sound-quality difference between using PT on a PC vs a Mac

[gavriil1]

Other than usability, stability, is there any sound-quality difference between using PT on a PC vs a Mac?

[guitardom]

Of course not. Even more to the point as macs and most pc's are now both using the exact same intel architecture. But the converters and interfaces are doing the actual conversion, the computer just stores and plays back the binary data it was given. Also it's easily proven there is no difference between usability and stability assuming you have a properly spec'd computer.

[gavriil1]

Thank you. I just got the wife a Mac Air. Our first Mac ever. So because we now have both, I am wondering.

Then why do I almost exclusively see professionals use Macs with PT (and other DAWs)? Just a tradition?

Originally Posted by guitardom

Of course not. Even more to the point as macs and most pc's are now both using the exact same intel architecture. But the converters and interfaces are doing the actual conversion, the computer just stores and plays back the binary data it was given. Also it's easily proven there is no difference between usability and stability assuming you have a properly spec'd computer.

[guitardom]

Up until about 6-7 years ago macs were generally just faster and better built machines. Most engineers and studios used them for these obvious reasons. Until the the G5-IBM mess (2004 roughly) , intel and amd were exclusively (windows based) PC and they flew past IBM based macs in both speed and stability due to the fact there were no updates for well over a year. At this point mac dropped IBM and moved to intel. That really was a great day in the computer world as both mac and pc's now run on the same architecture. Now it's just an OS preference. Most people will prefer to stay a what they know and in most cases the best pc's need to be built instead of off the shelf like a Mac.

[bacchus40]

pc = custom built daw
mac = just a mac
hackingtosh = best of both?

[Weird Audio]

Back in the clear plastic G4 / G5 days , it was often said that because mac was mostly designed for the arts , it was easier and less distance to get the audio to the drives on a mac. Meaning it had a more direct line and less cpu junk to travel through.

I have absolute no idea if there is any fact in that , but thats what a lot of people used to say. Keep in mind that was forever ago, and even if there was a benefit then i doubt there is now that MAC does not design there own processors custom for audio and video. If they ever did at all .

I honestly do believe MAC is a lot more stable than most PCs . Im sure some company,s build great PC,s but MAC is the most individually accepted professional cpu and reliability must be the reason or pro,s would not use them.
Pro,s use what works or they wouldnt be pro,s. That is my opinion because I agree with it .

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Weird Audio

Back in the clear plastic G4 / G5 days , it was often said that because mac was mostly designed for the arts , it was easier and less distance to get the audio to the drives on a mac. Meaning it had a more direct line and less cpu junk to travel through.

I have absolute no idea if there is any fact in that , but thats what a lot of people used to say. Keep in mind that was forever ago, and even if there was a benefit then i doubt there is now that MAC does not design there own processors custom for audio and video. If they ever did at all .

I honestly do believe MAC is a lot more stable than most PCs . Im sure some company,s build great PC,s but MAC is the most individually accepted professional cpu and reliability must be the reason or pro,s would not use them.
Pro,s use what works or they wouldnt be pro,s. That is my opinion because I agree with it .

Opinions vary, but I honestly believe there is no difference in stability with a well-tweaked system. I work on my own self-built PC based rig(003 interface) and a friend's Mac-based rig(HD3, Mac Pro and all set up by a GC Pro specialist). The Mac rig crashes way more often. Having said that, I advise anyone to simply use the platform you/they are comfortable with. And, with the advances to the MacBook Air, its finally possible to use one for serious recording. I bet you have a great time with it

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by Weird Audio

Back in the clear plastic G4 / G5 days , it was often said that because mac was mostly designed for the arts , it was easier and less distance to get the audio to the drives on a mac. Meaning it had a more direct line and less cpu junk to travel through.

I have absolute no idea if there is any fact in that , but thats what a lot of people used to say. Keep in mind that was forever ago, and even if there was a benefit then i doubt there is now that MAC does not design there own processors custom for audio and video. If they ever did at all .

I honestly do believe MAC is a lot more stable than most PCs . Im sure some company,s build great PC,s but MAC is the most individually accepted professional cpu and reliability must be the reason or pro,s would not use them.
Pro,s use what works or they wouldnt be pro,s. That is my opinion because I agree with it .

I started on g3's by '01 w PT 5 mix systems and LE systems at Home on PC. Went strictly to PC in 05 and bought my first new Mac last year (MacBook) since then. Had nothing to do with distance to get to the hard drive. The processors were built by IBM for macs thru the G5 where IBM dropped the ball for way over a year on Mac and rumored to be because they got the Microsoft contract to supply the processors for the Xbox in '03 or'04. This let intel and amd fly past any Mac configuration. until then IBM built a superior processor hands down and the OS was simpler and better built period until XP got got dialed in and was easily comparable.

They both now run the exact same architecture and now Mac OS can be installed on a PC (hackintosh) and windows can be ran on a Mac. There is no difference but the OS and Mac controls the parts they use in their builds, typically to there detriment as once again PC builds are far beyond any possible Mac configuration. This is where the hackintosh comes in!

Producers and engineers I worked with never much bothered w a
PC. They cut their teeth and learned on Mac systems and straight off the shelf are typically better quality. They know them and they stay there. Most of these same people are not the type to want to tweak and want to build their own computers. The ones that are willing are building hackintosh now and not bothering w the obscene Mac prices with current subpar CPU and ram speeds. I still own and use both platforms. There is nothing one can do that the other cant.

[CME]

Originally Posted by guitardom

I started on g3's by '01 w PT 5 mix systems and LE systems at Home on PC. Went strictly to PC in 05 and bought my first new Mac last year (MacBook) since then. Had nothing to do with distance to get to the hard drive. The processors were built by IBM for macs thru the G5 where IBM dropped the ball for way over a year on Mac and rumored to be because they got the Microsoft contract to supply the processors for the Xbox in '03 or'04. This let intel and amd fly past any Mac configuration. until then IBM built a superior processor hands down and the OS was simpler and better built period until XP got got dialed in and was easily comparable.

They both now run the exact same architecture and now Mac OS can be installed on a PC (hackintosh) and windows can be ran on a Mac. There is no difference but the OS and Mac controls the parts they use in their builds, typically to there detriment as once again PC builds are far beyond any possible Mac configuration. This is where the hackintosh comes in!

Producers and engineers I worked with never much bothered w a
PC. They cut their teeth and learned on Mac systems and straight off the shelf are typically better quality. They know them and they stay there. Most of these same people are not the type to want to tweak and want to build their own computers. The ones that are willing are building hackintosh now and not bothering w the obscene Mac prices with current subpar CPU and ram speeds. I still own and use both platforms. There is nothing one can do that the other cant.

Pretty much this. Like pro tools, macs became the defacto standard. There are competitors but apple and pro tools are entrenched in "pro" studios everywhere. However it seems hacks are making a run. Best if both worlds. Modern architecture (hardware like usb3 and sata 3), with a well known OS. I'm not saying a better OS, just one they're comfortable with. However with apple apparently bent on merging iOS and osx, windows "may" become a more viable option. Just some thoughts.

[jasonthurley]

For the thread.....


Lets just hold this flow for a minute... Now

If your talking about a PC laptop versus Mac its a different scenario, such as some manufactures audio output (motherboard) has processing noise while charging the battery... solution... unplug the laptop.... however not really a solution... macs on the laptop side no issues with processor noise in the motherboard output... Sometimes you can only hear it on big or professional systems...

Towers... welll PC has so many variables its up to what you want to do with it and can afford... with MAC, its a buy it and it works kinda thing, not that most PC's dont do the same or similar thing...

But when it comes to digital... its only 1's ans 0's and that can be replicated by anything, its the digital to analogue conversion that matters.