Old 06-07-2020, 01:10 PM   #1
creator31
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Default Info needed about new iMac

Hi there,

I've got to buy a new Mac and audio interface. I haven't had to do this for many years, so I've got a few questions. Maybe someone here can help.

I record, produce and mix electronic music. Usually not large track counts (<30). I record a lot of hardware synths and instruments in the process, so not many plug-in synths, but I am quite fond of plug-in delays, reverbs & creative fx. I also put the music together for big fashion shows, where I need to do a lot of fast editing, time-stretching, pitch-shifting and alternate versions (REAPER is great for this).

I'm looking at this iMac:
  • 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • 21.5-inch Retina 4K display
  • 16GB DDR4 memory
  • 1TB Storage
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/imac

And this audio interface:

Arturia Audiofuse Studio

https://www.arturia.com/products/aud...iofuse-studio/

I'm kind of assuming the iMac will be able to handle the kind of work I do. Please let me know if not.

My questions:
  1. The Arturia Audiofuse Studio uses a USB-C port. Does this work ok with an iMac?
  2. As far as I can gather, USB-C doesn't have the bandwidth or speed of Thunderbolt. I hope it works ok. Would that just mean a larger latency, or are there any other drawbacks?
  3. I think the iMac comes with just one internal HD. Which type of internal drive is a good choice? Is the regular 5400-rpm drive fast enough? They also offer a SSD drive. And what is a Fusion Drive?
  4. I'm wondering how other people work. Do you work from external drives, using the internal drive for just the system and apps? If so, what type of external drive and plugged into which port?
  5. I've assumed I'll need 16Gb of memory. Am I right?
  6. Lastly, can I plug a 2nd Monitor (VGA) into the iMac? Do I need an adaptor for this?
Sorry for so many questions. It's been ages since I upgraded my system, so I'm completely out of the loop. I'm not expecting answers to all of them, but any info, advice, or opinions will be much appreciated.

Thanks very much,
creator31
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Old 07-06-2020, 04:47 AM   #2
dupont
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creator31 View Post
Hi there,

I've got to buy a new Mac and audio interface. I haven't had to do this for many years, so I've got a few questions. Maybe someone here can help.

I record, produce and mix electronic music. Usually not large track counts (<30). I record a lot of hardware synths and instruments in the process, so not many plug-in synths, but I am quite fond of plug-in delays, reverbs & creative fx. I also put the music together for big fashion shows, where I need to do a lot of fast editing, time-stretching, pitch-shifting and alternate versions (REAPER is great for this).

I'm looking at this iMac:
  • 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • 21.5-inch Retina 4K display
  • 16GB DDR4 memory
  • 1TB Storage
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/imac

And this audio interface:

Arturia Audiofuse Studio

https://www.arturia.com/products/aud...iofuse-studio/

I'm kind of assuming the iMac will be able to handle the kind of work I do. Please let me know if not.

My questions:
  1. The Arturia Audiofuse Studio uses a USB-C port. Does this work ok with an iMac?
  2. As far as I can gather, USB-C doesn't have the bandwidth or speed of Thunderbolt. I hope it works ok. Would that just mean a larger latency, or are there any other drawbacks?
  3. I think the iMac comes with just one internal HD. Which type of internal drive is a good choice? Is the regular 5400-rpm drive fast enough? They also offer a SSD drive. And what is a Fusion Drive?
  4. I'm wondering how other people work. Do you work from external drives, using the internal drive for just the system and apps? If so, what type of external drive and plugged into which port?
  5. I've assumed I'll need 16Gb of memory. Am I right?
  6. Lastly, can I plug a 2nd Monitor (VGA) into the iMac? Do I need an adaptor for this?
Sorry for so many questions. It's been ages since I upgraded my system, so I'm completely out of the loop. I'm not expecting answers to all of them, but any info, advice, or opinions will be much appreciated.

Thanks very much,
creator31
I also in need to replace my 2007 imac, even if i still can produce entire techno tracks with it but i'm stuck with El Capitan.
But I will wait until end of this year for new ARM Imac. Mac are expensive so it's worth waiting a couple of months for last CPU generation.

Fusion drive is a combo of HDD and SSD and it is not advised for audio work. I think SSD is 32 Go and HDD is 1To with Imac wich is a shame in 2020 to sell 2500 $ computer with obsolete 5400 rpm HDD !!! Go for full SSD.
8Go should be enought for EDM, mine is only 4 Go. I think 16 Go is advised if you work with large samples libraries.

Last edited by dupont; 07-06-2020 at 04:54 AM.
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Old 07-06-2020, 11:41 AM   #3
Vasily
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creator31 View Post
[*]Arturia Audiofuse Studio uses a USB-C port. Does this work ok with an iMac?
[*]As far as I can gather, USB-C doesn't have the bandwidth or speed of Thunderbolt. I hope it works ok. Would that just mean a larger latency, or are there any other drawbacks?
yeah, it will work.

generally TB interfaces have less latency than USB ones, but a low-performant TB device (UAD, I'm looking at you) may be slower than a good USB one (like RME stuff).

for most applications USB 2.0 is enough. I do appreciate lower latency of my TB devices though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by creator31 View Post
[*]I think the iMac comes with just one internal HD. Which type of internal drive is a good choice? Is the regular 5400-rpm drive fast enough? They also offer a SSD drive. And what is a Fusion Drive?
[*]I've assumed I'll need 16Gb of memory. Am I right?
SSD only.

go with 16G of RAM, that's not as much.
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Last edited by Vasily; 07-06-2020 at 11:57 AM.
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Old 07-06-2020, 04:32 PM   #4
Sibben
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creator31 View Post

My questions:
  1. The Arturia Audiofuse Studio uses a USB-C port. Does this work ok with an iMac?
  2. As far as I can gather, USB-C doesn't have the bandwidth or speed of Thunderbolt. I hope it works ok. Would that just mean a larger latency, or are there any other drawbacks?
  3. I think the iMac comes with just one internal HD. Which type of internal drive is a good choice? Is the regular 5400-rpm drive fast enough? They also offer a SSD drive. And what is a Fusion Drive?
  4. I'm wondering how other people work. Do you work from external drives, using the internal drive for just the system and apps? If so, what type of external drive and plugged into which port?
  5. I've assumed I'll need 16Gb of memory. Am I right?
  6. Lastly, can I plug a 2nd Monitor (VGA) into the iMac? Do I need an adaptor for this?
1) Yes.
2) Not really. The extra bandwidth of Thunderbolt does not translate to lower latency for normal applications. Driver quality is much more important. There are some Thunderbolt interfaces, like Presonus Quantum that does have really low latency but as a general rule Thunderbolt does not guarantee lower latency. USB 2 is fine. Especially since you don’t seem to be heavily into recording.
3) Fusion Drive is fine. SSD is obviously better but we used to record music before they existed which people seem to forget. I had an iMac with FD and had no issues.
4) I have system and apps on internal SSD and record and keep sound libraries on an external drive. It’s an SSD but until recently I used a USB 3 mechanical drive which was absolutely fine.
5) At least. Get 32 if you use lots of virtual instruments and samplers.
6) Not sure. I think you need an adapter yes.

For that kind of money I would look at other interfaces personally. RME, Audient, Apogee, Focusrite etc. unless there something special it does that you need. Get an interface from a manufacturer with a proven track record of writing and supporting their own drivers. Many brands just write their own wrappers for third party driver code. Not saying Arturia does but check it.
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Last edited by Sibben; 07-06-2020 at 04:57 PM.
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Old 07-08-2020, 08:29 AM   #5
creator31
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Hi folks,

Many thanks for the info & advice. Much appreciated. :-)

My question was about a month ago, and in the meantime I bought the iMac. I got the 6-Core Intel Core i7 version with 16GB memory and the 500GB internal SSD.

Maybe I should've waited for Apple's ARM announcement and waited, but to be honest, this was a good time for me to upgrade (lockdown / not much work), and I knew the money would be gone if I didn't invest it quickly.

I also bought the Arturia AudioFuse Studio interface. I was a bit nervous buying a 'Desktop' device, but in use it's been very good so far. It sounds at least on a par with my previous FW interfaces (Allen & Heath R16, Echo AudioFire12). I've recorded some synths/drum machines and instruments and it seems pretty good (but I haven't recorded Yoyo Ma yet).

I'm really happy with the iMac. Only one crash so far (caused by a dodgy plugin), otherwise it's been rock-solid with very low CPU use (this freaks me out a bit).

I've had the usual Gatekeeper woes with some plugins, but most of my tools are working. The only plugin I really miss is mdsp's freeware LiveCut, but I also work in SuperCollider (where it originated), so that's not a big deal.

I upgraded from a 2009 MacPro running Mountain Lion. I loved it. It was good enough for making entire records, good enough to put the music together for fancy high-end fashion shows, good enough for small film-sound jobs, and definitely good enough for my own brand of unlistenable experimental techno (hi dupont). ;-) I'm sure this new setup will cover all those bases, and hopefully a lot more!

Thanks again for all your help. :-)
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Old 07-08-2020, 10:33 AM   #6
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Oh, sorry. I missed the post date there. Anyway. Nice that you’re happy with your new setup!
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Old 07-09-2020, 08:50 AM   #7
creator31
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Oh, sorry. I missed the post date there. Anyway. Nice that you’re happy with your new setup!
No worries Sibben. Thanks. Your input was really good and informative. I probably should have done more research myself before posting (which I ended up doing anyway).

You never know, an old skool Mac user who has lost some trust in the company, but has to upgrade, could possibly find this thread useful.

Thanks again. :-)
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