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Bruce · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:59 am Post subject: New iMacs too Noisy for VO?

It's time to get a new Mac and I really like the looks of the larger all-in-one iMac, but I've seen a couple of comments about the hard drive making too much noise for VO. It's way too noisy in an Apple store to tell. Does anyone have some practical experience they'd like to share?

My plan B is the Mac Mini plus a new monitor and the Touch Pad instead of a mouse. I know the Mini is super quiet.

Thanks!

B
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Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:18 am Post subject:

I just went into the another room in the house where one can find a iMAC large with fries and coke. I listened and whilst it is not a loud machine it is not a "same room as the mic" type machine.

Mike Sommer · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:55 am Post subject:

The older iMacs with the white plastic case the drives were noisy, but the new aluminum case iMacs are very quiet. My iMac is right next to my mic.
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Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:27 pm Post subject:

The iMac in the another room is about a month old. It could be that because my Wee Huttie is silent I am simply being pernickity.

Jowillie · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 3:10 pm Post subject:

Mine are fine. Quite pleased and surprised at how quiet they are.
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whalewtchr · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:18 pm Post subject:

no noise=mac mini
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sounddguy · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:20 pm Post subject: Re: New iMacs too Noisy for VO?

You can always build or buy an iso box.

todd ellis · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:28 am Post subject:

when i had my imac you could definitely hear the fan kick in. quiet until then - but i'd give a good LONG listen to make sure you're hearing everything before buying.
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:41 am Post subject:

I did a little research on the iMac noisy fan issue.

The fan is generally whisper quiet, though on occasions -for some folks- the fan will speed up and get noisy. The official Apple fix is to power down, unplug the power cord from the back of the computer, wait 60 seconds, plug back in and reboot.

Then there is the point that you can move a little father away from the computer. Working at a desk is not the best way to do VO, because of it's reflective surface. Any noise striking a hard surface will reflect up into your mic. My mic is about 5 feet away and there is no problem. And in the other recording spaces that I come into, do not have a problem.

Of course the Mac Mini is a fine solution also, especially as a dedicated system.
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The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

todd ellis · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:04 pm Post subject:

i SHOULD say - the fan didn't kick in that often - long sessions, usually. mostly it WAS pretty quiet. i never did a lot of VO on it - video mostly - and i have since upgraded.
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Billy James · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:45 pm Post subject:

I use a 27" iMac in my upstairs office, and would not want to try to record VO in the same room: when the fans do kick in, they can get pretty rowdy.

On the other hand, the current Mac Mini is one of the quietest computers I've ever heard. Or in this case, not heard.

George Whittam had some positive things to say about the Mini in a thread here last year, which is what convinced me to buy one for my basement studio rig. As I recall, someone in that thread mentioned an audiobook production house that tells all their new voice peeps to go buy a Mini to keep computer noise out of their recording area.

I've had to deal with noise from water heaters, furnaces, flushing toilets, et cetera -- but I can honestly say I've never heard a peep out of the Mini.

Jan Anderson · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:49 pm Post subject:

I've heard good things about the Mac Mini too, and they are supposed to be quite reasonably priced, especially the reconditioned models.

Deirdre · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:23 pm Post subject:

Vote for the Mac Mini here, too.
I love mines.

The mac Mini and an outboard HD = happiness for recording VO.
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whalewtchr · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:05 pm Post subject:

If you go the Mac Mini route, I would suggest a solid state external hard drive to complement, a little more expensive but no moving parts. My ministackv3 is nice but it will make noise. I don't have it powered up when I'm on mic as there is enough room on the mini to get the job done, but all jobs are transferred to the external and the mac mini is kept clutter free.
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ballenberg · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:59 am Post subject:

So what do you Mac folks use for recording software--Just PT? Anything with far fewer bells/whsitles, but still solid like Audition?