Pro Tools 2020.12 M1 Mac Mini

[seebee62]

I went with a M1 because my iMac was stuck in High Sierra.
I wanted to get Komplete 13 and get back into Logic Pro the minimum for both is Mojave.

I considered a mid tier 2020 iMac 27 but after after upgrades it would run over 3K after taxes.

After seeing a particular session test with a M1 MacBook AIr and how much it could handle I went with the M1.

The M1 Mini after 1TB upgrade 16 Ram and Logic pre installed after taxes was $1600 and change.
Got a second display a few cables for thunder bolt 3 and usb c. A usb hub. A Magic Keyboard. Upgraded my Waves to V12 got Komplete 13 and I’m well below the 3K plus I would have spent on the iMac.

If PT would have been a disaster on the M1 I still have my mid 2011 iMac for PT sessions. But it was essentially plug and play for me with the M1.

Now a new Intel Mini with upgrades would be about $2700 before taxes.
The memory upgrade price from Apple is crazy of course but installing memory on the Intel Mini is not for the faint of heart. Especially on a brand new machine.

So for price and performance for my situation I feel the M1 Mini was the best choice. Working on PT with it is silky smooth.


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[MixerGuy]

Originally Posted by seebee62

Wanted to share my experiences after a week with my M1 Mini.

My Rig is
M1 Mac Mini 16/1 TB
Mac OS Big Sur 11.2.1
Pro Tools 2020.12
Logic Pro X 10.6
UA Apollo Twin MK II
Old Euphonix MC Mix and MC Transport.
Apple Magic Keyboard Space Grey
Apple Magic Trackpad.
Waves V12
Izotope RX 7
SSL Native plugs
UA Plugs
Addictive Drums 2
Addictive Keys
EZ Drummer 2
Steven Slate Drums 5
UVI Workstation/Synth Anthology
Metric Halo Plugs

So far it’s running like a champ. No audio of issues of any kind.
All of my old Intel sessions run great. Some 100 plus tracks.

One bug is that the adding a new track naming box is graphically cut off. No other graphic issue that I’ve found.
Another is a crash at start up when Kontakt/Komplete 13 starts to load. It locks up on the splash screen. Getting rid of the Kontakt solved the issue. Not a big deal for me. I’ll be using Kontakt in Logic Pro X. I just started using Kontakt/Komplete so I don’t have any existing PT sessions with it.

My old MC Mix has never worked better. It wasn’t this solid when I got it 11 years ago. It would always disconnect back then. It’s been rock solid this past week. Zero issues.

As far as my PT projects I picked up where I left off with my mid 2011 iMac 27 3.4ghz I7.

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thanks much for the report. very interesting.

so obviously it all is running under Rosetta 2.... i am kind of amazed that ProTools (and various plugins) are all running smoothly....

anyone else having the same good experiences?

[Emi]

Another bug that I have found is when you select all tracks, the black-ish selection is flashing a little..just a graphic issue..I think

[JFreak]

Remember that Big Sur is not yet supported


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[Emi]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Remember that Big Sur is not yet supported


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OH!! I thought it was!!


Just kidding!

[Eric Lambert]

There are many reports of people using PT on M1 machines. But, there are about as many reports of quirks. It still feels like a gamble but I'm happy for those who are having success. I don't expect Avid to officially bless the M1, natively, for some time.

[Darryl Ramm]

I think that people always need to be paranoid, but I am not sure “many reports of quirks” is accurate, my perception from running on Big Dur on Intel and M1 MBP is there are almost no issues. The minor one affecting me I have posted about multiple times.

[Eric Lambert]

I've been following the issue closely, at several outlets, and, yes, the reports have been about 50/50: full-compatibility vs. quirks. There would be no reason to smear this result. We're talking quirks, not showstoppers, and those likely to make anyone paranoid. But as someone whose career is hinged on a well-oiled PT rig, yes again, it's a risk. As already mentioned, no Kontakt equals no M1, and there are other apps/plugs that are not yet ready for primetime. It's best to be forthcoming about real-world scenarios, and that's what *I* am seeing. It would certainly be paranoid to think that all these people are fabricating their reports.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

I've been following the issue closely, at several outlets, and, yes, the reports have been about 50/50: full-compatibility vs. quirks. There would be no reason to smear this result. We're talking quirks, not showstoppers, and those likely to make anyone paranoid. But as someone whose career is hinged on a well-oiled PT rig, yes again, it's a risk. As already mentioned, no Kontakt equals no M1, and there are other apps/plugs that are not yet ready for primetime. It's best to be forthcoming about real-world scenarios, and that's what *I* am seeing. It would certainly be paranoid to think that all these people are fabricating their reports.

Thats an overreaction Eric, and I never accused anybody of fabricating anything, please don't put words in my mouth like that. I was one of the first users to post details of issues on Big Sur to warn other users. I did not say anybody was fabricating or anything close to that. I've been running a M1 Mac for a few months, have you done any testing yourself?

The issues seem overall surpassingly few to me given the technical transition and it's important that people look at what reported issues will affect them. Yes Kontakt is clearly critical for many people, it takes only one issue to ruin this for a user. But again "many" seems to be overstating it... folks on DUC are not shy about complaining and not shy about testing stuff (often accidentally) early so I suspect we are seeing a reasonable early coverage test. But due to memory limits on M1 systems post or VI etc. sessions that require lots of memory will be non-starters, so maybe we are not seeing gross issues there that will turn up later on larger memory systems.

But either-way folks who are making a Mac M1 purchase decision need to look at all issues reported so far on DUC, and yes remain paranoid.

[wmcintyre]

Kontakt loading fine here on Mac mini with PT Ultimate 2020.12