Optimizing Your Mac for Audio Production: A Comprehensive Guide

Are you struggling and running out of computer power or maybe experiencing audio dropouts when you’re working on your projects? Well, today I’ll be addressing every single thing to make sure that we optimize your Mac for audio production. Let’s get going.

Audio Production Then and Now

The transition from analog to digital in the world of audio production revolutionized everything for audio engineers and made it much more accessible for everyone to get a basic rig and be able to work with bands and produce music. As time went by, computers have gotten more and more powerful, and nowadays even many of the best mixing and mastering engineers out there are relying solely on their computers and in-the-box processing with plugins for their projects. Since most people are working only with plugins in their DAW, this puts a very heavy load on the computer. So today, I’ll be going through every single step to make sure that your system goes as fast and as smoothly as possible.

Why Use a Mac?

There are several advantages to using a Mac over a PC for audio production, the main one being stability, but there are also several drawbacks with a Mac. The main one is that you have less control under the hood, meaning that there are a lot of background processes going on all the time that are slowing down your computer. The second one is the fact that Macs tend to get cluttered and tend to get slower with years of use, so the only solution to that is to do a clean format once in a while. The problem is when you’re working in a DAW and you’re using 100 plugins, this takes a lot of time to set up and reinstall every single thing, and reauthorize every single license and plugin.

The other big issue with Macs is the fact that Apple releases a new operating system every 6 months and you’re somehow forced to update eventually, and if you decide to upgrade you may lose compatibility with many plugins, so this should be a decision that you take very seriously and never do this while you’re working on a project, especially when there’s a deadline that’s coming soon. So, what we’ll do today is go over a bunch of tips to make sure that your machine runs as fast as possible without having to do a clean format.

Tweaks in System Settings ️

Right now, as you can see, I’m running on Mac OS 13.6.3 Ventura, and I won’t be upgrading to Sonoma anytime soon. If you have a previous OS version, the menu is going to be slightly different. The first thing we’re going to do in System Settings is first go to General and then Login Items. So basically, here’s a list of every single program that starts when your computer boots up so make sure that the only programs that are on are the ones that you need every single time you work with your computer. So, with time, the more you install stuff, the more you’re going to see stuff that’s not necessary. So, for example, here I have Pcloud which is the equivalent of Dropbox. I will turn it off. The other thing that you can do to prevent these programs from loading is to install an app such as Clean My Mac, within Clean my Mac you can go to optimization, view items, and you’re going to see in Launch Agent all the programs that are enabled or disabled. So, these programs can be turned on or off. So, they will not start at the boot-up. The second thing we’re going to do is if you’re not using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, then these services should be turned off. So, in my case, I’m not using Wi-Fi, I’m using a LAN cable, but Bluetooth, I’m using a magic mouse and magic keyboard, so I have no choice, this will still be on.

CPU Management

Next is CPU management. So, the first thing you should do when you’re working within your DAW is to close all the other applications. So, not only they should be minimized but they should be quit. So, make sure that there’s no little light underneath your icons here, but the other thing you should do is go to Activity Monitor. So, if you don’t know where it is in the Settings you can go to Finder, Application, Utilities, and then in Utilities, you should find here Activity Monitor, OK? So, Activity Monitor is going to show you which program is using what resources. So, right now, as you can see, my screen recorder is draining almost half of my CPU power, and then I have Cubase which is not using much right now because no plugins are being loaded, but you can see here all the CPU percentage that’s being used for each program. So, sometimes there may be stuff going in the background that you’re not aware of, and if you don’t want it to be running, the simple thing you can do is click here and make sure that you quit that application. Also, one very important thing is that if you’re running anti-virus software, this thing takes a huge load on your CPU at all times, so make sure that you deactivate that, and if you’re browsing the Net for example, you can reactivate it before you really need it. So, turn off all these heavy applications that are running in the background to make sure that all your processing power goes to your DAW.

The next thing we’re going to want to do is go back to System Settings, go to General, and here in Software Update you’re going to click the little “i” here and make sure that auto-updates are turned off. So, you can leave “check for updates” on, but make sure that you uncheck all the other options. The last one here it’s only for security responses, so to make sure that if they see a flaw in the security system of your computer, this will still be installed. Again, never install the latest operating system unless you really know what you’re getting yourself into. So, you may cause more problems than you’re going to solve by upgrading your operating system.

If you want to upgrade your operating system because you haven’t done it in many years and you’re overdue, I highly recommend that not only you do a Time Machine backup, but you do a clone of your hard drive with programs such as Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner, to make sure that you can roll back to your previous OS version without any issues, and if you really want to upgrade your operating system the best way to do so is to go to the App Store, download the operating system in Applications, transfer it to a USB bootable drive, and that way you go to recovery mode and you do a full format of your hard drive or solid-state drive, and then you’re going to start with a clean slate and get rid of all the gunk that came with the installation of all the applications that you did in the past. So, this is the best way to have an optimized system and that’s what I did the last time I did it. And, if you proceed that way, it’s always safe to have a second device (computer) in case you need to download some other version of the operating system.

Audio Interface Bandwidth Optimization

Now, regarding your audio interface, nowadays machines have fewer and fewer ports compared to old-school PC towers. The important thing to know in order to maximize the bandwidth to your audio interface is to have it plugged in straight to your computer, and if you’re using Thunderbolt it should be the first one in the daisy chain. So, make sure you do that and especially avoid plugging it into a USB hub.

The next thing is external devices. If you’re not using some older hard drive let’s say 5,400 RPM hard drives, make sure that they’re not plugged into the USB hub because every time you’re going to be looking to save a file, the computer is going to try to prompt every single hard drive and it’s going to take and make things slower every single time, so you can disconnect or turn the power off on those devices.

Next up, for general maintenance and backup, the first thing you should do is go to Finder, then Application, then Utilities, and here you should go to Disk Utility, and once in a while make sure that you run First Aid on your internal drive as well as your external drives if you have. You can also run third-party apps, like Clean my Mac, and go to Maintenance and here there are a bunch of things, like Repair Disk Permission, re-index Spotlight, and make sure that this will keep your computer a bit faster.

Macs have a very sleek design, but if the room is too hot and the computer can’t dissipate the heat properly, this will prevent it from going to the overclocking mode or turbo mode, and that way you will greatly diminish the power of your computer.

Drivers

So one other thing very important regarding your audio interface is to make sure that you’re always running the latest driver. So, for example, recently, I upgraded to OS Ventura and one day I started a computer and I had problems with the sample rate synchronization I just couldn’t fix it, and finally, I went and downloaded the latest driver for my audio interface, and the problem got solved instantly.

So it’s very important, especially when upgrading the operating system, to make sure that you’re running with the latest drivers. Also, if you’re running on M1 or M2 processors, it’s going to be different than if you’re running Intel. So, some plug-in manufacturers have different versions of their plugins according to the type of processor that you’re using on your Mac.

Audio Latency Optimization

So now that we’ve gone through our checklist of every single thing to optimize, we’re going to go into our DAW and see how we should optimize the workflow. So, I received a few questions recently regarding how to optimize audio latency, and the first one would be to make sure that you have a modern audio interface so any quality modern interface will have quite a low latency. Right now, I’m running with an audio aggregate device because I’m running two interfaces at the same time, so I’m running an RME Madiface as well as an Apollo Twin X, so this is probably the best way to avoid latency: to run some kind of DSP accelerator card like the Apollo Twin X, so that way you can work monitoring in parallel you have your own mixer that runs with no latency, so you can monitor vocals in real-time while your session plays back, so that way you will not have to go through any of the things we’re going to check now. If you don’t have any kind of DSP accelerator like that, the best way is to first go and check your buffer size. So, depending on your DAW, you’re going to go to Studio Setup and then here in your Device. Right now, I have an aggregate audio device, meaning two interfaces working at the same time, that’s why the latency is a bit higher, and the first thing you should do is go to Buffer Size and put it as low as you can. So, if you’re recording, you’re going to want a low buffer size. So, you’re basically asking the computer to work as fast as possible for speed. When it’s time to mix, what you’re going to go for is a higher buffer size because you want your computer to give all the processing power to make sure everything runs smoothly, so if you’re using too many plugins and having a low buffer size, you’re going to give the computer a real hard time. Sometimes, the session won’t even playback if your buffer size is too low and if your session is too heavy in terms of plugin usage. So, it’s good to change buffer size according to the type of work that you’re doing. If you’re mixing you want a higher buffer size, if you’re recording you’re going to want a really low buffer size, so you don’t have latency.

Session Management Tips

The next thing we’re going to address is Session Management. So, here you have a bar that shows how much processing power we’re using. Right now we’re almost maxed out, but the reason why is I’m using a bunch of virtual instruments in that session that really take a lot of DSP, and also I think I’m using some mastering plugins at the same time. So, these are very CPU-intensive plugins, so be mindful of when you’re loading a plugin, and what kind of impact it has here on your CPU usage. If you’re running out of CPU power, the first thing that you can do is simply Freeze the track. So, each DAW has a different option for that, but in Cubase, you simply click the snowflake on the left side and you click “Freeze Channel”. This creates an image of the track, basically, it’s like a rendered version of the track, that’s going to be used instead of using the active plugin going in the background. If you don’t have the option of freezing a track, you can simply render it and deactivate the previous track, so that way you’re not going to use any DSP on that what you can also do is print a whole bus, for example, a drum bus. See there are a lot of tracks that go into a drum bus, so you can print the whole drum bus as one stem, and that way you’re going to save a lot of processing power. If you’re working with virtual instruments like orchestral instruments, virtual drumset, or virtual bass, I highly recommend that you print the track before working with your mixing session, that way you’re going to save a lot of processing power and RAM, so that is going to take a big load off of your CPU. Another consideration is the Sample Rate for your project.

Sample Rate Considerations

So, as technology evolves now we have access to very high sample rates, like for example 192 kHz, but these will demand a lot more processing power for your computer, so I recommend that you work in 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, so that way you’re going to be on the safe side regarding CPU usage.

Data Storage, Backups & Time Machine

Regarding storage and hard disks, it’s very important that only your system and applications be on your internal drive. Everything else should be saved somewhere else. So, you should have one drive for your sessions and one drive for all your system data and applications. It’s always advisable to use internal drives because they usually have faster read and write speeds but in the case of an iMac, I don’t have the option of having two drives inside, so the next best thing is to have an external solid-state drive that will have really high read and write speed, and obviously, it should be connected directly to a port and not to a USB hub. And, each drive you’re working with should at least have 10% of free space. Regarding backups, I highly recommend that you always have two copies of your projects one in an external drive and a backup of these sessions on another drive.

Regarding System Backup, one very nice thing with Apple is Time Machine and this saved me multiple times, but the auto-backup feature should be turned off. The reason why is that Time Machine will always be poking your internal hard drive, which can be problematic when you’re working in a session. So, my advice is to go into System Settings, click Time Machine, Options, and set the backup frequency to manually, or every week, so that way you make sure that the application will not always be poking your internal hard drive as you’re working. If you’re using external storage, the best is to use a solid-state drive, and the faster the read and write speed, the better. Also, make sure that the ports that you’re using are USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt. If you want to optimize read and write, speed solid-state drives are the best, but they come at a price. For larger storage, you can always use hard drives, but, in this case, you have to have higher RPM meaning 7,200 RPM hard drives. If you’re working with regular hard drives, which are 5,400 RPM, you’re going to be running into problems due to their slow performance for audio applications.

Closing Thoughts

So, after going through all the steps that we did today your system should function much better and much faster. So, if you’re still encountering any issues regarding latency or audio dropouts, just let me know in the comments below, and I’ll try to answer as soon as possible to help you out.