Okay, everyone is asking about how the major DAW systems work with the new Macintoshes that have recently come out. Of course this happens every year or so when the new models hit, especially in recent years because the availability of older models dries up very quickly. Well, the news this time is mostly good. First, hardly any of the manufacturers are officially endorsing the new Macs yet because they have a lot more testing to do before they put anything in writing. But, as usual, we’ve done some of our own testing and can at least give you some preliminary results. As always, this information is changing on a daily basis (hourly in some cases) so always call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for the latest info.
So far we’re finding that most systems work as expected under OS 9.2. All of MOTU’s hardware and software seems to work fine, including PCI based systems such as 2408, and firewire based systems like the 828 and 896. Their MIDI Interfaces also work. Pro Tools HD works. It has been widely reported that there is a problem getting SCSI cards working (which would be a huge problem for most Pro Tools systems). Our install techs have confirmed the problems, but they’ve also been able to solve them so at this point SCSI is not a concern. Digi 001 systems do not currently work. We have already communicated with Digidesign and they are frantically working on a solution, which will likely be some type of new drivers. Mbox testing is not very far along yet, but early results look good. All of the major software applications seem to be fine, but there’s quite a bit more testing to do before this is 100% conclusive. More news about these and other systems as we move forward.
Incidentally, we have the new Mac models in stock (which will be reported shortly in our We Have Received section of inSync) so we’re ready to configure the system of your dreams. Just be sure to communicate with your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for the latest info.