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Thread MAC vs PC : the best solution for home recording/mixing ?

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1 MAC vs PC : the best solution for home recording/mixing ?
Hey,

I know there is already a post on the subject, but the question is now: what are you using for homestudio applications: PC or MAC? And why??
Show first post
11
MACs. Garage Band has seriously changed the landscape for home users. Normal people can record, overdub, harmonize and add drum tracks without reading any manuals. The sound quality with a PreSonus FirePod, Rode NT1a and NT5s mikes and a Mac is awesome and there are NO DRIVERS or any software to install. Just plug it in and start recording.

I know a lot of people like laptops so they can record on site, but I use a desktop at home. You can record on site using say a Furman 8L Power conditioner 1u, a PreSonus MP20 stereo preamp/mixer 1u and a Tascam direct to CD recorder 4u in a portable 6u rack.
12
I am currently with Mac. I think the processing flow has always been a little better. Strangely, I have found that the newest recording software has become increasingly unstable on Mac. And, the HT technology that PC are using can really speed things up. I guess that it comes down to wroght processing power. My PC, loves to get caught up and have to think about recording multiple tracks at once, and maybe I'm on the lucky end, but my Mac had never had much of a problem doing anything.
13
Major differences between Mac and Pc's when it comes to Digital Audio Recording.

Through my 20 years of experience both pc's and mac's in the digital audio world
i would recommend anyone that is persuing a career in ANY type of recording purchase a MAC. Apple has designed the mac to handle pro audio VERY well. there is a difference in the way the audio "sounds" while recording onto a system channel
the I/O is unique, and if you are an experienced engineer such as myself you can distinguish the difference. NO i am not speaking of bounced analog/digital sound nor am i speaking of "mixed pre-masterd audio" i am speaking of the audio signal that is heard WHILE RECORDING IN REAL TIME. Mac's are audio work horses and stable, with a mac you dont have to worry about OS hardware compato. the same manufacture designed both the OS and the system which stops alot of harware-software glitches. i am not underestimating the pc its just that i have enough experience to know what's best for pro audio.:)
14
I would have to go with a PC. I do 16 live tracks, and can get a track number that should never exceed my needs even if I get into alot of effects. It seems that alot of your newer software will work better on the PC's. Also, alot of the stuff on a mac is related to using ProTools which has a couple of signiffigant problems. It feels clunky next to something like cubase or nuendo. Also, and more importantly, its hardware is proprietary, and only works with ProTools, and ProTools only seems to like to play nice with the hardware it was meant for, whereas with a PC, the only major thing you have to worry about is getting hardware that is compatible with youre board's chipset. And they are more affordable especially if you do it yourself. Even if you can't there are a number of turnkey dealers that offer DAW's (digital audio workstations) that easily are a better value than the Mac's when you look at what you can actually do. Oh and there is no rainbow wheel of death on the PC.
15
i am using a computer that i made...250 GB..1G Ram..it coast me about 400..........i would use a mac but they are expensive.
but overall mac's are a lot nicer and have really good recording software and they are just plain better
but you can make a pretty good computer if you go on www.tigerdirect.com


-cole
16

%1$s a écrit but overall mac's are a lot nicer and have really good recording software and they are just plain better


have you ever even used a mac?
17
I use Apple Mac for multi-track recording and PC for some audio-editing/creating MP3s. Using the Mac for multitrack is for me most convenient.

Favorite PC's for me are DELL and COMPAQ. Always use the Firewire.
18

%1$s a écrit Ive been trying my hardest to avoid this flame-ish topic, but this morning for some reason I can't hold back anymore. The most important difference, IMHO between using a Windows-based machine and a Mac is the way that the operating system handles I/O and its virtual memory handling. Back in the day macs were far superior to windows machines because it was easier and more sane to have control over virtual memory. Of course, this was in the pre OSX days and the tradeoff was that there was no real multitasking, etc, etc. Classic Mac OS was a nightmare for reliability in alot of ways, but the nice thing about it was that it was simple and easy to control/configure. By comparison, Windows 98 and even 2000 and early versions of XP were horrible about their handling of virtual memory which caused you to need better hardware to have comparible performance while recording.

Of course, things are a little more complicated on the mac side now. It seems like virtual memory isn't as big of a performance hit as it used to be and its such an integrated expectation of the operating system anymore on both sides that its hard to make it much of an argument (except what handles what better). I haven't used windows in ages, so I can't say I'm any expert on the topic. The point is that theres nothing magic about a mac or a windows machine that makes it better or worse for one application. The only point is how the software interacts with the hardware and how much hardware you need to get similar performance. My guess is (based on historical evidence of microsoft's inability to stay with the curve) that the Mac OS still is going to give you better I/O handling and better virtual memory performance.

But really, seriously, theres no magic here. There's no secret sauce.


Best and most complete explanation ever :cool:
19
Ive been trying my hardest to avoid this flame-ish topic, but this morning for some reason I can't hold back anymore. The most important difference, IMHO between using a Windows-based machine and a Mac is the way that the operating system handles I/O and its virtual memory handling. Back in the day macs were far superior to windows machines because it was easier and more sane to have control over virtual memory. Of course, this was in the pre OSX days and the tradeoff was that there was no real multitasking, etc, etc. Classic Mac OS was a nightmare for reliability in alot of ways, but the nice thing about it was that it was simple and easy to control/configure. By comparison, Windows 98 and even 2000 and early versions of XP were horrible about their handling of virtual memory which caused you to need better hardware to have comparible performance while recording.

Of course, things are a little more complicated on the mac side now. It seems like virtual memory isn't as big of a performance hit as it used to be and its such an integrated expectation of the operating system anymore on both sides that its hard to make it much of an argument (except what handles what better). I haven't used windows in ages, so I can't say I'm any expert on the topic. The point is that theres nothing magic about a mac or a windows machine that makes it better or worse for one application. The only point is how the software interacts with the hardware and how much hardware you need to get similar performance. My guess is (based on historical evidence of microsoft's inability to stay with the curve) that the Mac OS still is going to give you better I/O handling and better virtual memory performance.

But really, seriously, theres no magic here. There's no secret sauce.
20

%1$s a écrit Major differences between Mac and Pc's when it comes to Digital Audio Recording.

Through my 20 years of experience both pc's and mac's in the digital audio world
i would recommend anyone that is persuing a career in ANY type of recording purchase a MAC. Apple has designed the mac to handle pro audio VERY well. there is a difference in the way the audio "sounds" while recording onto a system channel
the I/O is unique, and if you are an experienced engineer such as myself you can distinguish the difference. NO i am not speaking of bounced analog/digital sound nor am i speaking of "mixed pre-masterd audio" i am speaking of the audio signal that is heard WHILE RECORDING IN REAL TIME. Mac's are audio work horses and stable, with a mac you dont have to worry about OS hardware compato. the same manufacture designed both the OS and the system which stops alot of harware-software glitches. i am not underestimating the pc its just that i have enough experience to know what's best for pro audio.:)


Ummmm....... Sounds different? Give me a break. The computer has nothing to do with sound quality. What audio hardware are you using? Maybe you need to give them the props? The converters in your hardware, not the machine they are plugged into, are responsible for sound quality. Just how much experience do you have ?