I bought an M1 mini to replace a lightly used office machine, so it's a base model with only 8GB of RAM. I never intended to use it as such, but out of curiosity, I decided to test it a bit as a music machine, and I'm completely astonished by the performance. I've been in IT and using computers for music since the early 80s with every platform (Commodore, Atari, Apple, Microsoft) along the way. This box blows everything I've ever used (including recent top of the line Intel boxes) out of the water, even with apps like Kontakt and Omnisphere that are still running in emulation. Native apps like Final Cut and Logic run circles around the Intel versions.
For those who rely on k'd apps, there's already a lot fewer of those available for Mac under Intel than Windows. It's likely to be quite awhile before we see the ARM variants available on the sister site. Even so, I'm surprised and impressed at how well the Intel versions run under emulation.
One notable performance exception is photo software (Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz product), which are all still running in emulation. They are "ok", but not up to par with top of line Intel boxes with fast GPUs. OTOH, Handbrake native beta is giving me 700 -800 fps conversions!
Lastly, I'm not a big fan of Big Sur (the current OS), but the performance and stability of this box is amazing, so the appearance is trivial (and of course, can be customized). I'm really looking forward to seeing how the higher end machines perform, especially once there are more native apps available. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend even a low end M1 for most users.

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2021

Remember guys this is not a "Does M1 run better than top desktop PCs?" poll.

Also, there's plenty of reasons to bash Apple in the last years. But at least, a small part of the "all for the money" revenue philosophy was destined to develop this amazing M1 architecture.

 

I heard that you get CPU spikes and crashes under Studio One 5 when using certain plugins.

 

How well Cherry Voltage Modular performs on a M1 would be interesting either

 

a certain type of users will be shocked what the second generation of this hardware will mean for them.

 

I think Big Sur appearance doesn't really matter as long as it smashes the previous macOS versions in terms of speed! It's pretty clean they just changed a few things here and there in settings panels and the dock which are barely noticeable. Dark mode works like a treat.

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2021

Haven't tested Cherry Voltage yet but for the first time I can use my shitty Softube Modular plugin (known for being crazy CPU-intensive) lol... and it runs very well!

 

was looking to see how much a m1 macbook pro would cost, and the prices aren't that bad. until you start to upgrade from the base model. i mean seriously. how can you justify charging $800 to upgrade from a 256gb ssd to a 2tb ssd? you can buy one for $200.

i guess all the pc manufacturers do the same sort of thing, so really my beef is with the whole industry. not just apple.

 

Mac mini M1 16 GB

 

I found some M1 benchmarks online and compared my hacky against them, such as Geekbench 5 multicore for ex.:
https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/4769847?baseline=4780213

another example, M1 running Logic can handle only 6 instances of Waves Abbey Road Plates plugin through Rosetta 2 (source),
my hacky can handle 48 instances in Reaper at buffer of just 128

 

I'm been rocking the M1 MBP 16GB, with minimal issues. On the software side, I'm only having issue with Positive Grid Bias 2 inerface. Of course any apps dependent on AVX instruction set like Massive X or IK ModoDrum will not work. Thankfully, most relevant plugins are working fine, like EastWest Play, Nexus 3, Arturia, Melda, SoundToys, etc. Hardware may have issues getting on board...like Elektron's Analog Heat. Their overbridge software and drivers do not work at this time. UAD requires changing the security profile to allow legacy system extensions.

CPU Performance: its equal to my 2018 15" MBP i9 and 32GB ram, but without the super loud fans going all the time! The only time i get fans blowing loud is when I'm rendering Cinema 4D animation. For audio, its very quiet most of the time.

Battery: I've never experienced battery like this, and I'm not a fan of abusing battery either. But for testing, I was able to run heavy abelton sessions for 7 hours. I created a 90 frame animation scene in Cinema 4D in 5 hours then rendered in 20 mins, and the end my battery was 8%. This has never been achievable for me on any fast laptop. Still, I prefer to be plugged in as often as possible which adds up the resale value.

Memory: The OS seem designed to make use of available ram until other apps need it, but I find many unused apps taking up memory, like Native Instrument helpers, UAD backround helpers, Adobe stuff. Even though I have 16GB, I am a bit annoyed by seing 256MB here, 300MB there, being taken by things I'm not using. Perhaps further optimization to the new platform will improve RAM efficiency on the part of 3rd party developers.

Ports: Having only two thunderbolt 3 ports is initially annoying, but I realize that when im outside, I rarely even use my portable usb-hub. At home or in office I use the OWC Thunderbolt Hub, which turns 1 thunderbolt into 3 thunderbolt thanks to BigSur's new implementation. So one cable plugs me into an array of devices, including a 32" 4k LG monitor. I'm embracing the idea that this huge array of connections which feels like a desktop setup can be reduced to a hand carry when needed.

Recommendations:
1) Don't get the 8GB, it will increase swap and affect performance.
2) I'd say MBP over MBA because thermal performance will ultimately affect CPU. Mac Mini has more ports and marginally better thermal performance, but the mobility MBP wins IMHO.
3) If you have a fast PC with i9 or Threadripper, I'd wait until late spring for new 14"/16" MBP. You may get a fast MBP then, or get the 13" cheaper from someone who has to keep up with the new.

Long term thoughts: What excites me about the Intel >ARM transition is something realized at the end of the IBM > Intel transition. The step after universal binary and rosetta were no longer needed resulted in a more lightweight and efficient OS. In other words, the OS that dropped IBM support made our macs perform better even though they were older. When Apple finally gets the masses onto their architecture, I expected that our DAWs will perform significantly better in the way that Logic Pro and Final Cut exhibit now. So even M1 users will see some longevity of their systems.

I'm deeply intersted in the Macmini for server use once Ubuntu tweaks and dependencies (Python, DJANGO, Postgre, etc) are proven to be solid. ARM is definitely the future of typical web servers.

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2021

No, I prefer real computers.

 

Very good sir! Yes I forgot to mention the annoying two Thunderbolt/USB4 (not 3 btw) ports only (vs. 4 ports before), for that price point I would have expected 4 ports, I don't understand why since there's space for it on the right side - apparently it will only be the case for the 13-inch model. Anyway I was planning on buying this hub regardless to extend the Thunderbolt and connectivity - https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub or https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/docks/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock

Also yes Elektron Overbridge isn't compatible with M1 yet, and people are getting angry xD - https://www.elektronauts.com/t/overbridge-macos-big-sur/140193/267 as usual Elektron is slow as s*** - can't blame Apple for that, it's been announced for developers a year ago now.

As to UAD, it works with Big Sur, but it's a bit of a workaround to set it up until they come up with an update - https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050791811-macOS-11-Big-Sur-Compatibility-Info

1. Authenticate when prompted
   (enter name/password two times during installation)
2. Allow access control during UAD software installation & after restart
   (click "OK" in two dialogs)
3. Allow UAD software in System Preferences > Security & Privacy
   (click “Allow” after installation)
4. (Apollo/Arrow) Allow audio inputs in System Preferences > Security & Privacy
   (click “OK” in microphone access dialog)
5. Allow file access for UA Mixer Engine
   (click "OK" in two dialogs)
6. (Apollo/Arrow) Allow Console keystroke passthrough in System Preferences > Security & Privacy (for DAW transport control)

 

I'm always somehow surprised with the apple fanboys, but mostly surprised how apple can sell everything and make a big hype. Ok, M1 is a good chip, but let me share my experience with other than apple "super great" stuff. How's that when AMD released the 4800H and 4900H almost nobody talk about that? So I would suggest to try some real life test with your M1, like render a 2 hour video in DaVinci, render some big audio project in Ableton, analyse 1000's of tracks in Pioneer Recordbox, stream live video and all in the same time. Yes, I'm doing all that in my HP OMEN 4800H 4.1GHz boost all the time laptop and the processor is doing this without any problem.

And to add two more info, the cinebench r23 multicore result for M1 is 7500-7760, and for AMD Ryzen 4800H is 10590. And one more info, my 4800H processor is "old" as there is a new AMD Ryzen 5800H which is already a monster with cinebench r23 13000 result. So, good for you M1 guys, hope you will make great music, but you can also check the AMD chips which are no more a junk, but a true powerhouse.

 

Yet you wasted 10 minutes of your life to comment on the 'fanboys' lol... looks like you care after all.

 

Yeah It's working really well with no Drama's.. waiting for the Native though should improve things

I stopped at 20 as I couldn't be bothered proving the point
Use what you want mate.. I don't give a Rats, I'm only conveying what is happening here. I was going to build a Ryzen Hackintosh just before this came out and I'm glad I didn't now.

.

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2021

i own a MacBook Pro (M1) and the new MacMini (M1)...
They are incredible Fast !

 

I've been into computers since 1983 and touched my first Apple back then, yet I was all Atari/Commodore until becoming an x86 guy and later building my own DAW's for almost 25 years now. My M1 MBP 13 inch was my first Apple purchase ever and after 6 weeks on it Apple will be getting more of my money. This new ARM direction is the future IMHO, it's an absolute wonderful computing experience. I've got a UAD Apollo working in Studio one 4.6.2 down at 16 buffer and the M1 is quiet and cold sitting next to the mic. Once all our modern programs/plugins are working on M1 these will be bang for the buck workhorse machines IMHO. After almost 30 years on x86 I can say that the ARM processor movement is the path forward for me.

I love AMD and hope they can stay competitive and Intel can kick rocks, lol.

 

what is it?

 

Well, this is the M1 thread. There is a huge craze about AMD, so much that their best Threadripper CPUs are flying out of stores. I get it, they are great for iTX-ATX builds, and I highly recommend them for animation render machines, but we don't have the kind of AMD chip to match the M1 portability AND power efficiency. For most music makers, the top desktop CPUs are overkill and will overclock your utility bills.