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Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2026 10:25 pm
by todd ellis
I've been thinking of picking up a gently used Mac Mini for studio "B"
Is there a hard out on how old to go? I'm sure an M1 would be just fine - would an I5 work for me?
God knows I've done VO on MUCH older machines.
Thoughts?
Re: Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2026 4:56 pm
by Deebs
I think it would be contingent on the software you want to run.
One of my Mac Minis is running High Sierra as its last available OS upgrade. It's my Photoshop and ancient Quicken 2007 machine.
In the Biz/Design/Composition arena I have an M2 on Mac OS 15.7 -- keeping it like that because all my stuff (Logic in particular) is S-O-L-I-D.
I have an M1 in the booth running Pro Tools and Izotope RX10.
I have my previous i7 Mini on the cabinet in "dry dock".
so-- yeah.
What are your software demands?
Re: Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2026 12:57 pm
by todd ellis
Just Adobe Audition. That's it. I have my Mac Studio M2 for heavy lifting in Studio "A".
Power isn't the issue. I'm concerned more with when the Apple gods and the Adobe gods sit down for coffee and decide "this doesn't work with that anymore."
Probably looking at a gently used M1 for a few hundred bucks.
Re: Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2026 5:32 pm
by Deebs
Shouldn't be terribly hard to find. Reverb.com , eBay, even Amazon. Best of luck!
Re: Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2026 1:43 pm
by todd ellis
Re: Older Mac Mini purchase?
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2026 7:44 pm
by Mike Paul
An M1 is a fantastic choice; it's my booth computer since 2020. Leaps and bounds better than the Intel-based version that came before it.
As for compatibility and the day you dread: you already know the bulletproof system for recording audio has been and will always be: do not rent your software. Patronize those who offer perpetual licenses. For me, that's TwistedWave. So far, so great!
