With Apple Silicon chips, you don’t always get the performance you paid for depending on the DAW you use. In this video, I will be analyzing all the M1- and M2-series chips (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra) and discussing which Mac computer might be the best for you for music production, audio production, audio engineering, recording or writing music. The video includes a test that shows how Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Steinberg Cubase, REAPER and Ableton Live perform very differently on the same chip.
👇Watch these next👇
🖥️ M2 Pro vs M1 Max/M1 Pro In-Depth Testing: https://youtu.be/0UlQhWFqpeo
🖥️ M2 MacBook Air Review: Running an Entire Studio on it: https://youtu.be/i8NnPmK2MZo
🖥️ The Ultimate M1 Mac Buying Guide for Music Production: https://youtu.be/BCZplL8ov0k
🖥️ M1 Max MacBook Pro Reviewed for Music Production: https://youtu.be/uX4cBOWFL0U
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:29 Video Overview
01:02 Bechmarks & Tests Videos
01:15 Disclaimer
01:36 M1- & M2-Series Chips: Are 2nd Gen Chips Better?
02:12 Base M1 Chip vs Base M2 Chip
02:51 Power of M2: Running My Entire Studio on an M2 MacBook Air
03:17 Why the Base M1 Chip Is Better Than the Base M2 Chip
04:04 M1 vs M2 CPU Cores Comparison
04:54 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro: Not What You Might Expect
05:46 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): DAW Performance
06:45 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): REAPER
07:16 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): Cubase
08:00 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): Pro Tools
08:42 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): Logic Pro X
09:10 M1 Pro vs M2 Pro (10c): Ableton Live
09:48 Your Primary DAW Is an Important Factor to Consider When Choosing a Chip
10:56 10-Core M2 Pro vs 12-Core M2 Pro: Which One to Get?
11:27 M1 Max & M1 Ultra vs M2 Max vs M2 Ultra
11:46 M1 Max & M2 Max: Improvements Only for Video/Graphics Work
12:38 M2 Max Is a Better Deal Than M2 Pro in This One Scenario
13:10 M1 Ultra vs M2 Ultra
14:46 Choosing the Right Amount of RAM
15:12 Mac Users: Look at Memory PRESSURE Instead of Messory Used
15:55 MacOS Tells You if You Need More RAM
16:24 Choosing the Right Amount of SSD Storage
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// MY POPULAR VIDEOS
○ M2 MacBook Pro Review for Music Production: https://youtu.be/0UlQhWFqpeo
○ Pro Audio Engineer Reviews Slate VSX Headphones: https://youtu.be/4f6rxVgEQJs
○ 10 REAPER Tips You Should Know: https://youtu.be/eaxkODL0V0A
○ The Definitive Guide to Logic Compressors: https://youtu.be/8UNcp12u1eU
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My M4 Pro MacBook Pro Testing video is here! Watch it ➡https://youtu.be/hccy19Hm6M8
🔥NEW VIDEO: My Analysis & Breakdown of the New M4 iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro for Music Production https://youtu.be/POKZlRo-Lgo
▶ My $12,000 Video/Music Production Desk Setup, Powered by an M1 Max MacBook Pro: https://youtu.be/cA3ms_2Yn-A
Great vid!!!
What about base models? Have you a video for them? I like to know M2 pro 16gb vs M4 base model 24gb
sorry the specs for the M1 are : M1 Max, 10 core/ 24 core, 64gigs and 1tb not 32 cores…
I meant to also mention, that I require a machine that can handle everything without a lot of fan noise-as it is in the way when recording and mixing sessions.
Hello James, thank you so very much for the Video! I'm planning on upgrading from an older MacBook Pro to either an M1 Max, 10 core, 32 Core GPU, 64gigs and 1tb or a Mac mini M2 pro, 10 cores, 32 gigs,1 TB, or a Mac mini M4 pro, 10 cores, 32 gigs and 1TB. I'm using it professionally for mostly music production and mixing in in Logic Pro. I usually use lots of virtual instruments and mixing plug- ins such as Soundtoys, Fab filters, Kontakt, Keyscape and Omnisphere etc…and will also be doing some 4k video creating/editing but not going to use a lot of efx for the videos as that is not my main profession. Could you let me know which computer you would recommend from the ones listed above or if you have a better recommendation? Thanks so very much for your time!
I’m still thinking that the M1 Ultra is a good way to go for the extra ram and processors?
For home Recording and editing video (remove the audio video and change with reaper recording) is better m1 or m2? Thank you
Never had a Mac pc but am about to purchase one… I was looking at MacBooks but then discovered the Mac Studio thingys… I use Ableton Live 12, and music production is my priority.
Your videos are very helpful but I’m still not sure which Mac is best for me… I’m gonna continue watching your content until I have clarity.
I was ready to buy the m3 ultra Mac studio so I’m glad I found your content in time, I now know that model is massively wasted on what I’ll be using it for.
u look like a 45 year old computer worker from Silicon Valley, lol!
Very impressive YouTube channel, and graphics. Also, wondering whether the MacBook Pro M1 Max, 16 inches, 64 GB, and 1 TB SSD is a good Buy in 2025?
Super helpful, thank you for this 🙏🏽
Hi James , thanks for the video, it was helpfull . Just a suggestion needed . I am doing music production and vfx and a bit of color grading (davinci ) . which will be an appropriate machine which meets all my purposes ?? thanks in advance 🙂
Man, thank you. You helped me save a lot of money. I'll get a used M1 Pro. It should last for years to come. Thank you!"
Hello,
And thanks you for your really instructives videos.
I saw you made your benchmark on 1024 samples for buffering.
Do you think all the performance would be comparatively linear on 32 samples ?
I’m asking because, I’m considering buying a new Mac for live application and the I/O RT latency will be far more important for my use than the maximum tracks.
I will use live professor 2 in insert with RME Digiface Dante.
As the Dante network and the plug in will natively add some latency I need my computer to be as fast as possible.
Thanks in advance
Which Mac laptop would you suggest to buy right now? Would an m3 air be better than these?
Mac Studio M2 Ultra chip has 16 performance cores so its more than even m4 macbook pro. do you think its a better computer for logic pro 11 ?
50 instances of Diva crashes my Mac Studio M2 Ultra. Is that normal? Seems like it should handle more
The best mac for music production is an Alienware
this was so helpful. thank you!
Please help newbie in the music production. I’ll be using max 24 tracks. I’ll be mixing and mastering with it and I’m using Studio One 4 but will be upgrading to the newest Studio One 7. I’m no where near of using over 30+ tracks anytime soon. I want reliability and really great storage and performance. Which would be best for me? Can someone help guide me? Thanks!
Absolute superstar. Killed it with the review ♥️♥️♥️
Thank you very much for your videos. I really missed the performance of my Lenovo Legion y 540 on Core i7 in Fl Studio. After your previous video on this topic, I tried Reaper, it was unpleasant to change what I know, but the performance in Reaper is 2 times better. I was going to buy a new MacBook on the M4 Pro, but most likely I won't do this, since Reaper allows me to work with my Lenovo. Thank you for saving my family 3600 euros. My wife is very grateful to you.
So based on what you are saying for music production, mixing etc the m2 max mac studio would be fine for me and is not necessary to wait until the m4 studios are coming out. I am still using an intel mac mini i7 6 core at the moment and its been beginning to boggle down on large pro tools sessions with tons of plugins. I want to mention Pro Tools is 32gb ram recommended now as you probably know and I do both produce and mix and want to be able to handle very large sessions and plan on taking on video for my own projects. Hence being focused on getting a studio with say 96gb of ram and a 2TB SSD. I also tend to use glyph ssd’s for Pro Tools sessions and Sound Libraries and planned on getting their NVME drives for the next system so 2TB should be suffice for storage needs. Also trying to have to avoid having to buy a UA Satellite to replace an old Apollo that has thunderbolt 2 since all their plugins are not native yet and I jumped ship interface wise to an RME UFX III. Although, I probably need to see how many plugins of theirs are still not native to confirm so maybe TB 5 wont matter. Anyway please let me know what you think. Thank you it is appreciated