Actually tried a couple other places that buy used computers and Apples price is a bit better. I’m sure I could get more if I sold it directly but I don’t want the hassle or the risk.
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Yeah fair point.
I was on the fence of 14 vs 16 but after playing with both in an Apple shop just now, the 16 inch display is awesome
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For portability, the 14 makes a lot of sense. I’d originally planned to get the 15" MBA to replace the 16" MBP, since I no longer need a powerful laptop for my music studio (see above, just bought a M4 Max Mac Studio) but when comparing them side by side at Best Buy, I couldn’t justify downgrading on the quality of the screen. I spend all day working on a computer, mostly the laptop, and my eyes aren’t getting any younger.
Also, I do about 25 hours of zoom sessions per week on my laptop, so microphone and speaker quality are important too. According to Perplexity, here are the differences between speaker and microphone quality between the m4 MBA and m4 MBP:
Microphone:
Speakers:
Having now used the 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro for a few days, I’ve noticed a surprising increase in speed for everyday use over the M1 Pro MacBook Pro it is replacing. I hadn’t expected the difference to be as noticeable since I don’t do any video editing (yet). An example. When I launch Live (which I do frequently since this is not my studio Mac, where I just leave Live running all the time), on my M1, it used to hang quite a bit when launching Max. No more. When loading a large sample preset in Falcon, you could watch it loading the sometimes thousands of keygroups. Now, it is nearly instantaneous to jump from one preset to another. I assume much of this speed difference is due to the significantly faster internal SSD (both have the 1TB internal SSD) as well as the CPU, but not really sure.
Here’s a great video on the differences between the two (although in his case he has the M1 Max and M4 Max):
Any recommended USB hubs for Mac Silicon?
I was looking at the Calidigit stuff - they seem to have a crazy amount of ports and options but I guess the bandwith of one Mac port would get smashed when using the super hubs they offer.
- which brings me on to my next question. Does anybody strategically plan their USB port usage?
ie - I always have my audio interface plugged into its own port on my Mac rather then say my Apple display which is also a USB hub and use for non audio devices eg controllers. Or are we at the point where it no longer really matters with modern USB / Thunderbolt
I use the Caldigit TS4, with a large external fast SSD, a DisplayPort connect to my 34" WQHD monitor at 144Hz, my Motu M4, and also some other ancillary USB things including MIDI controllers. I have a fast USB HDMI capture card plugged into it as well for use with OBS. I also have a USB to DMX out to play with lighting attached to it. The dock/hub is the only thing plugged into my 16" M2Max MacBook Pro (it charges the mac as well) and it has no issues at all.
So I would say we are indeed at the point where it no longer really matters with modern USB / Thunderbolt
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This might be useful:
Audio interfaces don’t really need that much data bandwidth, it’s mainly things like SSDs where it might make a difference
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Thanks for that - will take a look!!
Just bought an M1 Mac Mini with 16 RAM, it’s lightning fast STILL. Can’t believe you can buy one used for around 400 euros, insane. Similar PC would cost a lot more.
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I bought the M4 studio, i had the m2 pro mac mini before. The 80 tracks with lots of serum instances, fabfilter and soundtoys went 100% on m2 and 16 gig of ram was eaten. The same project now runs at 20% on the m4 studio with 14 cores.(10 performabce, 4 efficiency) I had frozen some tracks, but it got very sloppy. I used a lot of true fm patches on serum2, that might also be a factor I didnt want to go fm8, because it feels a bit more work than serum2, but is probably a bit more cpu efficient. (dont like the filter models too much of fm8)
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Bit the bullet and ordered a base Mac Studio M4 Max.
I know myself that it’s overkill for audio but my current M1 Mac Mini* was creaking in After Effects and I really enjoy making videos to go with my music.
Was torn between this and the Mini Pro but I had the money (just) so it was now or never. My other Macs have served me for years so sod it, I’ll squeeze my moneys worth out if this one too. Arrives tomorrow.
*It will be used in the lounge for family photo duties.
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I replaced my M4 Pro Mini with an M4 Max about a month ago due to concerns about longevity. I leave my desktop running all the time (goes to sleep after an hour of nonuse). The M4 Pro Mini was warm to the touch all the time even when sleeping, and sometimes hot when running lots of stuff. The Mac Studio has never been anything but cool no matter what I throw at it.
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I recently got the mini M4 pro and it’s pretty impressive considering the size and low noise level. I haven’t had reason to max it out yet but as a lifelong windows user, it’s really smooth to get going even when maximizing privacy (no apple ID, no apps sharing info). Do budget for a quality USB hub. My audio interfaces glitch out if I use a hub so connecting that and the screen only leaves 3 open USB-C or thunderbolt 5 ports.
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I’ve got a decent powered hub already for my M1 Mini, should just be a straight swap over hopefully.
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I’m a bit insecure buying the Mac via Amazon on the Apple Store there. My configuration is the M4 16/512, the Magic Mouse and the smaller Keyboard without the Touch ID.
It’s cheaper, about 120€ and I don’t know why. On the Apple page they take more. Also there is no Apple Care on the Amazon Store to put into my basket, but I’ve been offered some other form of insurance.
Is this even a real Apple Store or some sort of franchise?
It’s odd here pricing wise in the UK too. Amazon, AO, Argos & John Lewis all cheaper than Apple. I bought mine from John Lewis as I got 2 year guarantee as standard, free shipping, and saved nearly £200!
You should never buy directly from Apple if you want to save a bit of money tbh. Depends if you can find the configuration you want off the shelve of course.
I got my 14" M4 Max at Upgreatest here in the Netherlands and saved almost 300 euros that way.
Yeah, John Lewis is a good option in the UK because of the free warranty. Amazon is usually good with returns etc provided you make sure it’s not a third party seller. You can still get Apple Care directly from Apple for a few weeks after buying it regardless of where you originally bought it
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This makes sense. Do keep in mind, though, that you can maybe make up for this with a better trade in offer from Apple (recently got $922 as a trade in for a M1 Pro base model 16" MacBook Pro). I was only able to find $650 sale from other buyers.
If you do trade ins that is, I tend to keep my Macs until the bitter end 
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I agree though that you can often find a substantial discount on Apple products from third parties. I usually check AppleInsider’s site to see who’s got the best deal. I saved nearly $300 on a M4 Max Mac Studio a couple of months ago, going this route.
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