I go back a long, long time using computers to create music and audio - the winter of 1986-7.
I've always gotten loaded-up Macs to do the work. They've all been great for their time, but none has enabled true high-resolution digital audio (96-192K) combined with lots of virtual instruments (without latency or occasional stumbling and/or processor overloaded issues) until now.
It's my practice to take my older studio recorder into my office for business stuff, emails, web, etc., and use the new one in the studio, where capability is more important. The other stuff is easy.
Generally, it's simply lust for a new machine, but a couple of weeks ago the older iMac from 2014 I was using in the office finally died. I had to move the late 2019 studio machine upstairs and get a new one for the studio. It was necessity.
I spent about a week researching what I needed. Long story short, I decided on the Mac Studio M2 Max with a 12‑core CPU, 38‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine and 96 GB RAM to handle the orchestral sample libraries and high res audio. My research indicated that the M2 Ultra was a factor mainly for video production.
Bottom line, this machine works at all sample rates and doesn't choke on lots of processor-hungry virtual instruments, even at the lowest latency setting.
It's simply what the Great Gods Of Audio ordained to make me happy as I trail off into the sunset.
My son convinced me to try a curved 34" monitor screen so I could see more of a project at once. So I saved a good % of the significant bucks I planned to spend on the 27" Apple display, and got a moderately priced curved screen model.
Its image isn't as gorgeous as the Apple display's. However that drawback is more than offset by the fact that I can see about twice as many measures, and put lots of windows up for plugins etc, without having to switch windows all the time.
My son was right. And the image is still very good, to be honest.
Because the screen is several inches wider than my previous one, I had to move the monitors farther apart by about 6" and move them back by a 3 inches apiece to maintain the necessary unobstructed equilateral triangle between the two speakers and my ears.
With my room treatment, the audio is still what I'd consider excellent, and maybe even a little less tiring on the ears with the monitors not so close.
The curved monitor might be helping to diffuse the sound bouncing off the back of the screen and into the front wall, which I think you get more of with a flat panel monitor; I mention this because on certain vocal tracks I could get a phasey sound I'm not getting any more. Part of that could be the added distance from the speakers bouncing less audio off the desk surface due to the distance and different angle. Hard to say.
I like this little box. I can hardly believe the results I'm getting.
This is the first time I've been able to get very hi-res audio (96-192 kHx), combined with lots of virtual instruments, as a practical reality.
The overall sound quality is noticeably better, not necessarily because of the higher frequency range, but because it sounds more natural, less grainy. First time I've felt my digital audio is truly world-class.
I may get a newer set of D/A converters. I may not.
I saved enough on the monitor to get yet another mic!
I've always gotten loaded-up Macs to do the work. They've all been great for their time, but none has enabled true high-resolution digital audio (96-192K) combined with lots of virtual instruments (without latency or occasional stumbling and/or processor overloaded issues) until now.
It's my practice to take my older studio recorder into my office for business stuff, emails, web, etc., and use the new one in the studio, where capability is more important. The other stuff is easy.
Generally, it's simply lust for a new machine, but a couple of weeks ago the older iMac from 2014 I was using in the office finally died. I had to move the late 2019 studio machine upstairs and get a new one for the studio. It was necessity.
I spent about a week researching what I needed. Long story short, I decided on the Mac Studio M2 Max with a 12‑core CPU, 38‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine and 96 GB RAM to handle the orchestral sample libraries and high res audio. My research indicated that the M2 Ultra was a factor mainly for video production.
Bottom line, this machine works at all sample rates and doesn't choke on lots of processor-hungry virtual instruments, even at the lowest latency setting.
It's simply what the Great Gods Of Audio ordained to make me happy as I trail off into the sunset.
My son convinced me to try a curved 34" monitor screen so I could see more of a project at once. So I saved a good % of the significant bucks I planned to spend on the 27" Apple display, and got a moderately priced curved screen model.
Its image isn't as gorgeous as the Apple display's. However that drawback is more than offset by the fact that I can see about twice as many measures, and put lots of windows up for plugins etc, without having to switch windows all the time.
My son was right. And the image is still very good, to be honest.
Because the screen is several inches wider than my previous one, I had to move the monitors farther apart by about 6" and move them back by a 3 inches apiece to maintain the necessary unobstructed equilateral triangle between the two speakers and my ears.
With my room treatment, the audio is still what I'd consider excellent, and maybe even a little less tiring on the ears with the monitors not so close.
The curved monitor might be helping to diffuse the sound bouncing off the back of the screen and into the front wall, which I think you get more of with a flat panel monitor; I mention this because on certain vocal tracks I could get a phasey sound I'm not getting any more. Part of that could be the added distance from the speakers bouncing less audio off the desk surface due to the distance and different angle. Hard to say.
I like this little box. I can hardly believe the results I'm getting.
This is the first time I've been able to get very hi-res audio (96-192 kHx), combined with lots of virtual instruments, as a practical reality.
The overall sound quality is noticeably better, not necessarily because of the higher frequency range, but because it sounds more natural, less grainy. First time I've felt my digital audio is truly world-class.
I may get a newer set of D/A converters. I may not.
I saved enough on the monitor to get yet another mic!