3 Reasons To Consider Buying A Mac

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 haven’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 without 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 vicinity 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 genuine 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.