i just wonder why some producers chose mac for music production? what are the benefits over regular PC?

btw. i have a new PC... and i got it assembled its a custom pc.. sort of

 

Back in the day, Macs were simply faster and very reliable.
Many sound engineers and graphic designers worked with Macs back then; they were even trained on them.

Since AMD invented Ryzen, AMD is on par with Intel and therefore also on par with Macs in terms of performance.

If you ask Windows users, they'll tell you that Windows is OK.
If you ask Mac users, they'll tell you that Macs are the best.
If you ask Linux users, they'll tell you that Linux is great.

 

Essentially it's more stable (let the bombing begin) and the need to install drivers is much smaller.

It used to be that way anyway until Tim Cook took over and changed it into a fashion-wannabe circus. You can relatively still get the same stability with an older OS that still receives security updates (which almost never break anything). macOS 13 Ventura started out as a complete shit show and by the end of the first year became one of the most stable OSs I've ever used, even though I upgraded directly, which I usually never do (I always perform clean installs and that takes care of 99% of the insane bugs that are reported on every new release).

macOS 26 Tahoe, is another story altogether. I don't think it will ever become stable enough. I've owned and used a whole list of macs. There are 2 other versions of macOS that gave me that same impression even after their update cycle had stopped, and that's macOS 10.11 El Capitan (aka El Crapitan) and macOS 10.13 High Sierra (where Apple first introduced the APFS system).

Generally, hardware and software seem to play better with it, or else I really don't think so many studios would have used it. I think the biggest reason Windows had a bigger user base in Europe in audio is because for a long time Cubase was really windows oriented and Apple wasn't the behemoth it is today even if their products were great (I would argue much better than today in many ways). Cubase has gotten much better on macOS since.

I used windows for the first 20 years of my life and never gelled with it (Vista was beautiful though). Ever since I got my first Mac, I immediately saw the attention to detail (AND STABILITY!!!!) and really miss that standard that Steve Jobs had held Apple to (and the leash he kept on Jon Ivy which was later removed by Tim, which set in motion the decline we see today, aided by a few other reasons). If not for him, Apple would never have taken off the way it did no matter how many Windows 11s Microsoft had released.

(whoever the commenter is) Don't agree with me? (especially the first half) No problem. Give your own opinion and move on. Don't make a circus out of it. Macs are used by thousands of audio professionals with real deadlines who do this for a living whether you like it or not (Watch MixbusTV's video on his recent transition from PC to Mac and you'll see why). If they were that useless and outperformed by PCs, they wouldn't have lasted.

 

Calling yourself a "pro expert" and asking such question seems to be the start of another funny thread.

For myself, using emagic Logic since late 90s and Apple buying it in 2002 was the main reason to switch to Mac. I didn't like Cubase back then so I had to go the Apple way to stay with Logics later versions and upcoming plugins. Logic 5.5 on Windows was quickly outdated without multi core or 64 bit support.

Another thing (still today) is core audio and core midi, which allows far easier sharing of devices. For example, MIDI is still not multi client capable on Windows. For audio, you have to use Steinbergs ASIO to get good performance.

And I really like the MacBooks for being mobile. My old 2020 Air M1 is still powerful enough for most of my work on the go, including Win 11 arm running in Parallels Desktop for occasional Windows only software or even AudioGridder for some Win VSTs.

I'm also using Reaper for mixing and mastering work for many years now, which works good on Windows.

I have to say that I don't like many things about Apples update policy and Logics plugin compatibility due to separated threads, AU only and the lack of ARA in native mode.

So without needing or wanting to use Logic (the DAW I chose 30 years ago), I'd be fine with Reaper or Studio One on Windows, but I still prefer composing/arranging in Logic.

 

Macbook Pro... never looking back. Even more with this complete Windows 11 bullshit currently.

 

I see you, @Kate Middleton

 

PC, i dont like the Apple Ecosystem.

 

I switched around 20 years ago, I needed a rock solid laptop for live usage. Yeah my pc laptop crashed in sweaty clubs, that was the last straw. Not a good look in a full club. No problems with Mac laptops since then on stage, always rock solid and stable. That was the reason, not sure there are benefits over pc nowadays but I don't think I will ever switch back.

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2026 at 8:09 PM

MIDI just works, you can use your MIDI keyboard/controller across multiple apps without blocking its CoreMIDI driver stack,
less problems with audio drivers in general,
CoreAudio is Mac's native audio engine, unlike ASIO on Windows which relies on proper third-party implementations,
software installs are simpler,
plugin installs are never ending up in wrong folders (unlike VSTs on Windows that are in multiple different default locations),
support for various codecs is better out of the box (on Windows and Linux you need third-party installs),
minor MacOS updates are less likely to break things

all that said, I switch between MacOS and Windows daily and I wouldn't get rid of either, need both, can do music on both

 

I use the exact system that automatically hides threads like these. It's good, you folks should use it as well!

 

The whole apple "solidity" deal is a thing of the distant past. In the early days all of the viable turnkey audio systems were based on apple, and were complete shit. Just ask some late 80's early 90's analog studio engineers what it was like sitting around waiting for the first pro-tools type systems to complete or "undo" a single edit. The graphics industry of the time was mostly run on apple based systems as well.

Shortly after, most of the "serious" audio market was confined to apple systems with PC's in the offing. Once the 2000-teens came along however, we saw the much of the win based hardware get a make over. PC hardware caught up with apple stuff with a vengeance. And a lot of the market share turned to the PC side because of the lower cost and less proprietary nonsense that came with PC hardware and software.

These days the market shares overall are about equal with the corporate market almost all PC and the creative market a close split down the middle. Folks that were staunch apple users since the beginning are still apple users now. Those who have run PCs the entire time are still on PC's. These days there is still a dollar for dollar performance gap between the apple and the PC side, with the PC side leading in that respect. You can still build a performance PC equivalent to apple for less $$.

Another more serious issue to consider these days is the corporate side of the equation. BOTH sides are equally intrusive on their user base. Microsoft has become a pillar of duplicity in this realm and still continues to make the industry push it's update or die policy to all those who would believe that myth. In reality microsoft updates are nothing but a ruse for the unsuspecting to support the corporations lust for power and control over its userbase. Luckily those of the user base with vision enough to see past the puppet strings, the real truth behind the power grab is evident. Users can, and do take steps to thwart the corporate threat by reverse engineering the product into a safer and more sane platform out of the sight of corporate eyes.

The apple side has to contend with the same intrusive behavior although manifested in a slightly different way. The real problem with the apple side is there is no opportunity for users to reverse engineer their systems into a safer, less corporate bound platform because of the proprietary nature of apple itself. This coupled with higher costs for hardware and software on the apple side make the PC a more attractive solution for many.

Personally, I have no love for either apple nor microsoft. The corporate policy model has taken over both sides with a slight edge over apple with windows still (at least at present) being able to be mauled into a useable, non-intrusive system. As far as performance and system solidity go there is no competition anymore. Mainly it comes down to who is more comfortable on whichever platform and who is willing to deal with the corporate baggage that comes with one or the other. As time rolls on it seems, given the trends seen of late, the intrusive corporate policies we see being implemented and enforced today will most likely become more harsh with no "off switch" for either platform. At that point the computer itself will become a liability to a users privacy and autonomy. In this light, a major reassessment regarding the usefulness of a computer to a user will become a major factor before purchasing hardware for either platform.

signed, , blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda...

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2026 at 9:04 PM

Instead of Mac users telling you why MacOS is better, which you won't listen to anyway; why not just listen to fellow Windows users about it?

https://audiosex.pro/threads/the-si...n11-win7-plugin-daw-issues.83915/#post-888674

Game over.