Setting up an Apple computer for audio is simpler than a Windows pc because Apple offers fewer options. but it’s still possible to end up with a system that doesn’t perform optimally. often it’s a case of not getting the machine configured correctly. the following guide will hopefully get you to a reasonable starting point for your Mac computer audio odyssey.
For me, the three most important aspects of a computer audio system are stability, reliability, and simplicity of operation. Sound quality comes after these three primary goals are met: ultimately it doesn’t matter how good your computer audio system can sound if you can’t get it to work.
Given my priorities, the principal goal of this guide won’t be the best performance. (John Quick talks about this in the following feature.) No, the goal here is to achieve a system that is going to deliver sound 99.9% of the time without having to screw around. Even a naïve user should be able to use a computer audio system almost as easily as a CD player.
Swinsian is a good and full-fledged music player app for your Mac. It supports the majority of the audio formats, has good organisation structure and is not heavy on resources. It can manage even the biggest of music libraries comfortably. Divx player is a feature-rich tool and included in the primary toolkit of many Mac users for a long time and regarded as the best media player for Mac. With the well-known interface and user-friendly controls, the Divx player produces continuous audio and video playback from different media and format. If you're an audiophile who prefers high-resolution audio, iTunes simply won't cut it. So here are the best hi-res music player apps for Mac. Most Mac owners use either iTunes or a streaming service to manage and listen to their music. That's great, but if you're an audiophile who prefers high-resolution audio, iTunes simply won't cut it. When we say Elmedia Player and Mac are a match made in heaven, we really mean it. Many consider Elmedia to be the best player for Mac. And there are several reasons to believe so. Elmedia Player supports advanced streaming options and a range of video and audio file formats such as SWF, MP4, AVI, and MOV.
This best video player Mac is a universal media player that automatically recognizes the file format of the video or audio file you want to play. So you can count on it to reliably play the most popular audio and video file formats including AVI, MP4, MP3, WMA, WAV, FLV, MPEG, and more.
Hardware
Which Apple computer you choose for computer audio will depend on several factors, but principally budget and portability. Portable Macs, whether MacBook Pro or Air, make great audio computers, especially if you want one system that you can take with you. A Mac Mini is less expensive initially, but it does require an external monitor and keyboard for full functionality. An iMac is also a good option and the monitor is built-in. Some folks (like me) even use a MacPro desktop machine for audio duties.
Nowadays, the Macs I see most often used for audio are the Mac Mini or a Mac portable. Mac Minis are the most popular “desktop” machine due to their size and price. Also a Mac Mini can be run “headless” after initial setup, without a monitor or keyboard via the “Remote” Smartphone app (a Mac portable can be used this way also, but the screen will remain active). Any Mac that supports the current or near-current operating system can be used for audio playback duties. Considerations such as whether you want portability are more easily quantifiable than whether one Mac model sounds better than another.
Apple offers all its computers with different memory and hard-drive configurations. You can order a Mac directly from Apple exactly the way you want it or you can purchase a barebones configuration and add your own memory and storage later. OtherWorld Computing sells all the necessary parts as well as step-by-step instructional videos on its site for installing memory, solid-state drives, and auxiliary hard drives for nearly every model Mac.
If you want to do an audio-only computer system, be aware that there are different levels of audio-only exclusivity. And there’s always a trade-off of ergonomics lost versus sonic benefits gained. Access to the Internet is not necessary to play back a music file, but it does allow for greater levels of operability, including access to Internet radio (which can be very good), streaming services, and GraceNote for identifying ripped CDs. But a system with Internet access means that more operations will be ongoing and some could have an effect on overall audio quality. The tweakiest and most obsessive sound-quality-first Mac setups tend to be isolated stand-alone systems without Internet access. PreSonus, in its guide to Mac OS use, recommends turning off the airport wireless service while using a Mac for audio. Obviously this drastically reduces functionality, sort of like supergluing your mouth closed to keep from occasionally drooling. Some Mac audio set-up guides also recommend turning off “Spotlight,” which is the file-searching utility. This is great until you need to find a file.
There is no reason that a current-generation Mac needs to be gelded into a barebones operating system to perform optimally for audio. The Mac operating system and hardware were made for multitasking, and the Mac will be performing background processes while playing music even if it has been stripped-down. While I don’t recommend regularly running a bunch of high-demand processing and disc-access programs such as Photoshop while listening intently to music, the reasons for creating a stripped-down music-only Mac were far more relevant back in the days of the G5 desktop than they are today.
How much memory is optimal for audio? Most users find that the right amount of memory is the same amount as for a full-service Mac. Nowadays, that’s 8 Gigabytes. You can “get by” with 4 Gigs, but given the cost of memory, there’s no reason not to have 8GB. Adding more than 8 Gigs of memory won’t buy you any advantages, and the extra memory will generate more heat and use more power. Music playback doesn’t require very much in the way of processor and memory usage compared to apps such as Photoshop. I use a 2006 MacPro desktop with 16GB of memory. Playing a 29-minute 96kHz/24 music file with Pure Music software used only 1025.4MB of real memory, 3.31 of virtual memory, 996.5 of private memory, and 1.09 of virtual private memory. The total amount of CPU usage was only 5.37%. With a newer, faster processor the CPU usage would be even lower. If I had only half the memory there would still be plenty left over.
Many storage options are available, but the most common way to go is with a solid-state drive for the OS and user files, then a second conventional larger hard drive for music files and/or Time Machine backup files (I’ll tell you about Time Machine later). The reasons for using a solid-state drive are increased read and write speeds and lower power usage for less stress on the power supply. The second drive can be internal or external, but external is more common. Nowadays portable 1, 2, and even 3TB portable hard drives are inexpensive and plentiful. I use a redundant system where I have two of each external drive, one in service and one as back up. Once a week I copy new files from the one in use to the backup drive, then put the drive away again. Some users opt for a RAID array for their music files, but I’d rather have identical libraries on two separate drives than two libraries on the same drive in a RAID array. Even with a RAID drive, if it fails catastrophically (which is usually how they go), you lose all your data, which is not an experience I recommend.
What is the best audio recording software for Mac users to record audio on Mac computer? How to determine which audio recording software is the best Mac audio recording software? It's up to personal preferrences. Some Mac users might prefer recording to editing, while others might require a piece of best audio recording software for Mac to edit as well as record. No matter what you need, this post would provide you several best audio recording software for Mac computer. You could freely select the best audio recording app for Mac that meets your needs.
Part 1: 6 Best Audio Recording Software for Mac
The best audio recording software for Mac computers could of course include the ability to recording audio files from multiple sources like computer audio, streaming audio, microphone voice, online radio, etc. The second condition to weigh a Mac audio recorder as the best audio recording app for Mac is the output recording quality.
No.1: Leawo Music Recorder for Mac
As the No.1 best audio recording software for Mac, Leawo Music Recorder for Mac could easily record audio of any source and get music for free on Mac. It supports multiple audio sources and audio output formats. This best audio recording app for Mac could record audio from computer including computer audio, streaming audio, online music, radio, etc. and audio input through microphone on Mac. You could use this best audio recording app for Mac to record and save audio on Mac into M4A, MP3 and WAV audios, with output audio Bit Rate and Sample Rate adjustable. What's more, this best Mac audio recording software could automatically download and add music tags like song artist, album, album artwork, song name, etc. to complete music info. The embedded music tag editor allows people to manually edit music tags. This feature is especially useful for music recording and downloading. If you like, you could directly apply recorded music files to iTunes within this best audio recording software for Mac.
No.2: Audio Recorder Pro
As the best audio recording program for Mac, Audio Recorder Pro acts far more than audio recording. As the best audio recording for Mac, it could record music from YouTube, Napster, Rhapsody, Skype, iChat, microphone audio, etc. and edit recordings afterwards. Like Leawo Music Recorder for Mac, it also provides Mac users with splitter function to split recordings upon time gap.
No.3: Audio Hijack Pro
Audio Hijack Pro is also the best audio recording program for Mac users that prides itself on being able to record audio from any input whatsoever. If you can hear audio, you can record audio Mac OS X. You can even record audio from multiple applications at once – good for recording interviews on Skype, for instance.
Multiple formats are supported, and recording is even crash-protected, so you won't lose audio if the app crashes whilst recording. A few effects are included, and the interface is impressive.
No.4: Audacity
The open-source program gives users a wide range of options for recording and editing audio, all tied together with a simple interface. And it is the best free audio recording software for Mac users. Everything Audacity offers is free of charge. Compared to other notable DAWs such as ProTools and Sound Forge, Audacity's layout is very minimalist. There are toolbars for navigating a track, editing it, and mixing. When tracks are loaded, they will appear as waveforms, and users can edit specific sections of a track by highlighting the appropriate section of the waveform. Navigating the interface is easy, although it may take time for new users to figure out what every specific tool does. As far as editing goes, Audacity offers a surprisingly robust set of tools for a free program. Users can adjust pitch, bass, and treble, or normalize noise and add effects like reverb and phasing.
No.5: Ardour
As another best audio recording app for Mac, Ardour lets you record, edit and mix tracks, using an interface that can be professional-enough as well as easy-to-get-used-to at the same time. Ardour can be useful for professionals such as audio engineers, musicians, sound track editors and composers. While Ardour lets audio engineers mix their MIDI projects with ease, the enhanced recording options would do well for musicians and composers. When we consider the features aspect, Ardour has a lot to talk about: support for editing hardware makes everything easier while multi track recording makes sense too. There are advanced options in the editing and mixing section too. For instance, you have Routing, Inline Plugin Control, etc in mixing section. It is to be noted that productivity of Ardour can be made to fit your requirement using certain plug-ins.
No.6: Garageband
Bundled with Apple's iLife suite of apps, Garageband is best free audio recording software for Mac users to record audio on Mac computer. Everything Audacity has to offer is free of charge. It is a stylish and comprehensive audio recording tool. Although it can't record from the same versatile array of sources, it has powerful editing features and is well on the way to being a professional tool.
Garageband is particularly good for creating podcasts and ringtones for your iPhone, with advanced support for both included.
Part 2: How to Record Audio on Mac with Leawo Music Recorder for Mac
To help you easily record audio on Mac, we would like to show you how to record audio files on Mac with the best audio recording software for Mac - Leawo Music Recorder for Mac. You could choose to record audio from Mac computer like audio files on local drive, music from video sharing sites or online radio stations, streaming audio, or input audio from your Mac's microphone.
Good Audio Player For Macbook Pro
Leawo Music Recorder
☉ Record any music file from computer stream audio and built-in input audio.
☉ Record music from 1000+ music sites like YouTube, Facebook, Veoh, VEVO, etc.
☉ Schedule music recording via the internal recording task scheduler.
☉ Automatically/manually add and complete music tags like artist, album, cover, genre, etc.
Download and install this Mac audio recording software on your Mac computer and then launch it. Follow the below steps to learn how to record audio on Mac with this best Mac audio recording software.
Step 1: Set Audio Source
Click the little microphone icon on the interface to enter the 'Audio Source' window, where you need to choose either 'Record Built-in Audio' option or 'Record Computer Audio' according to your needs. For audio from computer, choose the latter one. For audio recording from microphone, choose the former one. It could perform as the best voice recording software for Mac to record vocie and sound from microphone on Mac.
Step 2. Set output
Go to 'Leawo Music Recorder > Preferences > Format' to set the output format from MP3 Audio, WAV Audio and W4A Audio. If you need, you could change the audio parameters like bit rate and sample rate. After that, go to 'Preferences > General' to set output directory.
Step 3. Start to record audio on Mac
With all settings done, return to the main interface. Get source audio files ready. Then click the red 'Start' button to start recording audio before you play back audio file or input voice/sound through microphone. If you only need to record a clip of the source audio file, play the audio file first and then click the red button at the point you want to record. Stop at any point you want by clicking the red button again.
Free Music Player For Mac
Step 4. Edit audio tags
As mentioned above, Leawo Music Recorder for Mac is able to automatically download and add music tags if you're recording music on Mac computer. But you could still adjust audio tags by entering 'Library > All Recordings' to choose the audio recording and right click it to select 'Edit Music Tags' option. You could change audio tags like recording title, artist, and genre.
Good Audio Player For Macbook Air
For Windows computer, please turn to Leawo Music Recorder to record audio on Windows computer with ease.