Macbook Pro V Air

[ngibbs]

Hi everyone

I'm about to buy a Macbook, mainly for music but a little bit for work when travelling (4 times a year). For music is there any real difference between the two?

Thanks.

 

[cheeseboy]

Hi everyone

I'm about to buy a Macbook, mainly for music but a little bit for work when travelling (4 times a year). For music is there any real difference between the two?

Thanks.

when you say for music? Do you mean playback?

 

[bigboss]

Not really. MacBook Air has SSD, so it may respond a bit faster to start playing. That's all.

 

[ngibbs]

Playback, yes.

 

[ngibbs]

Sorry, I probably should also add that the Macbook would be connected directly to the Dac, so no Airport Express.

 

[Paul.]

Are you likely to be using iPhoto or iMovie? Playing games at all? Unless you are using apps that are GPU accelerated, there is not really any benifits to the pros. Don't think the 13" pro has a dedicated GPU anyway.

 

[professorhat]

The logical thought is there can't be a difference, but without directly comparing them, I wouldn't be as bold as to say that for 100%. However, given both are obviously going to be running the Mountain Lion OS X operating system, the differences are likely to be marginal (if there are any at all).

My advice would be to go for the one which works best for your work - I have a Macbook Air (13" version), and one of the best things about it is how easy it is to just pick up and take with you - it weighs so little, you can easily carry it around with you in a rucksack all day (this one is perfect fit for the Air).

 

[ngibbs]

Just music (iTunes + Bit Perfect) and, occassionaly, work (Word, Powerpoint and PDF). Sounds as if I should get the Macbook Air then. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[MajorFubar]

Have you thought about the new macbook with the retina display? It looks very good, but I guess if you really don't think you'd make use of the increased resolution then there's probably little point in paying the extra for it 🙂

 

[AnotherJoe]

A laptop to be used mainly for music sounds like a strange choice.....

A NAS combined with a streamer/media player would seem a better,cheaper,more convenient solution to me.

 

[landzw]

A laptop to be used mainly for music sounds like a strange choice.....

A NAS combined with a streamer/media player would seem a better,cheaper,more convenient solution to me.

And how is he going to take all that with him? :wall:

My only advice is to go for the 13" macbook Air and not the 11" as overtime you will wish you had gone for the 13"

 

[landzw]

Have you thought about the new macbook with the retina display? It looks very good, but I guess if you really don't think you'd make use of the increased resolution then there's probably little point in paying the extra for it 🙂

Hmmmmm How would a retina display laptop be any good for someone who is going to use it for music :? :? :?

 

[Dave_]

An £850+ laptop just for music playback, and a bit of word processing?

 

[bigboss]

A laptop to be used mainly for music sounds like a strange choice.....

A NAS combined with a streamer/media player would seem a better,cheaper,more convenient solution to me.

And how is he going to take all that with him? :wall:

http://en.akihabaranews.com/17280/legacy-unused/pc/the-first-ready-to-carry-nas

 

[Anonymous]

Hi MacBook Air is more expensive than Pro generally but I went with the Air for playback personally because of the Solid State Drive - silent and almost instant.

As soon as you lift the lid the iTunes interface is there and music starts playing within 1 second. If totally shutdown it's the same but a few more seconds. Superb.

Biggest consideration for you is how much storage you will need - I bought a 13" Air with 128GB SSD and quickly needed to add storage - 128GB equals about 100GB when other system uses etc are taken into account.

Note that you cannot increase storage inside the Air due to the way it is constructed - if you think you will want 256GB you need to spec. it that way from the outset.

In the end I added a 256GB solid state external drive which is very small and discrete and again is totally silent and instant - cost about £400 though.

Final bit of advice is to buy a refurbished model from the Apple Online Store - mine looked as if it was brand new and I bought it for £920 or thereabouts - approx £130 saving on new price.

Pro is tempting however for storage space (think you can spec. it at 400GB storage but not solid state - new Pros may offer SSDs). If not already using a Mac for playback I would highly recommend buying BitPerfect for iTunes application which is about £7 and works seamlessly with iTunes and improves the sound quality with no negatives experienced at all.

I used a Toshiba laptop for playback previously and noticed some fan noise during quiet sequences, have never heard a peep from the Air. Brilliant laptop, great to use for other uses too.

 

[landzw]

A laptop to be used mainly for music sounds like a strange choice.....

A NAS combined with a streamer/media player would seem a better,cheaper,more convenient solution to me.

And how is he going to take all that with him? :wall:

http://en.akihabaranews.com/17280/legacy-unused/pc/the-first-ready-to-carry-nas

Smarty Pants 🙂 there is the western digital cloud based server or you could carry a couple of 64gig SD cards

 

[MajorFubar]

Have you thought about the new macbook with the retina display? It looks very good, but I guess if you really don't think you'd make use of the increased resolution then there's probably little point in paying the extra for it 🙂

Hmmmmm How would a retina display laptop be any good for someone who is going to use it for music :? :? :?

Well I did qualify it by saying that possibly he wouldn't find the extra resolution useful. I'm just throwing ideas around. Besides which I know there's been times when certainly I've bought something with one particular purpose in mind, but then ended up using it for other things and wished that I'd considered the bigger picture (pun intended) when I first bought it.

 

[bigboss]

If not already using a Mac for playback I would highly recommend buying BitPerfect for iTunes application which is about £7 and works seamlessly with iTunes and improves the sound quality with no negatives experienced at all.

How? :?

 

[Anonymous]

If not already using a Mac for playback I would highly recommend buying BitPerfect for iTunes application which is about £7 and works seamlessly with iTunes and improves the sound quality with no negatives experienced at all.

How? :?

Hi BB, it enables buffering, upscaling and minimises iTunes interaction ensuring direct output to your DAC. Macs may enable the latter anyway but I think it makes a difference, subtle, but worthwhile trying it out for £7