've been considering to switch for many months now, thank you for this video, I still need to consider it, but this video definitely helps!
I moved to mac Mini M2 Pro 16gig from a i7 32gig pc and the Mac is just so much better. Was worried about the 16 gig ram since I could not afford more but so far still much better and no problems with my 16 gig ram.
@@SkeadFerdinandMusic Awesome! thanks for that info
@@lopez_guitar pleasure.
â@@SkeadFerdinandMusicthe memory management in Macs is insanely more efficient than Windows managing a swap file - that's for sure! Whilst I'd definitely recommend 16Gb minimum (moreso for future OS upgrades etc), I've also seen 8Gb machines do stupid hard tasks way better than they should too. I've never run out of memory on any Mac I've ever used... and I use the absolute crap out of them!
As I said though, if you can - definitely always get 16Gb minimum. đ
This video seems very biased as I assume he has had a bad experience with Windows. For what its worth, Windows just works and keeps working for me. Never had a single DAW issue. The fans might kick up and be more noisy but hell I could care less as long as the OS experience is good and for me the window and shortcut management is much better in Windows.
glad to hear that..im a 15 y mac user and will never go back to windows, tried hackintosh too and it worked amazing too...now im so happy with my m3 air 16/500..it just works!! regards and best wishes Dom.
I totally agree. I too have a similar work background and for most of my 30 year career, Iâve run both Apple and Windows PC systems. Iâve come to the conclusion that PCs are hobby computers. The hobby is puzzling out Windows. Iâld rather be doing anything other than endlessly sorting a PC! Thanks Don.
ROFL @ PCs R just 'hobby' computers = clearly Y they R by far the main thing in all professional business & production environments, world wide =))
I have owned/used over 10 mac products dating back to Powerbook and honestly they have 100% failure rate for me. Just an anecdote, but its crazy my experience. Exploding batteries, backlight issues, dead RAM, etc. Swore Mac off years ago and got a new M1 Max Macbook for work (free) and within 2 weeks it completely died and had to be replaced. The idea of buying an Apple product is comical to me at this point.
I found it interesting that the new $700 M1 Macbook at my local Walmart had a broken screen in the first week it was on display. Retail laptops today tend to have very fragile screens, and apparently this one is no exception. I only buy laptops with a durable screen (usually Dell Business laptops) because their going to get dropped at some point.
And while $700 price point vs a PC is not bad, there is no way to upgrade past the 8 gb ram. (or upgrade past the 256 gb hard drive) And 8 gb ram is not equal to 16 gb in a PC as Apple would like to make you think.
Im with you in this bro its just acward to choose mac over pc especialy for us who do programming and gaming mac is trash and hype you have to stuck with what they gave you in the box with pc you can always upgrade and overclock
MBP late 2017, broken from the start: "Butterfly Keyboard" was the first noticeable mishap, got replaced with another "improved" keyboard that was unusable, too. Battery failed more and more often, took them years to admit they built crap. So then I called support, okay, they'd exchange it for free. Got it sent back to me, "yeah it's broken, but sometimes it runs, so it is not broken enough", no replacement. Paid 250⏠to have the battery replaced (including the top case/keyboard, cannot be separated from the battery part). Got it back, it ran for a day, then: Complete death. And no new top casing, because miraculously the construction must have had changed somehow. Called them, sent it back. There they found a liquid damage. In an engine I had treated like the "apple of my eye". After having thoroughly tested and repaired it, oopsie, where did that come from? They contacted me, for ONLY 400⏠more they would also replace the top case.
And stuff like this happens all the time and lots of deluded fanbois don't want to shamefully admit having been ripped off.
Apple are scammers, a fraudulent bunch, whom I hate with my guts. Burn, Cupertino, burn!
What on earth are you doing to these things
@@Harrysound A fair thought but all was normal use. I actually used to work for Steinberg for almost a decade. Every one of our Intel MBP had battery issues that had to be fixed. 3 personal Mac laptops and Mac Pro all had to be fixed. I left the audio world professionally for IT. I have a ton of expensive products at work and at home and I don't have any real issues. Only PC part I have had go bad in 20 years was a mobo. I realized I was likely just unlucky but the experience has left me not wanting to return to Apple. Funny extra: Once I had a rubber foot on my Macbook fall off and I was at the Apple store and they said they had to send it in!! lmao. I will never forget that.
Thanks Dom, for the honest view into state-of-the-business for computer media processing.
Gave up windows in 2004 it was a revelation must have saved me hours, no more registry problems and as a logic user I have to have a Mac!! Glad to see you are using macOS....
I don't know. The best ever music, which will never ever be replicated again, regardless of what computer you use today, was achieved with a 1mb Atari STFM using a prehistoric version of Cubase. You should be blessed with whatever you use now.
Had one myself as a kid. It was great if you had ÂŁ1000s in 90s money for hardware synths, samplers, an ADAT etc⊠a modern DAW and software synths can replicate for far less outlay. The MIDI ports and Mac-like interface made it a beast for MIDI sequencing but a sequencer isnât a modern DAW. An Atari Falcon 030 with Cubase Audio and a DSP for effects rendering was a game changer because it was the best of both worlds but you still needed a lot of external gear to replicate a modern DAW. Again. Because of the limitations of a CPUs of the time and the need for external MIDI synths.
@@barkmonster That isn't the point. You can make music using a basic second hand $200 HP i.7 laptop. That is my point.
â@@louminati4318 That's true, but you can't compete in this industry with a 200$ hp laptop, because it's about speed, precision and a lot of tools for any case, some client may want. I agree on the fact that this isn't what a carrier in music production/writing should be, but it is.
@@MaxKusari mate you can very easily make a 90s style house & garage track using a 200 pound laptop. That is all Iâm saying.
@@louminati4318 I've got music on TV that was made with Pentium PC and an ADAT
OK - A maxed out Mac Studio is ÂŁ8k - ÂŁ9k here...for that I can buy 3 or 4 studio PCs even if I pay someone else to build them. My photographer wife uses Mac and 3 out of 4 machines have died due to poor thermal design since she switched from PC ( Apple won't let you buy the parts to fix them ). They may indeed be good computers but Apple are anti-consumer - anti repair - and non upgradable. My background is IT sales , I've sold millons of ÂŁ's worth of computers in my life both Mac and PC so I know my stuff and I recall that Apple used to be competetively priced with PCs back in the day but now take advantage of their loyal customers. I first made music on a C64 and these days I write music for TV on a Windows only DAW so I would never use a Mac for it. My wife won't even upgrade her OS as she knows it will break Photoshop. Give me a modular computer any day that I can take apart and upgrade, not these these sealed shiny boxes where they add a security chip to stop you even changing the HDD. No thanks.
Why would you buy a fully specâd Mac Studio?
Do you need it? Probably not. Like you donât need 3 PCs. I run a video production company so it makes sense for me.
I have mentioned at least 3 more affordable options (MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook Air). You can get a Mac Mini and the performance is amazing. So you donât need to spend ÂŁ8K :) Mac minis can give you great performance for ÂŁ1200-ÂŁ1400. âMacs are expensiveâ is a myth these days, sorry.
Also, if you talk about issues with thermals it means you havenât tried the new Apple Silicon Macs. Which is the biggest mistake that PC users make.
Try it first and then you can make up your mind. I use and have both so I can talk without guessing.
Also, Photoshop works perfectly even on the latest version of MacOS (Sonoma). So I have no clue what the issue is here.
Anti repair: Apple has ALWAYS fixed any computer I sent them for repair even ones that were out of warranty. So this argument is not true either.
Modularity: if you plan to switch ram sticks and GPUs every few months go to town with PCs. :)
@@DomSigalas I am not talking about Apple repairing stuff at their extortionate prices ( and they will pretty much always tell you it needs a new Logic board even if it's not true ) but selling the parts to allow those of us capable to fix or upgrade our own machines. We have an M2 Mac Mini - my wife does not see much if any performance increase over her old Intel Mac Mini which was about 5yrs old in Lightroom & Photoshop. And they are expensive if you want 2024 ram & hdd configurations. They price them cheap with ram and storage that was adequate a decade ago then charge through the nose to add the extra which you can't do yourself. Like I said, anti consumer. They are a walled garden closed box, soldered together piece of shiny lifestyle gadgets these days rather than genuine computers.
@@DomSigalas You should try to get your hands on a 13900t micro pc and see how it fares. the 13900t scores high on it's benchmarks and has low thermal ratings (35w) cpu. It would be fun to see it.
Great review!
Dom congrats, super specs enjoy it and watch out for dust build up into fans đđđ
I have had a different experience with macs - I had an MBP a couple of years ago which had a lot of hardware issues and I definitely felt let down by Apple support. That prompted me to return to the PC fold for my DAW. Now if my computer has a hardware issue I can fix it myself. I haven't had any issues with driver updates etc. There are a few music related things that windows doesn't do well - Bluetooth MIDI, AVB and thunderbolt for example, but this hasn't been a problem for me.
Everyone has their own process, and moving to Mac can be a steep one if you're not used to it. I've worked in IT for over 30 years, and in my experience of Apple from a professional standpoint as well as a personal one - they have never once let me down on support, especially if it's a confirmed hardware issue. 9 times out of 10, they would just replace the hardware completely. Sometimes witg custom builds, they will have to send those away for repair, due to them not having the matching specs to swap them with. So I am a bit gobsmacked with your experience.
These things are meant to make your life simpler - so you've got to do what you want, within your own boundaries to achieve it. If running on PC doesn't give you any hassle, and makes you happier - then maybe that's just the solution for you. Maybe one day you'll try Macs out again, and hopefully have a better experience than you did last time - but either way, so long as you're happy with it, it's the right solution. đ
@@mkgilmore And how long does that take? I had a cooler block's motor give out. I swapped it for a new unit that I had couriered over and was up and running on that system 2 hours after it failed. I got a full refund on the warranty return two weeks later. No warranties on any of the components of that build were void as a result and I wasn't waiting around for brilliant service that I had paid through the nose for in the purchase price.
@@rmcq1999 that's fantastic, great that it works for you. But remember that the vast amount of people that use computers, don't have the technical knowledge to actually do these things themselves. That's why people like me have made such a great career in IT. đ
For random Joe Bloggs on the street, it's probably dependant on what support is available in your area, but even at that, if your box is under warranty from an OEM, you either need to get an onsite visit (if you even have that coverage), or return-to-base and await a repair. So it's apples to apples, literally đ€Ł in that scenario. Depending on the age of the box, and the hardware configuration, I've often seen Apple just issue a new or refurb box when you take your broken unit in for repair - so the theoretical "downtime" is minimised, in those scenarios.
But being brutally honest with you, I've seen nothing but new spec PC's give nothing but problems with audio related scenarios. From buffer underrun, and being unable to render or sustain realtime audio, plugin stability issues, to just generally poor performance (on high spec machines) - each PC can be totally different, and have a different resolution... if there even is one. In some cases, it's not even an issue that can be resolved - with processor manufacturers blaming the motherboard manufacturers, to everyone blaming Microsoft. It's great to watch as a finger-pointing exercise - but absolutely useless if you need a resolution to a problem that renders your hardware useless for the purpose it was built and paid for.
Whereas, buy a Mac - and it's a consistent experience, in my (and most others) experience. I can guarantee the same behaviour between different devices, their consistency is repeatable - and that's what a lot of people need, especially when they use their devices to keep clients happy, and make money with. Not spend hours/days/weeks playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey with an operating system that seems to have been designed to work against you. đ€·đŒââïž
It would be nice to show an honest expenditure amount you acquired going to the level of Mac that makes it so very nice. Just for a little reality check for those who donât understand what type of money you laid down. Not trying to be an ass. As you said youâre a professional and time is money and the tools you need are critical.
Such a valid point. The amount of money you spent for a decked out Mac Studio is just not realistic for me. But I've been a mac user for about 20 years and I switched to PC for the cost savings and built the computer I wanted and it's been working extremely well for me. I really enjoy Apple but I can't justify the cost of a decked out Mac Studio.
Yeah I just looked at the price tag of the max and the ultra and daaaaayyyyymmmđź
@@PurpleMusicProductions Yeaaaaaah that money would get You a really sup't up PC and a second one for back up.haha
I would encourage you to watch the video. I literally talk about three different setups starting from below 1000 bucks, just over 1000 bucks, 2500-3000 bucks.
The machine I got is for a full blown video production company needs. I state this when I mention it. For most users itâs an overkill but this doesnât mean that I recommend this for most users.
So please donât take the extremes as an example. Watch the video. Even with my MacBook Pro thatâs now 3 years old I get amazing performance. And these you can now find second hand at very good prices :) â€ïž
You donât need to by a Mac Studio. I run a video production company. For me it makes sense. You can get a perfectly powerful Mac Mini for just over 1000 bucks. Thatâs not too bad compared to PCs.
On your advice, I just switched to a high-end MacBook and the Cubase migration was extremely easy. Third-party plugins have taken days to replace, mostly having to do with licensing. Most operations are now so fast that it almost seems like they didnât work (Ozone Assistant now just takes seconds to run). Absolutely no audio performance issues and my external thunderbolt SSD is so fast that it is faster than my internal drives used to be on my PC! I think Apple should send you an enormous amount of free stuff, Iâm sure that your recommendation has driven a great deal of sales. Iâm glad I made the change, thank you!
Your report means to me more than Apple could ever pay me. I couldnât care less about that.
I am happy you are more productive and creative â€ïž
I built a totally silent PC for my studio 2 years ago, it works great, fast, cool, no issues. :)
You know there are ways to "drop" files on pc too yeah? I use a Logitech mouse that does this seemless.
Hi Dom, I've been using Nuendo since the very first version and I'm now on Cubase 13 Pro. I absolutely love your channel and learn valuable tips all the time from your teachings but sadly I'm writing you to talk about something that I personally am having a problem with. I come here for the content and you do an excellent job at that but for the life of me though I can't understand why you have to have the camera zooming in and out all the time swishing sounds every time a new graphic comes in from the left or the right we're not playing video games here, we're trying to get educated and you're so good at that. It's not only you a lot of CZcams channels are jumping on the special effects bandwagon it's become a fad and is so overused like the Papyrus and Crayon fonts of the yearly 2000s remember those?. It demeans the channel in my opinion and makes it makes it very uncomfortable to watch. Thanks for listening and please don't get me wrong I love the channel I just could do without the bells and whistles. đ
Fame and toys ....
I have same perfect experience...no trouble, no problems...fast work, no latency for incredible high quality sounds. No problems with all external components inc. ext. storage, NAS etc. thanks God..realy ! or Apple !
As a lifelong Apple user this is all dead on, but one thing. I have sold older macs almost every time, but it was often a mistake. The downside to Mac OS is it isn't always 100% compatible with older software, some developers like NI upgrade plugins, but don't replace them, i.e Kontakt 4,5,6, and 7 are all different to your DAW. So if you have an 8 year old mac and are thinking of upgrading, you'll want to keep that older mac so all the plugins load in 8 year old songs.
12:14 nahhh Dom no clue what you are talking about.
The highest end Intel and AMD chips are quicker by a factor of 5.
They cost 500âŹ
I'm skeptical myself. When I look up the passmark M2 pro max cpu it's benchmarks are quite low. Even the low wattage 13900t (for micro pc's) is close to double it's score. Some people say don't pay attention to benchmarks, but in my experience, the scoreboard doesn't like (Jim Rome). The lower the benchmarks the slower the pc runs. As I upgraded to faster cpu's with higher benchmarks, my PC's fly.
So I trust Passmarks results over fan boys of either side saying how fast their machine is. That is why I requested Dom to show us a side by side i9 PC stacked with synths vs a Mac 2 pro stacked with synths both at the same buffer setting to see how many they can handle. To me that's a real world test. My guess is the Apple will do quite fine, but with benchmarks that low, I tend to think it will start dropping out sooner than the i9.
I did the opposite (back in the early 2000's mainly for print-production)... I.e. I started working on an Apples but when I started out my own business I could not afford a Mac so went the PC route... And truthfully, I love the PC's to this day, due to the vast flexibility if offers. What made Mac superior to PC's back then was the design software that were exclusive to MAC, but already in the early 2000's Pc versions of such software made me never look back... Even back in 2009 or so I got a mac again, and it was just a prettier looking computer, but perfomancewise, the Pcs I worked on gave me much more flexibility.
Good video, really informative!
Almost got me to switch to MAC. It would be nice to plug and play everything you throw at it.
Have to stick to Windows for now since I also do BIM/CAD engineering work aswell.
Iâve used Mac since 2011 for music production, first with Logic Pro, then pro tools, now cubase/nuendo. And last year I got a really powerful MacBook Pro with the M2 chip. I thought that Nuendo 12 ran pretty well. But Nuendo 13 runs so smooth I canât believe it.
Dom, thanks a lot for the video, perfectly on time and just proved my experience! Since I moved from Ukraine with my family I've lost my studio and had to start everything from scratch with a PC laptop and very simple setup, cuz we had to change our place of living 9 times... It was a time like "Long live freeze button!" (Cubase) Finally in order to keep things light and simple but with more efficient and small machine I decided to make a step towards Mac mini about a month ago since it was so inexpensive these days and I couldn't even imagine how much would it change for me in terms of performance and stability!
Again, thanks a lot for your amazing job you for every video! Take care! Alex
If you want a Windows Computer for DAW use in the US, the best builder, IMHO, is Jim Roseberry who owns StudioCat. I bought an i9 13900k based machine last year from him and it runs like butter! No hiccups, no stress, no problems with dense mixes 250+ tracks and soft synths and amp sims up the wazoo!
All that said, I think itâs awesome that the new Mac is getting it done for you, Dom! Furthermore, I agree that the ease of integrating your Mac Pro Book with your M2 is the bomb!!
Unrelated question; why do you use Cubase instead of Nuendo? Wouldnât Nuendo be more helpful given the amount of video work you do? Thanks!
Love the channel!!
In my experience, both systems work excellent, but in the end I stayed with PC because of its ease of expansion, compatibility and the number of programs that exist, even on Mac I had errors in Cubase 9 years ago and no one talks about it. Even so, both systems have their strong and weak points, for example on Mac its ecosystem is more coherent and functional between two devices due to its strong hermetic control but it is quite expensive and mainstream, on PC if you have it only dedicated for audio it works even better than a Mac since I notice that I can run a lot more tracks without clicks and pops. Plus it's much cheaper to upgrade to the newer CPU on a PC than it is to upgrade a Mac.
I've been using Mac and Windows side by side for nearly 20 years, and aside from games, I can't think of any software that is available on Windows but not on Mac.
Great inputs
Bought a Mac Pro in June 2020. Now 4 years later, I can NOT use Logic Pro 11 because, no more Intel support for all plugins. Thats 10k for a trash. I have also a PC, 8 years old - ZERO problems with any software update. PC was around 2k... hm, so I can buy a new PC every single year and so on... I LOVE Mac OSX but the hardware is a scam, sad but true.
Yes you can use Logic 11, but you don't have steam Splitter and chromaglow, that all!
@@joseivanmartireyes4646 so, and what's next? Next year I cant use this and that plugin etc. on a machine that's over 10k after 4-5 years... well done apple
@@LabofmusicRecords Always happens when new technology arrives! Am not defending apple, am realistic! You can use youâre Mac twenty year and logic to if you want, just donât update.
Each Buddha to his own temple, each horse to its own stable, each PC master to their own machine. I prefer PC, nothing against Apple, just my preference since 1998, I am also team green (nvidia) for GPUs :D
very cool. i'm running a ryzen 7 5700x w/32gig of ram, 64samples buffer, gen4&gen3 nvme setup. smooth sailing, 20-30% cpu on a mediom sized project. love it. thanks !
I switched to a Mac many years ago and the last PC I had was Windows XP. I used to think that for the same price the PC was really faster, which was true in absolute terms. But a faster processor doesn't make work faster. I used both until 2008, but one incident made me realise that the main problem I was having was with Windows and that this problem didn't exist at all on a Mas OS running on an old G4 I had. I sold my PC and bought an iMac, then a Mac Pro, and since 2012 I've only used Mac Minis. (As a sideline, I'm a sound illustrator, I make sound brochures for museums, music for short films, sound identities, etc.).
On windows you can do shared folders between computers on intranet as airdrop is literally just bluetooth.
A mac system is so optimised in terms of workflow. Always had a windows pc, with a macbook as a laptop for a dual system workflow.
@@PureJmist The primary goal of Airdrop is speed. It is significantly faster than Bluetooth since it delivers data via Wi-Fi Direct technology. Itâs the greatest choice for massive data transfers between iPhones, but itâs not very practical for connecting things like speakers.
File sharing is crazy simple to set up on Macs too, and if they're connected via 10G, you'll get crazy speeds over the network - like you're sitting in front of the actual machine, kind of speeds. Makes Windows SMB look like a kids toy by comparison! I connect between my broadcast system (Win10) and Mac Studio at 10G, and the recordings from broadcasts usually range from 8Gb to... well the biggest one was 450Gb (in a single file đłđ€Ł). Like a hot knife through butter! Dead simple setting up various folders to drop things into for different people too, and even if it's a wireless network, it's surely got to be faster than Bluetooth? Although I suppose if it's for a small-ish file, AirDrop will still rip though it also.
You maxed out the M1, but what are the specs of your PC?
Recently, I've seen the opposite: People switching away from MAC to Windows. use what you want, it's the results that matter.
Absoutely: Use what you want- nobody cares.
My PC was also maxed out (super fast drives, i9CPU (overclocked by Scan too!), 64gb of RAM. The performance wasn't the issue. The problems I had were. Like USB devices disappearing, Thunderbolt being incredibly flakey, DPC spikes when moving a window from one screen to the other... The list goes on- even PC gurus I consultes were raising their hands saying "can't to anything you have to live with this" . :(
@@DomSigalas Ohh..sounds like you were in chipset compatibility hell! The issue with PCs is the vast array of options. Ensuring compatibility is hard!. Apple solves that problem but at a cost! Ive seen plenty of thunderbolt issues simply because I chose the wrong motherboard.
@@mistaox The truth is I've seen die-hard PC users (myself included) like film composers, (you can see this for yourself if you do your research) switching away from PC for the first time the recent years. The reality is Apple nailed it with the new CPUs. You can get an affordable Mac Mini and be able to do amazing music without any problems. For less than 1000 bucks. This wasn't the case years ago.
There are just too many things that can go wrong with a PC. If you're experienced like I am you might get away with it and fix them but at some point you have to prioritize- your livelihood or your OS choice :)
@@DomSigalasThe performance people are getting in DAW software with just the 4 performance cores of a base M2 Mac Mini with 16GB is insane compared with 12 and 16 core Xeon Mac Proâs from only a few years ago because the CPU power blows them out of the water. Itâs not all good now Apple are being sneaky with the number of performance cores on the M3 Pro chips by only having 5 on the 11 core and 6 on the 12 compared with 6 and 8 in the previous 10 and 12 core M2 Pro when it comes to MacBook Proâs just so they can push people into getting the M3 Max systems with 10 or 12 performance cores.
There are pros and cons for each operating systems for DAW's or any other application. Apple has made some good advances in CPU power recently but for years the PC has won that battle so it will ebb and flow back and forth. Just like there are many different DAW's for different people depending on cost, ease of use, performance, etc. In the end "different strokes for different folks", use whatever makes you happy. Neither PC nor MAC is the clear winner in every category.
Hi Dom, I'm so glad you explained all of these things that Apple products and services have. I used to be a PC windows guy until I realized what the Apple products could do for music since 2011. After that I switched to only apple macs. I'm a heavy duty daw user of over 7 Mac Pros systems using VEP 7 and my new system is also a Mac Studio 192Gig M2 Ultra too. Cubase 13 Pro works so lighting fast on this machine, it is just so awesome! What you said in this video about EVERYTHING is true! For me, Macs really do work way better. On two other topics. #1 I like your ATARI shirt, I remember those days! Also, your lighting in your studio has inspired me to do the same with my studio, it keeps me musically creatively riveted! Take Care, Ryan
PC has flaws, Mac has strategic flaws
oh what strategic flows?
@@Kris_jellybeard the inputs on iPhone
@@LearnCompositionOnline The inputs? What do you mean? How is that related making music or producing? By the way I have no iPhone, Samsung for ages!
@@Kris_jellybeard you can use the inputs to produce music on iPhone, this is the relation.
If you know how to build PC from scratch specific for audio, there's no Mac that beats PC performance. Apple products are just overpriced. I've been building PC's and using Macs since 80's and Cubase from Atari time!
Sorry Dom, but this video sounds like a Apple ad.
Agree. This subject has been argued ad nauseam on forums like Gearspace since forever. It's pretty much a troll subject. Similarly specked machines will perform roughly the same regardless of OS. Never taken me more than an hour to do fresh windows install. There's something disingenuous about this video. Both OS are fine. Use what you want people. You don't have to have an Apple product to have a pro set up. Dom knows this....
Apple ad is correct. The whole time he doesn't talk about specific examples of problems and if he ever found a solution. Never had a problem on Windows.
Exactly, go to passmark and look up the M2 pro max and see how it scored. Then look up a low wattage 13900t (i9 micro pc) and see what it scores. imo Benchmarks don't lie, at least not when the final score is that far apart.
I use a Macbook Pro 16gb ram and a PC as a slave with 96GB ram. With Vepro this is an affordable way to run my huge orchestral libraries. In my country a Mac Studio with similar specs is the price of an apartment.
Great presentation, no matter what we all think. It can really go both ways I can imagine. For me it's been Macintosh all the way, Video, music production, graphics, photography. So many friends have PCs and I don't try to change them. They're happy and I'm happy!
Agreed! I never judged Mac users for 20 years while I was using PCs and I certainly wonât do it now to PC users. Use whatever works for you :)
Another APPLE tearjurker show. MAC is only great in performing with its own hard- and software!!! PC's are overall better and reliable and much much more compatible with ANY hard- and software ...and not to mention safety ...Read the Internet and don't let Don fool you!!
đ€Łtrue
You are talking nonsense, I don't know what kind of windows you have installed, and what kind of hardware you have... I worked until the beginning of this year in a graphic design company, I personally worked on a PC, an old Intel i9 10900k, with 32 GB of RAM... colleague worked on Mac Mini M1 with 8gb RAM and 500gb SSD... So MAC is a toy for snobs... all the tasks that MAC could (due to low memory) do, my old PC did 2-3 times faster... .and MAC couldn't even do half of that. MAC is OK if you put a lot of money into it in the beginning... but if you don't do that... you can scratch your ears!
Yes sure Iâm talking nonsense. I installed Windows 11 Unicorn Poor Performance Edition. Wasnât this the right one? I am sorry.
My PC was optimised to the final spec and look around you - the vast majority of the audio industry and video industry are raving about the M1 Macs. If you want to prove your point make a video and show us. Iâve made 4 up to this point on the subject.
Writing a comment accusing me of talking nonsense means youâre just butthurt because youâve never really used a Mac to compare. Get yourself a MacBook Pro M1 or M3 and come back here. Or is it too snobby for you?
Are you also comparing a PC with 32gb of RAM with a Mac Mini with 8gb???
Whoâs talking nonsense here?
đ€Šââïž
@@DomSigalas ... Of course I'm comparing, the same amount of money was invested in both computers. I don't want to diminish the quality of Mac computers. If you want a Mac computer to really work properly, you need to invest significantly more money in it than in a PC. Personally, I don't like computers where I can't change the component, or upgrade it, increase the memory or insert a storage unit. Claiming that Win 7-11 are unstable is frivolous and superficial. Personally, I don't remember when my windows system crashed, while a colleague on a Mac mini had a problem due to lack of memory, ah YES, Mac computers don't crash, they just "Quit".
@@igorbalen3389and what kind of audio work do you do exactly?
Just to understand what work weâre talking about?
Did you measure your computer for DPC spikes? Are you talking about office work here? đ
Listen, my friend, if you work fine with PC why change it?
Here I made this video to help music producers, engineers film composers and video creators hear my thought after using both systems thoroughly for over a year.
If youâre happy with what you have keep going - youâre blessed.
But coming here and venting doesnât make any sense. This video was clearly not for you.
The sooner we realize operating systems are not football teams the better off we will all be. I cannot understand why people get so upset if someone says that the opposit OS works better for them.
Also when did I say that Windows 10 were unstable? Or that they crash? Do you even know what DPC Spikes are? Show me on the video. I never said that.They are just super flakey with multiple (40-50) usb peripherals and thunderbolt devices. The fact that YOU donât use so many doesnât mean the problems donât exist.
I understand you donât use computers in a professional studio situation. So your points are perfect if you just want to do standard PC work. Stay PC -be happy đ
The one and only sticking point at this time is the ARM Chip. And that is obviously about to change.
Actually, you can do a full backup with Windows and reinstall the previous backup. I have an RDX system, external and internal, on all my PCs. It's fast and easy. Once you get the PC bugs all worked out and the system running perfectly, do a backup. That backup is your picture-perfect DAW config. If something goes south after installing a plugin or even a major upgrade, you can easily revert back. I've done MAC for years and would not think of switching back. I've got 48 cores (HP Z Station) running CUBASE 13 PRO with no issues.
BS Cubase is identical on a MAC/PC... It makes zero differnce... And yet i can build a powerful PC for less than a MAC... And you can even run MacOS on PC if you really want to...
"I'm a power user when it comes to PCS..." "took me 24 hours to install windows 11."
Yeah. does not compute. đ
I smiled, when I saw the configuration of M2 Ultra, 192GB, 8TB and than I tryied to find what it costs :D This view is a view of a man, who dont need to look at price, and I understand, thats not my case. đ Wish U all the best â
I used MBP 16 2019 Intel i9 version at $3,000, mostly for coding
Too big for travel, switch to Zenbook S13 2022 OLED at $1,000, lighter than Air at 1.08kg, upgraded the SSD to 2Tb for around $130, WIFI 6E for $12
I am as productive now as when I am using Apple, but with an easy to carry, upgradable unit
Apple M1/2/3 CPUÂŽs are so fast with best performance - it knocks Windows PCs away in all areas: completely quiet and 12-20 hour battery life without power supply is a dream!
Yes, OSX is the best operating system, no doubt....
Yeah bro but not in gaming and programming
@bighousemusic628 Gaming, yes. Apple lags in 3d rendering, but thatâs going to change soon. Whatâs the limiting factor for coding over Windows (unless you are intending to code for Windows, but that goes the other way as well)?
@@ckatheman bro you don't know the power of Amd ryzen threadripper cpu combines with nvidia gpu even the weakest systems mops the floor with apple its only a fanboy will praise apple dr lisa su will destroys both intel and apple check out their new apus the graphics part of that apu is the same as nvidia's 4000 series cards apple will never pe a pc i knows this because i build and program pc linus tech and jayz two cents and moores laws dead spit on apple everyday not to mention motherboard manufacturers the speed of nvme and usbc 4 smoked thunderboalt
@@bighousemusic628 I couldnât care less. I donât game and the system works incredibly well for my purposes. Never going back to Windows.
â@@bighousemusic628I'm not a kid with 24/7 gaming and I'm not a nerd programmer! I use computers for job and pro music production. M cpus and OSX are king for this.
Windows 11 has never been better and more stable... I can't believe you're having issues with things like drivers, thunderbolt, USB, latency, external disks, or anything similar. That's simply not true! Sorry!
How can you, in any way, say with confidence, that his experience isnât true? When you build your own PCs, shit goes wrong all the time. Just because you havenât experienced this, doesnât mean that someone else hasnât.
@@musicstudioml I canât believe you donât have any issues.
@@musicstudioml I've been on custom PC for 20 years & switch to the Mac when they made the M chip. These new Mac computers are light years ahead of windows, AMD & Intel! The speed & load time alone are on another level. My PC is still good but sluggish compared to Mac.
@@VinceJackson1 agreed. I switched in 2010 after having constant issues with win (reinstalls after reinstalls.). I have a steong pc but only for dcs world military flight sim nothing else. Win is lie a cheap chinese shit. Just seeing the file browser toolbar it shows how ridiculous and what a mess it is. Who canât design a proper ui should not make any os. Fun fact: since my first mac (mini 2009 c2d) I never ever had to reinstall the osx, just migrated the old system to the new computer.. A month ago purchased a :m2 16gb mini and it is just stunning. Bought a behringer audio interface. Watched many videos for windows where they installed the asio driver by hand but the device worked like shit. Latency was 256 ms instead of default 128 and after they tried to set to lower it just refused to work. Also it was max 44 khz not 48. I almost gave up to buy it but then I have find a comment that the problems only win related (and there was some difference between win 10 and 11! What a mess). Now the device works fine with my new mini, no driver neede at all and tadaaa it does 48 khz and 128 ms latency. Win is for gaming. For proper work it is a waste of time. You are always a guest on your own machine.
I was a PC user until this year. Windows 11. One shit after the other with crashes, problems with the graphics drivers (on 2 different cards), USB drives sometimes not being registered out of the blue, audio stuttering at random restarts, that were not reproducable the next time......
Yes, there were good things, like upgradability, or the bigger amount of compatible plugs. However, it's all not worth the hassle. And I grandly dislike the way Apple wants to dictate everything. That's why it took me so long to switch. But I want to spend more time making music and less restarting the machine. Sorry, Bill.
Mac from 1991-2019. From 2019 using PC with Windows. This is my short story. đ
With 40+ years and experience with computers, I have been avid Windows based PC super user for decades and switched to Mac M1 mini (the cheapest one) few years back and it is really no brainer when it comes to music production, everything works much better with minimum amount of hassle. For some other IT work, I still use Windows.
Same, man. I built my first PC at the tender age of 16 at the beginning of the 90's - whilst working as the "Saturday boy" at the local mom+pop computer shop. They had decommissioned a whole load of 286's & 386's from an office they'd upgraded, and I got to make a FrankenPC from them!
There are things that Windows is definitely more geared towards, and some of that is down to the hardware (like Nvidia etc), gaming, use of Active Directory for user management etc. But for creatives? Anyone that won't give Apple a fair shout, is missing out. Their loss! đ€·đŒââïž
Ive been an accomplished professional for a lonnnngggggg time and i use both mac and PC. however, pc (as a power user, build pcs for daws, etc) my main studio computer is a custon pc daw. Runs flawlessly and i run about 1200 tracks in some sessions. Cubase/nuendo run perfectly. No hang-ups, no spikes, no weird things. Macbook pro is for my mobile sessions and quick mixes/quick production. I actually have connectivity issues and driver problems on the mac side that I never experience on the PC side. In my experience, air drop takes too long with my size sessions. Glad to see that Apple is working for you. Oh and also, i never went over to windows 11. Stayed on the top tier windows 10 edition. Interesting video.
We are almost identical :) apart from the fact that I went to W11 and wasnât thrilled :)
@DomSigalas I've been avoiding it for as long as possible. I just got a notification last week that said they will stop doing security updates for W10 in 2025.... Lord willing Windows gets its act together by then hahaha
@@DomSigalas What is it you don't like about W11?
I had my first Mac in 1991 and I agree AirDrop is awesome.
So, with all this being said, why in your opinion would guys like Hans Zimmer or Junkie XL still work with Windows on their primary computer and not switch to Apple? Don't they have assistants to Airdrop to, or get BSOD?
Hi Dom, I think the only thing that has always kept me on Windows is the fear of having to relearn the entire operating system and the second aspect is of an economic nature. Buying a Mac Studio will certainly be a significant but inaccessible step for non-professionals. At the moment I use a Projectlead PC and I must say that for non-professional use it is excellent and very performing. Thanks for the valuable information on the PC - Mac transition
Thanks for the vid, Dom. This has been my experience exactly. When I used Windows, in the days when MS didnât mine your data and sell it, I felt the platform as a whole was pretty reliable. That was the early Windows 10 days. After a while things just got more sluggish and crashy, and I had to keep checking what else the OS was up to while I was trying to make music. I tried upgrades to memory, SSD drives, graphics card etc but I felt I was throwing good money after bad. I had also used Apple before so when M1 came out I did my research, saved my pennies, took a deep breath and pushed the button. Never regretted it for a moment. My old over specced Windows machine is now doing an excellent job as a NAS running Linux ⊠much faster than it ever limped along with Windows. No offence intended to Windows users. This is just my personal experience.
On Mac you also have DPC spikes, people just can't monitor them and therefore don't notice them.
I've do the same choice PC to MAC STUDIO = Same conclusions, this is the best solution ! Speed / Stable / Superior than PC at same price ...
64 sample from the production till the mastering..guys!this is insaneđŻđŻ