Mac M1 working audio interfaces - any recommendations?

[Sam Spoons]

That has been more or less true for many years, it's difficult or impossible to install an OSX version on a Mac that is older than the version it shipped with.

[Luke W]

That has been more or less true for many years, it's difficult or impossible to install an OSX version on a Mac that is older than the version it shipped with.

More or less, yes. Apple have always made it difficult to find installers of previous OS versions, but it wasn't necessarily impossible to install them on an newer machine. Especially now everything is tied to the App Store.

M1 machines however are not able to run anything earlier than Big Sur as I believe they're not compatible with the new CPUs.

[Arpangel]

This whole situation is getting worse, now I’m having to piss about with USB C adaptors, just to get stuff off my MacBook, if it works at all, or you have to use air drop, they are, really, taking the piss, trying to extract as much money as possible from gullible punters, having to upgrade hardware, or software, and I’m not just talking about Apple.
TBH, I’m thinking if going completely DAW less, in my music making, I really, just can’t be arsed with all this rubbish anymore, I’m not interested, and it’s not enjoyable, it’s just a PITA.
Computers? don’t solve any problems over hardware, as we were told, they just make more.
An argument for or against computers? right now, you can guess what side I’m on.

[Bob Bickerton]

Well good luck!

Fortran - now those were the days - spending weeks at school programming in order to end up with your name on a print out - if you were lucky. SCSI and floppy discs - wonderful things.

Fact is an inevitable downside of technology is that it improves - or should that be an upside? A consequence of improvements is that aspects of the technology become redundant and, ultimately, cease to be supported.

Always has been, always will be - and most of us wouldn't want it any other way. Would I like to revert to my 1996 era Compaq? - no way!

What I like about Apple is that as someone who can't be bothered pissing around with computers - I like to switch them on and use them - they generally work without a hitch. I just upgraded to a new MacBook Pro and the process was easy and required very little 'technical' knowledge - I just pressed the power button and followed the onscreen instructions - perfect.

Of course it's possible to not use computers for recording, but your processing and distribution options become limited.

Perhaps you could consider using wax cylinders?

Bob

[Luke W]

My age means that I've never really worked to any extent without computers, so that may play into it, but I'm completely the other way around in that I wouldn't want to work without them.

I am currently holding off upgrading my (Apple) machine, mostly because I'm waiting on a new Mini or Pro but a side effect of that does mean I can wait until more of my software choices are M1 native. But I have to say that being careful in my planning means that I never have to chop and change much, and I've never really fallen victim to things stopping working or feeling like I'm forced to upgrade or change anything.

Just my experience of course, I can imagine it varies for people with different aims or needs.

[Arpangel]

My age means that I've never really worked to any extent without computers, so that may play into it, but I'm completely the other way around in that I wouldn't want to work without them.

I am currently holding off upgrading my (Apple) machine, mostly because I'm waiting on a new Mini or Pro but a side effect of that does mean I can wait until more of my software choices are M1 native. But I have to say that being careful in my planning means that I never have to chop and change much, and I've never really fallen victim to things stopping working or feeling like I'm forced to upgrade or change anything.

Just my experience of course, I can imagine it varies for people with different aims or needs.

This M1 thing is more annoying than I thought it would be, it’s not too bad, as the M1 isn’t my main Mac.
I’ve managed to get Reaper working on the M1, and Ableton, plus FM8, but other NI stuff, plus my Arturia synths, won’t install at all.

[Dave Rowles]

Sitting here on a 2017 MBP, which has outlasted windows laptops that are the same age. Still got loads of life left in this, though I've just got to the point on a couple of projects where I need to think about freezing tracks. I need to get a new battery soon too.

I'm looking forward to a new MBP in possibly 2 years. Last MBP lasted 6 years, but got dropped more than I have this one.....

There are advantages, but audio gear tends to last a lot longer than the industry computer industry really expects, so there will be problems as tech moves on. I remember having to ditch my firewire interface when I got the previous one to this as I didn't want to have to bother with adapters.

[Chromeman]

I’ve managed to get Reaper working on the M1, and Ableton, plus FM8, but other NI stuff, plus my Arturia synths, won’t install at all.

Something's not quite right there, I'm running all the NI stuff and Arturia synths on my Mac Mini M1......

[Chromeman]

Did you use Native Access to install everything?

[Arpangel]

Did you use Native Access to install everything?

Yes I did, see my post in the Mac forum.
It’s strange, it’s a MacBook Air, M1, I keep getting messages in Access saying "failed to install unknown error" I’ve followed all the fixes, to no avail.
It does say on the NI website, that some parts of Komplete won’t load on M1 machines, and they are working on a fix.
I’m away from home, and I loaded them in on a connection that’s not mine, I’m wondering if that had anything to do with it?

[philipgilligan_art]

My age means that I've never really worked to any extent without computers, so that may play into it, but I'm completely the other way around in that I wouldn't want to work without them.

I am currently holding off upgrading my (Apple) machine, mostly because I'm waiting on a new Mini or Pro but a side effect of that does mean I can wait until more of my software choices are M1 native. But I have to say that being careful in my planning means that I never have to chop and change much, and I've never really fallen victim to things stopping working or feeling like I'm forced to upgrade or change anything.

Just my experience of course, I can imagine it varies for people with different aims or needs.

This M1 thing is more annoying than I thought it would be, it’s not too bad, as the M1 isn’t my main Mac.
I’ve managed to get Reaper working on the M1, and Ableton, plus FM8, but other NI stuff, plus my Arturia synths, won’t install at all.

My v collection 8 has happily always worked on my m1 machines both stand alone and inside cubase 11

[hugol]

You can’t really blame the interface manufacturers for not keeping up with OS updates, it’s not there responsibility, just don't update the OS.
But as I always say, they’ve got us all on a never ending treadmill, that I refuse to be part of.

Well, let’s hope your DAW is not Internet connected. If you don’t run a recent and still supported Apple / Windows OS then you’re not getting any security updates. At least staying up-to-date and fully patched will help fend off attacks from second rate hackers, probing for people still vulnerable to stuff that’s long been made public.

Apple in particular do keep extensively refactoring and deliberately breaking backward compatibility. However they have security first and foremost in mind.

I feel for the audio hardware manufacturers. However the industry really needs to modernise - so when testing/updating legacy drivers etc makes no business sense - they should open-source the code and hand it to the community. (Yes I’m aware there is historically a lot of dependency on 3rd party code which complicates matters).

[hugol]

What I like about Apple is that as someone who can't be bothered pissing around with computers - I like to switch them on and use them - they generally work without a hitch. I just upgraded to a new MacBook Pro and the process was easy and required very little 'technical' knowledge - I just pressed the power button and followed the onscreen instructions - perfect.

Trust me - Macs are also hugely popular with professional software developers for the same reasons.

Not perfect / but mostly a reliable and polished experience. Also MacOS being UNIX based is a big win.

[Arpangel]

You can’t really blame the interface manufacturers for not keeping up with OS updates, it’s not there responsibility, just don't update the OS.
But as I always say, they’ve got us all on a never ending treadmill, that I refuse to be part of.

Well, let’s hope your DAW is not Internet connected. If you don’t run a recent and still supported Apple / Windows OS then you’re not getting any security updates. At least staying up-to-date and fully patched will help fend off attacks from second rate hackers, probing for people still vulnerable to stuff that’s long been made public.

Apple in particular do keep extensively refactoring and deliberately breaking backward compatibility. However they have security first and foremost in mind.

I feel for the audio hardware manufacturers. However the industry really needs to modernise - so when testing/updating legacy drivers etc makes no business sense - they should open-source the code and hand it to the community. (Yes I’m aware there is historically a lot of dependency on 3rd party code which complicates matters).

I’m thinking of updating to the latest Mac OS, I’m on High Sierra.
My Mac is 2013, questions are, will it update, and if so will my software of the same vintage still continue to work, also, I don’t have to go online with this machine, all my software is authorised on this machine, lastly, am I still vulnerable to security threats when I do have to update on this machine, if I don’t update my OS?

[MrKahuna]

I’m thinking of updating to the latest Mac OS, I’m on High Sierra.
My Mac is 2013, questions are, will it update, and if so will my software of the same vintage still continue to work, also, I don’t have to go online with this machine, all my software is authorised on this machine, lastly, am I still vulnerable to security threats when I do have to update on this machine, if I don’t update my OS?

Will it update - yes, but to which OS level depends on exactly which 2013 you have
Vintage software - depends on that vintage software, you’ll have to research each one as to what OS it’ll work on
Security threats - even an up to date OS is vulnerable, it’s just less vulnerable than an out of date OS with known vulnerabilities and exploits.

If you’re happy where you are, take that computer off the network and keep using it. You just won’t be able to use new things. Life is a trade off.

[Arpangel]

I’m thinking of updating to the latest Mac OS, I’m on High Sierra.
My Mac is 2013, questions are, will it update, and if so will my software of the same vintage still continue to work, also, I don’t have to go online with this machine, all my software is authorised on this machine, lastly, am I still vulnerable to security threats when I do have to update on this machine, if I don’t update my OS?

Will it update - yes, but to which OS level depends on exactly which 2013 you have
Vintage software - depends on that vintage software, you’ll have to research each one as to what OS it’ll work on
Security threats - even an up to date OS is vulnerable, it’s just less vulnerable than an out of date OS with known vulnerabilities and exploits.

If you’re happy where you are, take that computer off the network and keep using it. You just won’t be able to use new things. Life is a trade off.

When you think about it, a top draw i Mac, hundreds of pounds of software, use over a period of seven years, not good value, in my book, total cost about three and half grand.
This lack of support for older systems is what makes me lean more towards hardware, they are basically renting you the machine, and the hardware, for a set period.

[Sam Spoons]

2013 iMacs can run up to OSX 10.15 Catalina, as MrKahuna says you'll have to check with your software devs whether their SW will run under Catalina. I don't think 9 years*; is too bad for a piece of computer hardware and associated software but it won't stop working just because Apple have stopped developing the OS that will run on it. Hardware is just the same, I have a 24 track digital recorder in my rack that has been obsolete for years but it still works, as does my 2008 Mac Pro running OSX 10.11 El Capitan**

* So far it's cost you about £7.50 a week including software

** Which cost me £400 about 6/7 years ago

[hugol]

I’m thinking of updating to the latest Mac OS, I’m on High Sierra.
My Mac is 2013, questions are, will it update, and if so will my software of the same vintage still continue to work, also, I don’t have to go online with this machine, all my software is authorised on this machine, lastly, am I still vulnerable to security threats when I do have to update on this machine, if I don’t update my OS?

Will it update - yes, but to which OS level depends on exactly which 2013 you have
Vintage software - depends on that vintage software, you’ll have to research each one as to what OS it’ll work on
Security threats - even an up to date OS is vulnerable, it’s just less vulnerable than an out of date OS with known vulnerabilities and exploits.

If you’re happy where you are, take that computer off the network and keep using it. You just won’t be able to use new things. Life is a trade off.

Yep - agreed.

If you have a solid working system and aren’t itching to use the latest plugins (that may not work on your OS) / great - just be aware of the downsides.

As far security goes - you can take basic precautions such as never using an admin account as your normal login. Also don’t use Safari if your OS is out of support / use something like Brave (Chrome with built in ad blocking).

My DAW is an upgraded 2010 6 core Mac Pro - and I’m stuck with a now unsupported OS / and I’m only just now considering upgrading to a new Mac. My MR816 interface is end of life on Mac and so is my Access Virus TI. So it will hurt (although I may just buy an RME USB ADAT interface and continue using the MR816). But I also have a MacBook that is still supported and fully up-to-date for day-to-day stuff.

[Arpangel]

I’m OK, I’ve taken the i Mac off-line, all the software is fine, I’m OK not updating it.
I’ve got a new MacBook Air I’m shaping up for music, I’ll use that if I need anything new.

[johnny h]

You can’t really blame the interface manufacturers for not keeping up with OS updates

Oh but you can! Interfaces are supposed to last a lot longer than an OS cycle. RME have shown that it doesn't take a Herculean effort to release working drivers for even 20 year old products. Other manufacturers would rather save the money and leave you with a useless brick.

Bare this in mind when you are shopping for your next sound card.

[Arpangel]

You can’t really blame the interface manufacturers for not keeping up with OS updates

Oh but you can! Interfaces are supposed to last a lot longer than an OS cycle. RME have shown that it doesn't take a Herculean effort to release working drivers for even 20 year old products. Other manufacturers would rather save the money and leave you with a useless brick.

Bare this in mind when you are shopping for your next sound card.

There will be no next sound card, my Behringer 1820 will probably see me out.

[jarantino]

Somewhat late in the day but for anyone considering it, I use a Steinberg UR22C with a Macbook Air M1 (Big Sur) and it works flawlessly.

If I may ask; what SW are you using? Cubase? I'm having problems with the UR22c and my M1 Macbook.

[S2]

Somewhat late in the day but for anyone considering it, I use a Steinberg UR22C with a Macbook Air M1 (Big Sur) and it works flawlessly.

If I may ask; what SW are you using? Cubase? I'm having problems with the UR22c and my M1 Macbook.

Hi

I use Logic X. Haven't had any issues at all.

[Jadoube]

My 1st generation UAD Apollo Quad is working fine with my new 14" MacBook Pro. Seems to be working as well as it ever has.

[IanTTT]

Are any of us working with our audio interfaces (especially Focusrite) on m1 Ventura or Big Sur or Monterey, in NATIVE, and not in Rossetta ?

No-one seems to talk about this anymore, and it's very hard for a new
purchase situation, to work out which audio interfaces, or third party plugins work natively on m1 Ventura....