[etemkin]

Hi everyone,
So, I need to get a new computer, and I'm pretty certain I'm going to get a Mac, but I'm having a real hard time deciding between a MacBook and the iMac. I would like to use it both as a high-quality audio source and for instrumental recording. Would either computer better perform these functions? Also, I haven't done much recording yet - is it particularly memory-intensive? That is, would it be prudent to upgrade from 1 to 2 gbs of ram? Any other configuration suggestions for these applications?

There are plenty of factors influencing this decision, but so far they've been a bit of a wash, so I want to check with everyone here (now that we're back up!) and see if one would have any obvious advantages in the audio realms.
Thanks for your help!
ET

 

[krmathis]

They both perform equally well as a high-quality audio source. Since both have optical SPDIF out, and run the same OS.
If you don't need portability, the iMac will give you more hardware for the money. Both speed and size wise...

 

[etemkin]

Excellent, so there's no real difference in hardware in the audio signal path? Also, does one run quieter than the other?
Thanks,
ET

 

[ruZZ.il]

Neither make much noise as such.. little laptop fans (though they can get going.. but its usually not much noise). 2Gb makes a huge difference if you use memory intensive programs.. so it really depends what you're doing. I'm not too familiar with recording, etc. Imho, The best computer would be the one you'd use the most (/price)...

 

[Pangaea]

I actually have both and would think that the iMac would be better as long as all of your recording will be in one particular place. The MacBook def. wins if you need a portable studio- which I suppose would be nice. Def. get at least 2 gig RAM if you want to do anything multimedia it is the best upgrade you can buy for a computer period.

Other than that they are very similar computers but you will pay more for the same features if you buy a MacBook because it is a laptop. Both are excellent computers. I have my entire stereo setup centered around my iMac and my MacBook more and more becomes my portable rig despite its size. They are great music computers. And yes def. get a DAC- I use a Beresford off my iMac and a Total Bithead off the MacBook.

 

[SR-71Panorama]

iTunes is a resource hog, so I would echo the suggestion for 2 gigs of ram (or more if you got the scratch.)

(I am assuming iTunes would be your player of choice on a mac, but others would be better to comment here)

 

[etemkin]

Thanks for the opinions! I think at this point I'll probably get the iMac (with some extra ram) - I don't really need the portability, have heard some frightening reports of MacBook reliability, and like the better bang for buck. I'll have to wait a few months to recharge the coffers before I start getting external audio equipment, of which I currently have none. I'd love to hear suggestions for that as well. I have a few basic functions I'm looking for...

Listen via speakers (which I would like to upgrade)
Listen via headphones (which I need to get)
Record (only one input at a time necessary)

So, if you had roughly $1k, how would you best accomplish these? Also, is it reasonable for one system to feed both speakers and headphones well? I've got high-quality music encoded, so no need to worry there, but any ideas would be great to hear.

Thanks Again,
ET

 

[MoSXS]

Honestly, being a MacBook owner, I can't recommend a Mac at all.

Considering the cost of Apple's hardware (and the fact that the iMac uses mobile parts for all but the HDD), you can build a much better PC for much less.

Yes you won't get OS X. But you know what? In a real world situation it doesn't make a difference. For recording, you'll want a much better soundcard than what comes with the MacBook or iMac and you'll have the option of basically whatever you want with a PC, while your choices on a Mac will be extremely limited. You'll also find yourself extremely limited by the lack of 3rd party software on a Mac. You'll also quickly find that too many useful utilities that that would be free on Windows charge you $15, $20, or more. You'll end up spending more money than you realized very quickly with a Mac.

Don't even consider a Mac if you want to watch DVDs at all. Even in Leopard, DVD Player is an absolute joke. The image quality is years behind whats available for Windows, and the audio output options (such as the lack of LFE decoding for bass) are... well, pathetic.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoSXS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Honestly, being a MacBook owner, I can't recommend a Mac at all. Considering the cost of Apple's hardware (and the fact that the iMac uses mobile parts for all but the HDD), you can build a much better PC for much less. Yes you won't get OS X. But you know what? In a real world situation it doesn't make a difference. For recording, you'll want a much better soundcard than what comes with the MacBook or iMac and you'll have the option of basically whatever you want with a PC, while your choices on a Mac will be extremely limited. You'll also find yourself extremely limited by the lack of 3rd party software on a Mac. You'll also quickly find that too many useful utilities that that would be free on Windows charge you $15, $20, or more. You'll end up spending more money than you realized very quickly with a Mac. Don't even consider a Mac if you want to watch DVDs at all. Even in Leopard, DVD Player is an absolute joke. The image quality is years behind whats available for Windows, and the audio output options (such as the lack of LFE decoding for bass) are... well, pathetic.

I, respectfully, completely disagree with you.

I'm typing from a MacBook right now, and have had zero problems with it. It stays up 24/7 without fail. Still haven't had an Apple product fail on me and I've owned various models since... oh, 1983 or so. Still keep a SE/30 and a IIfx around for fun. No problems with those, either. My whole family, extended family included, runs Macs without trouble. And that's going back 20+ years.

OS X is a huge advantage over Windows. It does not crash. Neither does Linux, for that matter. By the way, I'm one of those Linux zealots, too. I had some trouble with System 7.0 back in the day (the disappearing files were a bear, and I still much prefer 6.0.8 on the vintage machines) but nothing much with OS X. Nor RedHat/Fedora since I started using RH 7.3 some time ago. Anyway, my Macs stay up for years and I'm about to clock 36 months of uptime on my Fedora machine. I have to use XP, SP2 at work. I measure its uptime in hours. No joke. At least one freeze or crash per day. Nothing personal or philosophical against Microsoft, but, in my experience, Windows is not ready for a production environment. I can't tell you how much work I've lost and how many extra hours clients have paid for because of its instability. When a really important project comes down the pipe these days, I bring the MacBook in to work because I trust it. Haven't missed a deadline yet, thanks to Apple.

Lack of utilities? Would you please provide some examples of the nickel and diming? I haven't seen it. I generally use open source software and have been able to find what I need for free. Can't comment on Windows, as I only use it at work. But I've never had trouble finding OSS Mac (or Linux) utilities.

I don't have any trouble with the Mac sound system, either. When I do needledrops, I generally run them through an ADC before getting to the Mac, but that's been trouble free and I quite like the sound. That's my opinion, of course, but I like what I hear.

As for DVDs, there are other players available. Free ones, at that. You don't have to use the one it comes with. Though the included one is fine by me, but that's only for plane trips and hotel rooms. Any serious watching is done on a TV set. If you use a different configuration, well, maybe it doesn't work for you. However, I've been pleased with playback so far.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoSXS /img/forum/go_quote.gif For recording, you'll want a much better soundcard than what comes with the MacBook or iMac and you'll have the option of basically whatever you want with a PC, while your choices on a Mac will be extremely limited. You'll also find yourself extremely limited by the lack of 3rd party software on a Mac. You'll also quickly find that too many useful utilities that that would be free on Windows charge you $15, $20, or more.

What is this, head-fi goes down for a few days, I come back, and every thread I read has some blatant, unsubstantiated attack on something that doesn't even answer the OP's question. Ugh.

To correct a few things:

-- iMac and MacBook both come with GarageBand and QuickTime which are pretty nifty and powerful tools for amateur recording and mixing. If you want to go pro, Logic Studio and Logic Express are pretty darn popular. If you want to do it rough and ready, Audacity is free and works well. Motu, Mackie, and others also exist. The whole software spectrum is covered from $0 to $500. The supposed lack of software hasn't stopped hundreds of pro musicians from using Macs to produce their music.

-- Pretty much all external USB and firewire recording devices work as well in OS X as they do in Windows. For simple 2-channel work sans USB, both the iMac and the MacBook have optical digital input. Again, MOTU, Mackie, Creative, M-Audio, the list goes on, all make Mac and PC compatible devices.

Again, ugh, I say, ugh.

--Chris

 

[Pangaea]

^ Agree with the top 2 posts 100%. Anybody who works in the arts (whether it be music or graphic) would tell you that Apple is the way to go.

 

[ruZZ.il]

Most of my apps are open source stuff too. I've almost always found a nifty app that does what I need, etc. I think the little bit extra cost for a machine that works, and is a pleasure to work with, as a way of life, isn't much. Its value doesn't drop so much either, so after 3 or 4 years you could still get a wad of cash back. No, macs aren't perfect and there are occasionally a few with problems, but on the whole, coming from being the family and friends pc guy, my life is so much better now that most everyone I care to help has switched. They're happy they have and sheesh.. so am I..
And if you're doing it, don't get 2GB of ram from apple. They overcharge for it while RAM prices have plummet. You can pick up 2x1GB sticks for 50$ from newegg or something.

 

[etemkin]

Uh oh, I've started a flame war. But, I think I got all of my original questions answered, so all's ok. And thanks ruZZ.il for the newegg ram call...you're right, that's muuuch cheaper. So, I think I'll go ahead and get an iMac for now, get another gig of memory off newegg, and then start a new thread when I'm back in the black and it's time to debate Apogee Duet vs. Beresford vs. 0404, etc. Thanks again for all of your help!
ET

 

[DoubleEs]

I bought my sister a MacBook last week and playing MP3 through the headphone socket unamped sounds pretty amazing

 

[ruZZ.il]

Welcome, and enjoy!

Bout the h.p out.. I'd say mine on my mbp is pretty decent. Better than most 'on board' pc ones. I'm not sure how well it would stand against a good added on card. I listen with an alien dac, and the difference is.. worth using an alien dac with

I still use the h.p out for movies and stuff if I need.. on the go or whatever.. but for most people and their purposes.. yeah, h.p out is pretty good

Also, with memory its usually good to use 2 'matched' sticks (not sure how matched this means, as in same manufacturer, or just same specs) as to fully utilize dual channel memory (small improvemen, not a killer)..so I'm not sure what the call on this is with the imac that comes with a 1gb stick. on macbooks its a no brainer, switch the 2x512 sticks with 2x1gb and either use the 512's to upgrade something old (my girlfriends mini couldn't be happier, for what she uses it for) or.. do nothing with them / ebay for maybe 10$.. or keep them for warranty purposes (otherwise they'd just try blame your ramif anything funny happens, so I guess this is a good option). I'd do a search for "imac memory" or something on macrumors or some forum of the sorts.. for the price of 2x1gb sticks nowdays, it may just be the way to go..

edit: looks like most people are just sticking in an extra 1gb stick... or a 2gb stick to get a total of 3..