Mac Studio - options

[James Steele]

…a lot of people complain the M1 Studio gives a high pitched whine, I can't hear a thing from the M2 Studio Ultra here…

My M1 Max Mac Studio is the quietest computer I ever owned. I even returned an expansion chassis I bought for my UAD-2 card because the tiny fan inside it was louder. I would have to literally put my ear to the Mac Studio to hear it.

I think in the case of my noisy M1 Mac Studios some people were unlucky to get some bum units with an issue.

[James Steele]

…and is total overkill for 95% of what I do.

Overkill is good. It’s akin to “headroom” in amplifiers. Much better to be running something at a lower percentage of its capabilities than pushing near the max all the time. I wish my budget had allowed for the M1 Ultra instead of the M1 Max (although the latter is working just fine!) for even MORE future proofing margin. But I’ve already decided that at some point I’m going to move up again in a few years and my current Mac Studio is going to end up as a BEAST of an office machine!!

[Michael Canavan]

…a lot of people complain the M1 Studio gives a high pitched whine, I can't hear a thing from the M2 Studio Ultra here…

My M1 Max Mac Studio is the quietest computer I ever owned. I even returned an expansion chassis I bought for my UAD-2 card because the tiny fan inside it was louder. I would have to literally put my ear to the Mac Studio to hear it.

I think in the case of my noisy M1 Mac Studios some people were unlucky to get some bum units with an issue.

Oh for sure, but if your choice is between a new M2 and a used M1 Studio, just gamblers logic says the chances of getting one of those units with a loud whine is higher in the used market, and I'm not sure that Apple would fix that in the refurbished units they sell either?

[James Steele]

Right. I wouldn’t buy one *used* anyway… unless it was a refurb with a warranty. I’m just saying that forums tend to give an exaggerated impression of the issue. The noise issue was an exception… not the rule as I understand.

[mikehalloran]

…a lot of people complain the M1 Studio gives a high pitched whine, I can't hear a thing from the M2 Studio Ultra here…

My M1 Max Mac Studio is the quietest computer I ever owned. I even returned an expansion chassis I bought for my UAD-2 card because the tiny fan inside it was louder. I would have to literally put my ear to the Mac Studio to hear it.

I think in the case of my noisy M1 Mac Studios some people were unlucky to get some bum units with an issue.

Oh for sure, but if your choice is between a new M2 and a used M1 Studio, just gamblers logic says the chances of getting one of those units with a loud whine is higher in the used market, and I'm not sure that Apple would fix that in the refurbished units they sell either?

Of course they would—if that's the reason for the return. OTOH, if it's a fan or a component known to be noisy, the customer's unit might be repaired without being replaced. Apple offered to come to send a tech to my house to replace the NAND in my iMP when they suspected incorrectly that to be the cause of all my problems.

Then there's this:
https://basicappleguy.com/basicappleblo ... ing-studio
If I found this to be the cause, I'd ask Apple for a solution. If they had none besides tape, I'd remove the case and either take a fluted reamer to the affected holes leaving no two the exact same diameter or I'd place the tape on the inside.

There are three types of Refurbs:
1) Overstock and Apple Store/Dealer returns when a newer model comes out
2) Customer Returns within the 14 calendar day grace period—Refurb Store has the same privileges.
3) Units returned under warranty. Now that AppleCare Plus is renewable, it can be older than 3 years (got the renew notice for my wife's 2020 iMac yesterday).
Only (1) does not go through an inspection on its way to the Refurb Store.

[mikehalloran]

Right. I wouldn’t buy one *used* anyway… unless it was a refurb with a warranty. I’m just saying that forums tend to give an exaggerated impression of the issue. The noise issue was an exception… not the rule as I understand.

Now that AppleCare Plus is renewable (always has been transferrable), I would call Apple to verify it's not been reported stolen and that I can renew the warranty if I bought second-hand. You can usually verify coverage in effect by entering the serial# online. If coverage is recently expired, you'll see a link below that lets you renew. As I just found out, it can be renewed using a different Apple ID.
https://checkcoverage.apple.com/

When the customer buys a new Mac, AppleCare Plus is available for an initial one or three year term. Refurb Store purchases are often offered only one-year. There's a grace period (30 days?) to add it after purchase. Because of this, I assume that used units purchased without AppleCare Plus in effect cannot have it added after the grace period.

[Michael Canavan]

Oh for sure, but if your choice is between a new M2 and a used M1 Studio, just gamblers logic says the chances of getting one of those units with a loud whine is higher in the used market, and I'm not sure that Apple would fix that in the refurbished units they sell either?

Of course they would—if that's the reason for the return. OTOH, if it's a fan or a component known to be noisy, the customer's unit might be repaired without being replaced.

The caveat is Apple has to admit there were significant amounts of units with a noticeable whine, i.e. they will not repair something they don't acknowledge is a problem. This issue has already had customers return units and get a replacement that also had the whine. So no acknowledgement seems to be forthcoming.

Considering it only affects some M1 Studio units, but not all, and it's not super loud, I would say they aren't going to do anything about it.

[mikehalloran]

Did you read this link? There are many like it on the internet but this was the best written that I have found.

The Case of the Singing Studio

https://basicappleguy.com/basicappleblo ... ing-studio

Although a design flaw, it's easy to fix by either of the methods I described. My only questions: 1) Did Apple fix it in the M2 Studio? 3) Does Apple have a fix for the M1? My guess is that it's a strategically placed piece of tape or shielding to re-direct air flow similar to the DIY but inside the cage.

[James Steele]

What's odd to me, is that if this is caused by the way the ventilation holes were machined at the exact same size, etc, then you would assume this issue would happen with EVERY M1 Mac Studio that shipped. I'm apparently blessed not to have that problem and I can't understand why exactly. Might be that mine was made later (I think July 2022?) and maybe there were adjustments made? I wonder if the problem happens more with "off the shelf" models... that is to say the "base models" with standard RAM and storage configurations that are configured ahead of time and stockpiled. Since I ordered a 64GB/2TB model, maybe the problem was identified and new cases made by then?

Either way, this is the best explanation I've seen yet and the theory seems proven since the noise went away with the addition of the piece of tape. Seems Apple should be able to modify the design to fix this without much headache. It's also easy to see how something like this could have been overlooked by the engineers/designers.

That said, if I WERE interested in a used M1 Mac Studio (let's say a personal friend or other person who was vouched for were selling it) and it was a good deal, I don't think it would bother me to put a small piece of tape over some of the holes as shown in the. article. I'm NOT an engineer, but I can't imagine a little bit of restriction like that would cause it to overheat or increase internal temperatures significantly.

I DO know that, I think in a few years there will be some dramatic improvements not just with Apple Silicon, but I think the OS and apps will mature to the point that we'll start reaping even more significant rewards from the new architecture... which is why I'm saving and positioning myself to perhaps go another upgrade round in say, 2026/2027 and get whatever BADASS Mac is out then, and move this wonderful machine I have now to my office where it certainly will last for a decade or more!

[bayswater]

If he is right that the noise happens because all the holes are the same size, maybe a simple solution is to ream a few at random, all by different small amounts. That’s a repair Apple could do, if not the user.

[Michael Canavan]

For the record I literally hear nothing from the M2 Ultra. Nothing at all.

[James Steele]

For the record I literally hear nothing from the M2 Ultra. Nothing at all.

Yeah... same here with my "lucky" M1 Max Mac Studio. It's weird.

[mikehalloran]

For the record I literally hear nothing from the M2 Ultra. Nothing at all.

Yeah... same here with my "lucky" M1 Max Mac Studio. It's weird.

For this noise to happen, the fans have to be running at a certain rate of speed and the internal air flow has to be just right–or just wrong in this case.

You both are apparently running cool.

[Michael Canavan]

For the record I literally hear nothing from the M2 Ultra. Nothing at all.

Yeah... same here with my "lucky" M1 Max Mac Studio. It's weird.

For this noise to happen, the fans have to be running at a certain rate of speed and the internal air flow has to be just right–or just wrong in this case.

You both are apparently running cool.

Yeah that's not the case. I've run to failure tests on 6+ DAWs on this machine, meaning more or less 99% of the CPU is maxed out on all cores for over an hour with ZERO noise.

The M1 Max and Ultra have different cooling systems, and I've always wondered if this wasn't a factor? I have yet to hear anyone complain about M2 Studios, Max or Ultra. Even with the M1's not everyone has the high end noise, it seems to be a run of M1 Studios that did this.

[James Steele]

Even with the M1's not everyone has the high end noise, it seems to be a run of M1 Studios that did this.

That’s all I’ve been trying to say. Mine has never done this. And I would hazard a guess that most M1 Studios don’t. Still some do and it appears to be a crapshoot.


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