iMac and latency

mn124700

New member
I'm thinking of getting an iMac for my DAW and am wondering about recording latency. Wondering about people's experience with this? Can I expect to record with a buffer size of 128 or less? My audio interface is a Focusrite Scarlett (3rd gen) and I'd be using Logic Pro. Also, any advice about the configuration of iMac I should choose?

Thanks,
Eric
 
Hi,
I don't see why not. There will be a limit - there's always a limit - but these days it's so much higher than it was even a few years ago.
You still see the point-by-point make your computer 'ready for recording' guides that might have been applicable in the 90s...They're nowhere near as relevant now.

Current line base model is 2core 7th gen i5, 8gb ram, and 256gb SSD. Out of the box there's no reason that shouldn't rock for home recording.

It looks like ram is user upgradeable in the 2020 models (quick google...satisfy yourself) so I'd go 8gb then upgrade yourself if and when you need to.
Apple do over-charge for ram.
256gb system drive should be enough for most people. I would invest in large external storage to keep old sessions off the system when finished - That's not iMac specific; it just makes sense.
CPU wise? It really depends what you're doing. For 'normal' home recording any would be fine.
If you know you're going to be loading up with hundreds of tracks and huge sample libraries for orchestral arrangements then that's some thing you need to factor in.
 
Last edited:
I put Cubase Elements on my office iMac and never gave any thought to latency. Using the Macs internal audio system at first it worked fine, then when attached to my persons interface it carried on. I have NEVER changed the buffer size from Cubase's default whatever it is, and on both my cubase systems (Pro and LE) latency isn't an issue for me at all. To be honest, on the Mac, I don't think I even ever checked to see what it was - it just worked fine. My iMac is about 5 years old, something like that. I would imagine Logic will be very similar.
 
I got a recent iMac refurb from Apple with an i5. I use Logic Pro X, but I [nearly] always check the "low latency mode" in the Record menu when tracking. That will disable some plugins, if you have any on and haven't frozen tracks. It can make a difference. (You may be able to track Ok without it, but find on playback the new track does not line up perfectly.)

I'm using a USB 3 interface now, and, honestly it has effectively zero latency when I've forgotten to check that option.

I do have a lot of memory, but that's for video. You can buy 3rd party memory and install it easily as the base 8GB does not occupy all 4 slots (it may just be on the larger iMac though - check to be sure). I would probably want at least 16GB on any new computer, and I went overboard by adding 64 (total 72) because I could get the memory for just about what I saved going the refurb route. (That's how I explained it to the better half :))
 
Back
Top