Gear Report: New M2 Mac mini Pro

[Kenny B]

Well it’s time to report on this new computer I am using to replace my aging 2013 MacPro, which at the time was a fairly fast computer given the internal SSD drive, 64 GB Ram, etc. etc. It has served me well since about 2019 when I first purchased, never wanting to be the first on the block to buy a new computer.

But this time is different. Based on reviews I decided to try Apple’s newest computer and not waiting for the next model. I did opt for the 32 GB unified RAM and 1 TB internal SSD and boy was this a good idea.

The drive is running close to 6,000 MB/Sec read write speeds when before using a 1 TB SSD was getting 250 MB/sec read/write speeds.

Getting it all to work with my recording system and peripherals did take a bit of work but I managed to get full functionality by just getting two Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 4 adapters so I could run the Apogee Symphony II and for the second monitor off my Belkin docking station. I could have added a nice new Thunderbolt 3-4 docking station but did not see that necessary if everything was working fine, and it all works fine.

I also added an external 2 TB SSD which is getting my ~2800 MB/Sec read/write speeds, a far cry from the 120 MB/Sec I am getting from my Seagate external drive. I now used the Seagate for offloading finished projects along with another Seagate which serves as my Time Machine backup drive.

Result: After only a few weeks I can truly say that this little MacMini is one awesome machine. Amazingly fast to the point that it has changed my work flow and allows me to get much more done on projects with video, audio and everything else. I honestly wouldn’t be reporting this here if not for how impressed I am with it.

For example when Recording and bouncing to disk and comparing the new Mac mini with my 2013 MacPro.

In Digital Performer I bounced 3 tracks with an aux track of FabFilters EQ, Compression, and MOTU Trim, another aux track of ReLab Reverb, a master track of FabFilters Limiting.... a total of 3 Audio mono tracks, Two stereo Aux tracks, a stereo Master track.... all recorded at 88.2 kHz and 24 bit...

2013 Mac Pro: 12 minutes and 56 seconds
2023 Mac mini : 4 minutes and 51 seconds

I did another 3 tracks the same way:

2013 Mac Pro: 10 minutes and 17 seconds
2023 Mac mini: took 3 minutes and 54 seconds

For Video work using iMovie I did some Save to File while converting to 720p from my iPhone video and again the results were stunningly fast.

I haven’t even begun to start editing Photos but that is something I will be doing and I’m sure it will be able to handle large RAW photo files with relative ease.

If you are on the fence about upgrading to a new computer for doing your audio and video, I can say don’t wait for the next generation, this one has all you need. Kudos to Apple for coming up with this product.

[KevWind]

Hey excellent review ,,

One question are you able to hear any fan noise at all ?
My MBP with the M1 Pro chip so far has been silent

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Kenny B

...The drive is running close to 6,000 MB/Sec read write speeds when before using a 1 TB SSD was getting 250 MB/sec read/write speeds.

...I also added an external 2 TB SSD which is getting my ~2800 MB/Sec read/write speeds, a far cry from the 120 MB/Sec I am getting from my Seagate external drive...

I upgraded my 2015 40GB iMac to a Mini M2 Pro with 32GB, a 2TB internal SSD and a 2TB external SSD. I'm getting similar read/write speeds. I don't do much audio processing, but a fair amount of image processing and other CPU intensive stuff. The speed increase is impressive. Used to be when I opened Lightroom I had to go off and do other things. Now it opens in a snap.

Originally Posted by KevWind

..One question are you able to hear any fan noise at all ?
My MBP with the M1 Pro chip so far has been silent

Complete silence from mine so far.

[Al Acuff]

It's good to hear that the M2 Mini Pro is quiet. I'm planning to update my 2013 Mac Pro sometime soon. If not for the fan noise problem I would already have a Mac Studio.

Been waiting to find out from the early adopters if the Mini Pro is quiet enough to use in a small room where I record and mix. Thanks you guys for posting about your new Macs!

[Kenny B]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

It's good to hear that the M2 Mini Pro is quiet. I'm planning to update my 2013 Mac Pro sometime soon. If not for the fan noise problem I would already have a Mac Studio.

Been waiting to find out from the early adopters if the Mini Pro is quiet enough to use in a small room where I record and mix. Thanks you guys for posting about your new Macs!

The M2 Mini Pro is dead quiet. However, my 2013 MacPro is not too loud either but the heat it puts out is tremendous. I moved the 2013 into my studio area and had it running to download pics from iCloud. For three days it ran all day long and the heat it produced kept the studio warm to 72+ degrees when normally it would be 65 degrees before I turn on my floor heater. I did not need to put on the heater all that time it was running.

My 2023 MacMini sits outside the studio (as my 2013 did) and is connected via cables that run thru the double wall. So I never had a problem with fan noise or (much worse) Drive noise from the external disk drives.

NOTE: Even though reviewers try to convince you to only get the 512 GB drive on the Mac mini, spend a little more to get at least a 1 TB internal. Why? Because it is > twice as fast as any SSD drive you can buy to give you more space (unless you go with $$$$ RAID types of ext. storage arrays).

[Al Acuff]

A year ago I rebuilt my 2013 Mac Pro. I removed CPU and GPUs then I cleaned the heatsinks and applied Arctic Silver thermal paste before reassembling. It is inaudible now and I can record soft fingerpicked acoustic guitar in the same room with it.

Many of the issues folks had with the old Mac Pro cylinder overheating were due to Apple applying way too much thermal paste during construction. Once that has dried out the fan is going to have to work extra hard to cool the components. And you'll get throttling.

I started looking at new Macs because my 2013 Pro has been shutting down unexpectedly now and then. Last week I discovered that the power company's drop to my house had a bad splice on the neutral wire causing voltage drops and surges in the house. The power company emergency crew fixed my service drop. Fortunately my electronics all survived. I suspect I'm not going to see my old Mac shutting down unexpectedly anymore but time will tell...

The next iteration of the Mac Studio will probably not have the whine problem. Apple doesn't seem to acknowledge such problems but they somehow get fixed. In the meantime, if my machine crashed and I had to choose today I'd opt for a maxed M2 Mini Pro. Glad to hear that it's quiet

[Ty Ford]

Anyone running Pro Tools on an M2? If so, some details, please.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Anyone running Pro Tools on an M2? If so, some details, please.

There's a bunch of YouTube reviews that cover it.

[Ty Ford]

Thanks, Jim!

Ty

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Thanks, Jim!

Ty

I forget what version of PT you are running but if I remember correctly you have to be at least PT 2022.10 to run on Apple silicon ? And that would be running on Rosetta 2 wrapper to run natively on Apple silicon you have to be on PT 2023.3

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I forget what version of PT you are running but if I remember correctly you have to be at least PT 2022.10 to run on Apple silicon ? And that would be running on Rosetta 2 wrapper to run natively on Apple silicon you have to be on PT 2023.3

I think I'm still on 2022.12 and I'll leave it there for now. I'll upgrade when I get my Mac Studio which I'll be ordering in the very near future.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I think I'm still on 2022.12 and I'll leave it there for now. I'll upgrade when I get my Mac Studio which I'll be ordering in the very near future.

I am actually still on 2022.10 running Ventura 13.2.1 on both my systems and it has been stable so have not updated
There has been a few reported bugs for 2023.3 But some of those "bugs" are not really bugs -- some complained that many plugins are not working or not showing up--- BUT that is mostly just the misunderstanding that with 2022.12 it defaults to Rosetta 2, any Rosetta plugins will work BUT 2023.3 defaults to Apple Silicon Native and only plugins ported compatible with Silicon will show up and work And if you rely on Plugs that are not yet Apple silicon ported you have the option to run 2023.3 in Rosetta also ..

The reports seem to say though that all things being equal, t the Native silicon is snappier

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by jim1960

There's a bunch of YouTube reviews that cover it.

Jim,

I was all over them, but came away with no specific answers, but I do appreciate your help.

It seems like Apple is in an atrociously all-over-the-road position with M1, M2 and Apple Studio. As I read/listen to people opine about it, they sound extremely ungrounded, or inadvertently make Apple seem ungrounded.

****!

Ty Ford

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

It seems like Apple is in an atrociously all-over-the-road position with M1, M2 and Apple Studio. As I read/listen to people opine about it, they sound extremely ungrounded, or inadvertently make Apple seem ungrounded.

Sorry you didn't find the answers you were looking for but I'm a bit lost on what you're saying there.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Jim,

I was all over them, but came away with no specific answers, but I do appreciate your help.

It seems like Apple is in an atrociously all-over-the-road position with M1, M2 and Apple Studio. As I read/listen to people opine about it, they sound extremely ungrounded, or inadvertently make Apple seem ungrounded.

****!

Ty Ford

Humm I am a bit unclear also as to what "specific answers" you are looking for,, or maybe ----what specific questions you might have that remain unanswered ? is likely the better question. Because we can give details like you asked but they may not suit your specific situation and work flow .

For example I have an M1 generation MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip
I created a session with 400 mono audio tracks , and recorded some vocal audio on to 400 tracks at once , then I loaded up 400 EQ plug ins 400 Compressor plugins and 400 Reverb plugins and it plays back just fine (Also note the tracks loaded in one or two seconds, as did all the plugins )

I am also unclear what "atrociously all-over-the-road position with M1, M2 and Apple Studio", means ?

First to clarify Apple Studio is a specific computer (model)------ Where as M1 and M2 are generations of processor/chips. (not computer models)

Virtually all computer mfg. offer multiple different computer models, and multi generations of chips. Apples line up is by comparison relatively lean, simple, and straight forward, IMO

From Dells website




Currently the Apple Studio model computer /machine --comes only with M1 series generation of chips, in two different "Base" configurations
#1 with the M1 Max chip base machine at $1999
#2 with the more powerful M1 Ultra chip base at $3999 (Ultra is basically two M1 Max chips fused together)

Apple is starting to offer the next Generation M2 chip in some computer models (like the Mac Mini model that the OP was posting about) BUT not currently for the Studio model machines..

So Not really all over the road so much as several different possible roads available
which seems like a benefit as opposed to a detriment YMMV