There is much debate in the audio recording world over using a Mac or PC as your DAW computer of choice. I personally try to avoid those conversations as I believe they are a distraction to actually making music. I wrote about this in more depth in my ebook, The #1 Rule of Home Recording, which you can download for free here.
But if you are in the market for a new computer and you use a cross platform DAW such as Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One, or Propellerhead’s Record let me give you three brief reasons why if you havne’t gone Mac yet, I will suggest you consider one.
Via Matthew Pearce Flickr
1. Macs Just Work
It is a well known fact that Apple only manufactures a small line of personal computers (3 desktops and 3 laptop models). This allows Apple to focus on these core products and make sure they are built to strict standards and are satisfying the demands of both the casual and the professional user.
Combine that with the fact that Apple codes their own operating system to go with these great computers and you get a well oiled machine of hardware and software that more than play well with each other, they excel together. What does that mean for you the home studio user? It means better stability with fewer crashes, lean computing power with out bloated software, and more focused customer support if something goes wrong. Simply call Apple.
2. Macs Are Quiet
Most of us home studio owners have just one room acting as both control room and tracking room. This means our computers are right there in the vacinity of our sensitive studio microphones. It’s always a fight to keep the computer fans quiet without our CPU overheating so as to not add unwanted sound in our recordings.
Well ever since Apple moved it’s entire Macintosh line over Intel processors they’ve had some of the quietest computers I’ve ever heard. From their Macbooks to iMacs, to Mac Pros, these are super quiet machines with hardly any fan noise while running tons of tracks and plugins. Quiet computers are a must in the home studio, and Apple gives you that standard.
3. Macs Are Affordable
This is the one reason that many people miss (and potentially hold them back from buying a Mac). It’s a myth that Macs cost more than PCs. For one, if you actually build a PC comparable to most of the out of the box Macs, it will cost at least just as much. Macs come loaded with some high end features like built in Bluetooth and multi-touch technology that you can’t opt out of. I get this.
However, let’s look at what makes buying a Mac affordable by way of example. It starts with buying a refurbished mac over the “new” ones. At the Apple Store’s website you can purchase heavily discounted Mac’s that are basically brand new. They have either been returned or broken, and then Apple refurbishes them with geniuine Apple parts, repackages them brand new, and gives you the exact same one year warranty that comes with the “new” computers. This means you have the same coverage and computer for a lot less. One iMac I bought retailed for $1250 new and I got it for $999 refurbed. Same computer, lower price.
But here’s the real deal sealer. After 3 years I wanted to upgrade to a faster computer, so I sold my iMac on Ebay for just over $500. Talk about resale value. In essence my iMac cost me a little less than $500 when it was all said and done (for a computer worth $1250). I’ve repeated this process over the years with both mac laptops and desktops. It truly has removed the price issue from the equation.
Something To Consider
I try not to focus on gear that much, and if you read my blog for any length of time you’ll notice that I care more about making music than buying stuff. But we all need some gear to get started and at some point you may need to replace an old computer. If you do and you aren’t tied to a PC only DAW then I hope the above 3 reasons will motivate you to at least consider going Apple for your next machine. I’ve been pleased ever since I made the switch and I bet you will too.
Do Not Create Another Song Until You Read This Guide
(Price: $17 Free Today)
Discover the 6 Steps for Creating a Radio-Worthy Song From Scratch
My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
You said it was the quietest computer you’ve ever heard. Shouldn’t it be the quietest computer you’ve NEVER heard.
I’m so funny.
I like it!
wow, this is a pretty timely post. i was just at the local Mac store yesterday, for the first time, because i am debating whether to build my own PC or just go mac. Originally i thought PC building was the way–seemd like more bang for the buck. but the more i consider, the more i lean toward Mac. i’ve been scanning eBay obsessively and you are absolutely right about the resale value. everybody and their grandma wants a mac and is willing to pay for it. Mac Mini 2.5GHz intel, 4GB DDR3, 320 GB HDD go for roughly $700 consistently, (that’s a model that goes for $8-900 at the Mac Store) and there are ALOT of 1-2 year old 24″ iMacs out there with really great specs going for around a grand. many eBay Macs have warrantee and/or Apple care still in effect, as well. but my new debate is whether to buy from the Apple store in town, the Apple online store (how do you link to those refurbs, BTW? i couldn’t find the link!) or go the eBay route! decisions, decisions! whatever way, it’s going to take a little patience to save up the dough!
You can check out refurbs here:http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=OTY2ODY2NQ
For other countries, simply go to the Apple Store website and scroll down till you see the blue tag that says “Save” You can buy refurbed macs and iPods there.
I know this is a stupid question, but is it easy to get rid of all your data in order to sell your old computer?
I don’t think that’s a stupid question at all! I think it requires a little care and patience. You have to have an external drive to move all of your important files to–pictures, music, tax docs, etc. There are web services online that give you free storage space if you don’t have one, but uploading alot of stuff could take a long time. Then you have to make sure you have all your old program install discs, and if you’re switching from Mac to PC or from PC to Mac, you need to make sure your programs are compatible with your new OS. Then comes restoring the original factory settings on your old computer. I have never done this, but i think it’s pretty easy. Maybe someone else can speak to this…:P
oh yeah, and thanks for the link, Graham! Looks like there are some pretty good deals right now! (^_^)v
Very timely post for me too, I just received my 27″ iMac i5 and good lord is it easily the smoothest most snappy OS experience I’ve ever had. I’m coming from a dual core Dell Precision 3.2ghz Win7 box, which I’ll still keep nearby as a back up but the Mac is gonna be my go-to box for all my audio stuff. And it is QUIET!!
Switching wasn’t too hard for me, I have MS Office 2008 for Mac, so that covers any spreadsheet/word processing needs (but Apple’s iWork office package is compatible and even cheaper @ 50 bucks). As for other apps, I needed to be able to mount/access ntfs formatted USB drives (so I can switch back & forth between my Dell & Mac without reformatting) and found a Paragon NTFS for Mac which does the trick. Safari 5 is super fast, and Finder is just as fast as Win7 Explorer and I’m digging the quad-core i5. I was going to spring and do the i7 but I hear they do have a tendency to get loud with the fan rpms now and then, which Apple probably can fix with a firmware update but I decided i5 would be fine. I can’t hear a thing from it.
Now if only my firewire 800-to-400 adapter would hurry up and arrive so I can connect up my interface…
@Mark B.
I’ve been in IT for over 10 years and use a PC almost every day. I’ve built many PC’s from scratch and have been through what seems like dozens of Windows laptops. I’ve installed Microsoft OS’s probably hundreds of times. I really like PC’s. But do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and get a Mac. You will not be disappointed. If you are a Mac newbie, there will be a learning curve, but in the end, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Also, my first (and current) Macbook Pro was a refurb from the online Apple Store and it is still going strong after 3+ years. I’ve also purchased refurbed iPods with good results. I would at least make sure to purchase from an authorized Apple reseller.
@Maria
Once your data is backed up, I would recommend some kind of DoD (Department of Defense) data wipe. Check out http://www.dban.org/ for example (it’s free). You can create a bootable CD and follow the prompts and it will securely wipe any data. Then you can reinstall everything with your original install disks, or just leave it wiped and let the buyer install what they want.
I hate getting into such debates, but I couldn’t resist posting. I’m coming solely from an end user’s perspective. No technical info or hard data to back up any claims.
But I personally think Macs are overrated. I don’t mean ‘bad’ at all, but just overrated. Have I owned one? Nope! Have I used one? Yes, but done no more than occasionally checking my email on my GFs macbook, which also seemed complicated at first. (I missed the usual Alt+Tab, my Ctrl keys, etc.). Played around a little on garageband too. Not half bad for a free software, but nothing too great in my opinion.
I use an over-3-yr old Dell Inspiron 640m, which was top-notch when I bought it. Core2Duo Processor, 2 gigs of RAM (which is just about acceptable in today’s time), just recently upgraded to an internal 500GB, and i think it has served me better than any of my older computers have, and is still running strong. Sure, it does seem to go into ‘overload’ mode when playing back 25 tracks in Ableton and Acid Pro 7 with LOTS of insert-FXs on each track (i’m lazy, i just insert FX chains coz I can.. and don’t use buses for FX like one ‘should’, unless really needed), but it’s nothing that an i3 or i5 with 4, 6 or 8GB RAM won’t handle comfortably!
I think desktop computers can be noisy (depending on brand, cabinet, PSU, etc).. but laptops are just as quiet as any others in the market. And at the end of the day, I think there are a zillion things you can do on Windows which you can’t do (half as comfortably) on a mac. That, coupled with incompatible softwares, drivers (sure, things are changing, but aren’t quite there yet!), make PCs the way to go for me. Unless you have 2 computers — one just for recording and the other for everything else, I’m of the opinion that the pro:con ratio for PCs is higher than that for Macs.
Hey Graham,
Been a while since I’ve been in touch. I did finish that song 3 months ago. I was able to get my electric guitar to record clean with no phase issues after I learned what I was doing wrong.
Also I Just wanted to thank you for this article. My wife & decided to purchase a studiolive 16.4.2 so that we could record her kit and record live. We considered many interfaces but thought we’d get the most use out of this one. And after reading this article it helped us decide on getting a refurb imac from the apple store. We just got it last Friday so we’re in the process of hooking everything up. We’ll give u an update later after we lay down some new music. Thanks again for all encouragement!
Congrats on your Mac purchase. Have fun!
First of all I would like to say great blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing. I have had trouble clearing my mind in getting my ideas out there. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips? Thank you!|掲示板}
My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. can you offer guest writers to write content to suit your needs? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write related to here. Again, awesome website!