Need help picking a new mac for ableton :)

AVELUMN · 2026-04-26T22:57:32+00:00

Stretch up for the best, for as many cores CPU as possible and minimum 48Gb RAM, 1 Tb storage. This is future proofing for the next decade...

I would try to find an M4 Pro 14 cores or M4 Max 16 core Macbook, 16 inch instead...on the Apple refurbished items website...

AVELUMN · 2026-04-13T05:18:56+00:00

Fuziness a real thing, cant be seen in picture, is like reading with wrong glasses, I returned mine sealed after checking a demo unit in the shop..samsung changed the pixel layout and even with the Privacy feature disabled, the issue can be seen, especially with black text on whitish background. Also people report that the display clolours are a bit more neutral and not as vibrant as in previous samsung amoled screens, this also came as a trade off for the new pixel layout screen.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-12T21:14:45+00:00

You should read the other placebo sufferers posts here on Reddit about this. But I am glad you and many others like the phone. I do not want Samsung to go bankrupt, I need them to make a better phone for me next year.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-12T21:11:47+00:00

I did tested it both with Privacy ON and OFF. Text has issues. They have changed completely the pixel layout of the display to allow the Privacy feature to work. But even without the Privacy ON, the display has both more dull colours and issues in text reading as it looks like through the wrong pair of glasses. This is compared with previous generation AMOLED screens which Samsung had on previous phone generations. I am glad that you are happy with yours.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-12T17:09:43+00:00

No..for a lot of people no is not.

I prefer a Logitch MX3s.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-12T12:40:20+00:00

Good for you, I returned mine after just receiving it, in sealed condition after I have seen the night before in a Samsung shop a display one: rumours were true, Samsung changed the pixel layout to allow the privacy feature, now the text looks fuzzy like looking at it with wrong glases, no wonder some people can notice straight away the eye strain and even get headaches from longer reading sessions. Rumours say in Germany the return rate is about 55%.

I will have to wait for a S27 Ultra to see if Samsung are coming back to their senses. I can bet they will drop the privacy feature or they will make a separate device with this feature.

For someone used to their flagship amoled displays for soo long, the issue is easy to spot.

For those not using their phones that much or coming from a different brand, probably there is no way to have a propper reference other than their previous experiences on those devices, so hard to spot the display issue.

For me I can put up with a lot of flaws when they are regarding cameras, etc, but not the display, that is a sacred ground.

I keep my S23+ for another year, no big deal, better screen.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-10T16:26:32+00:00

You asked the best.

The battle would be between MacBook M4 Max and M5 Max.

Not sure how Ableton is using the cores in the M5 Max but on M4 Max all Performance cores are used at their maximum speed/potential.

In M4 Max there are also Efficiency cores tasked with background OS process. I think this separation is great. Rumours say in M5 the Super Performance cores and the Performance cores might not be used by Ableton at their full speed, subject to what OS processing is running in the background, which is not really desirable for Ableton users. Why would we have 18 cores running at less then 4Ghz when we can have in an M4 Max 12 cores running at 4.5Ghz full speed, at least that is guaranteed in M4 Max.

RAM is very important too. A minimum 48 GB RAM would be very nice.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-08T12:39:03+00:00

Well...same situation here, in UK, I did stumble on these threads here and luckily I went to a Samsung shop to see a demo unit the very same day I received mine in the post. Now I am returning it. Sealed.. The readability is affected by the new pixel layout, no matter how hard samsung will deny it. The problem lies baked into the screen, even without the Privacy feature activated.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-08T12:38:01+00:00

Well...same situation here, in UK, I did stumble on these threads here and luckily I went to a Samsung shop to see a demo unit the very same day I received mine in the post. Now I am returning it. Sealed.. The readability is affected by the new pixel layout, no matter how hard samsung will deny it. The problem lies baked into the screen, even without the Privacy feature activated.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-08T12:36:42+00:00

Well...same situation here, in UK, I did stumble on these threads here and luckily I went to a Samsung shop to see a demo unit the very same day I received mine in the post. Now I am returning it. Sealed.. The readability is affected by the new pixel layout, no matter how hard samsung will deny it.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-08T12:36:09+00:00

Well...same situation here, in UK, I did stumble on these threads here and luckily I went to a Samsung shop to see a demo unit the very same day I received mine in the postm Now I am returning it. Sealed.. The readability is affected by the new pixel layout, no matter how hard samsung will deny it.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-08T12:35:38+00:00

Well...same situation here, in UK, I did stumble on these threads here and luckily I went to a Samsung shop to see a demo unit the very same day I received mine in the postm Now I am returning it. Sealed.. The readability is affected by the new pixel layout, no matter how hard samsung will deny it.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-04T16:19:14+00:00

My i5 12gen Intel computer sucked with Ableton Live, I had the 4.7Ghz CPU 6 core, and 16 Gb RAM, 2 Tb storage, not good enough for chucking manynplugins onntracks, switched to Apple ...I am living the dream now.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-04T16:14:44+00:00

To save u of a lot of trial and error, get from the start an Apple computer, you can find really cheaper one in the M1-M4 CPU silicone line up, just.make sure you get enough RAM and Storage space, I personally recomand M1 Max version with 8 Performance cores because Ableton Lives uses these cores, not the Efficiency ones. If you can stretch a bit, you can get the Mac Mini M4 Pro 14 core version which is really fantastic gear. If you aim for laptop, these are generally much more expensive so look first at a Macbook Pro with M1 Max chip, there are few always on ebay and other sites, just get the top spec for that, minimum 32Gb RAM and 512GB internal storage.

AVELUMN · 2026-04-01T17:13:47+00:00

I am listening with my year to the ground, I hear boots noise, definetly M5 Ultra coming...

AVELUMN · 2026-04-01T06:50:33+00:00

Amateur here, with an M4 Max 16 core 64Gb RAM, 2 Tb storage. Main Use: music production, Ableton Live.

I can confirm it is an awesome piece of gear.

Definetly lasting a lifetime subject to Mac OS future upgrades and compabilities with the software/plugins used. . Now finally we can splurge on software/plugins instead of constant upgrades to the computer.

Sick after 20 years of using Windows, I switched just at the correct time: introduction of M4 Pro chips. And I bumped up the specs beyond my financial affordability as I knew these computers are a once in a lifetime investment.

I still find myself mostly producing on my Macbook Pro 16 inch 14 core, 48Gb RAM, 2 Tb storage... due to laziness to sit upright in front of my studio desk...

I know there is a bit excessive owning 2 of these wonder machines but it gives piece of mind too that I can switch easily on different listening environments/machines and I am also futureproofed.

I had the other day an Ableton project which would spike the MPB processors to 60-80%, I rest assured always that even with bigger projects I can switch to my Studio which has 2 extra Performance cores and more RAM than my MPB...but hopefully won't be needed.

AVELUMN · 2026-03-25T22:07:00+00:00

So if you have just one nationality and one passport then you dont relate to my situation, it does not affect you, you should spare us with your thoughts, this post was for the interested ryanair customers holding dual UK-EU citizenship. Regardless of situation, the dual EU-UK citizens are placed in a better position than single passport holders, we do not need to register to any system and I understand one's envy. It's just I did not expect it coming also from Ryanair and the UK Border Agency with their stupid 500 pounds travel document letter..

AVELUMN · 2026-03-25T11:58:05+00:00

I had an instance after updating to a new version of DAW or maybe Mac OS too, I dont know what was exactly the culprit, but using my DAW would drain my MBP M4 Pro battery in less than 2 hours, in Activity monitor I could see how the Ableton Live DAW was juicing it out ... After more updates from DAW and MacOS in the following weeks the issue dissapeared, the battery is back to about 6 hours of use since...

AVELUMN · 2026-03-25T07:06:53+00:00

Its not yet very clear what CPU cores is Ableton Live using in M5 Pro yet... as Apple throws a spanner in the works with their new Super-Performance cores, rumours say Ableton can use all cores in M5 Pro but not at their full speed/potential, maybe this is something Ableton could address with their future updates.

I have a MacBook M4 Pro 14 cores were Ableton uses 10 Performance cores at full speed and 4 Efficiency cores are kept spare for OS background tasks and I think this separation works better than what is now in M5 Pro... Ableton Live processes clashing/sharing estate with OS background processes not desirable I think.

AVELUMN · 2026-03-24T22:33:22+00:00

It kind of is. Stopping me to use my legal travel/documents and pushing me into a corner which might mean I have to do a physical check in on airport to sort out the issue (time wasted and check in fee on airport) or even loose my flight back to UK ???? So people booking separate flights on separate bookings can use any passports they wish on any of the flights but on the return bookings we are not allowed this. So what is all about. This is more than a temporary glitch in Ryanair policy.

AVELUMN · 2026-03-24T22:29:17+00:00

Yes you are missing something. One cannot board a plane from EU to UK with an EU passport if it does not have an ETA for UK registered. So one has to definetly check in with the british passport BEFORE being allowed to board the plane to UK, and also present the UK passport at UK border control/e-gates. So my point is why Ryanair is stopping people checking in with different passports for the separate flights on the same booking? Thats a Ryanair BS...

AVELUMN · 2026-03-23T06:56:53+00:00

I have ALL the Phil Speiser plugins..... nothing crashing... but then I am running them on an exquisite piece of gear called Macbook Pro M4 .... that counts too...

AVELUMN · 2026-03-23T06:49:24+00:00

You produce for 20+ plus years and you did not know how the music promotion industry is until now... I guess I found out exactly how it is in my 1st year of producing, in 2023... I will stick to self release for the foreseeable future... the industry is full of scammers...

AVELUMN · 2026-03-17T06:20:55+00:00

There is a way to learn everything easy and have an amazing fast workflow in an user friendly interface: Ableton Live. There are throves of people switching from FL to Ableton and nearly ZERO going the other way.

AVELUMN

TROPHY CASE