Sonar for Mac - Mac recommendations?

Long version.
 
People do run Logic and Photoshop on the base model Macs, including MacBook Airs, but I'd suggest going for one with an i7 processor if possible, failing that the fastest i5 you can get. Don't worry about a graphics card unless you intend to play games or maybe video-edit. HD4000 or the later Intel video chips handle most things, including HD video, fine.
 
16GB of RAM is a good idea, as is a Retina screen - they are spectacularly good.
 
An SSD speeds things up nicely, and Apple use good and very fast Samsung MLC ones. There were problems raised on forums regarding the hybrid drives and low-latency audio when hybrids were introduced, but that seems to have been fixed.
 
Avoid the one just called "MacBook" - that single power/USB socket is fine if you're the kind of really hip and cool person who never uses an external anything because you can't stand the idea of your trendy empty desk being cluttered up with horrid wires but for DAWs or any use where you need external storage, the more sockets the better.
 
Don't pay Apple prices for external drives, especially Thunderbolt ones. It's way cheaper to get a Thunderbolt enclosure and put an SSD or HDD in it yourself. Avoid the USB+Thunderbolt ones, they are usually a USB enclosure with a Thunderbolt socket tagged on - and if you use an SSD in one you can't send it TRIM commands because USB doesn't support TRIM< only Thunderbolt does. Though for most real-world uses an external bus-powered USB3 drive is pretty quick, though I stream audio from Logic to a Thunderbolt enclosure with an SSD in it. If you go down the external SSD route then you will need to enable TRIM on it - which is easy to do.
 
Or the short version - for a desktop it's the highest specced 21.5" of 27" Retina iMac within your budget. For mobile use I'd suggest the highest specced MacBook Pro that's in your budget, but don't spend extra on the one with a dedicated graphics card unless you need it. And get a Magic Trackpad 2.
 
It might be an idea to wait a little, Apple may be about to update their range, and the current MacBook Pro is maybe a little under-specced in the cpu department by current standards, though OS X/MacOS seems to run smoother/snappier on a given hardware spec than Windows does.
 
And keep an eye on the Apple online shop for refurbished Macs. At the prices Apple charge a 15% discount can come in handy and the refurbs have a full warranty and it's usually difficult to tell they've ever been used at all.

"...at somepoint in the near future..."
 
how about building a Hackintosh? I have one (signature rig) and it works almost flawless except sometimes not recognizing ASMedia USB 3.0 ports, performance more than twice for less than half, compared to most expensive MacPro bin, with plenty PCIexpress slots!

Thing is, why would you want to use a hacked system in a pro environment, just run Windows instead. I mean the only real argument you can make these days for Macs being a "better" solution is Apple's control. Since they make the OS and tightly control the hardware, in theory there are less issues (in practice, well I have plenty of enterprise stories I can tell). But that only applies if you use their stuff. If you hack something together, then that all goes out. Worse, there would be zero support available.
 
So it would make much more sense to just run Windows on the same system. Windows was designed for and supports running on arbitrary hardware and you can get support from various entities such as the system builder, or even MS themselves (you have to pay per incident for MS support, but it is available and is quality).

tzzsmk
1) if we agree on fact professional environment means closed ecosystem without "random" updates, then it doesn't matter if you block updates on real mac or hackintosh

In a recording/live music environment "professional" mean it works as designed, runs all necessary hardware and software and does so reliably, day in, day out. It also often means that in an emergency you can obtain a direct replacement in 24-48 hours (or less), load it from a disk image backup and it "just works". Or even borrow one if yours acts up in the afternoon soundcheck and have the loaned one configured and installed with your system image by the time the gig starts.

Hackintoshes rarely seem to be that reliable, and certainly aren't easily replaceable in a foreign country or even a city you don't know. As for not installing updates, that leaves you wide open to security problems and means you get no bug fixes, maybe can't use more up to date audio interface drivers and so on.

Reading stuff online about do it yourself Macs reminds me of when the best Linux distribution was Slackware and it came on a bunch of floppy disks. It worked quite well. Most of the basics required in a *nix system were there, even a basic X Windows server and client, but there was a very great deal of "ah, if you want a driver for that, or a program to do such and such...... Why not help the community and write it yourself!" Fine if you have the knowledge, skills and time to do that, or even just the ability to follow the instructions to compile a new customised kernel containing the right drivers, but not particularly useful to the average computer user who wants to write a novel, design a billboard poster or record and produce some music.

Most people aren't computer-knowledgable enough to want to enter the world of assembling parts for a Windows PC, never mind building something like a d-i-y Mac.

And running a Hackintosh means you are likely to be running at least the operating system outside the terms of its license, which in a commercial environment may just make the lawyers a bit nervous.

tzzsmk
5) real MacPro costs much more money and lacks PCIexpress slots and SATA ports, so in terms of expandability, it comes down to either buying oldschool MacPro, or building hackintosh

True, Macs cost more than an equivalent PC. And the dustbin-style MacPro has badly needed an update (or quietly dropping from the range) for years, as Jim says the iMac is a better choice for DAW use.

For DAW purposes expandability of modern Macs (apart from the one with the single socket) isn't too much of a problem thanks to Thunderbolt and USB3. Drives can be added using either interface and UAD, for example, make Thunderbolt versions of their cards. The cost is currently high, but in some ways Thunderbolt reminds me of when PCI replaced ISA or USB first appeared. Matching hardware was originally expensive but the price dropped eventually. And for mobile use a MacBook is more expandable than any laptop PC that lacks Thunderbolt ports.

I think the minis are really useful.  I've used mine like a regular computer, moved it by the tv and used it for media directly into the tv.  Now it sits headless in my rack being an iTunes/media server or if I want to use Main Stage for a few of it's synths or effects.  btw - Main Stage is a great cheap apple music app that will get some more use out of whatever mac you buy. 

tlw
For what it's worth, the combination of Sierra and iOS10 seems much more reliable than previous OS versions. Previously getting the two to work together properly could sometimes involve switching bluetooth or networking off then on again. Running Lemur on an ipad connected to a Mac by wi-fi MIDI networking takes step sequencing down some very interesting routes.

I've found Yosemite onwards to be solid and stable. Like I said, maybe I've been lucky but I seem to have pretty much managed to avoid the problems some people have reported. My main complaint is with Logic Pro's cpu usage and how it handles threading when monitoring through Logic, but recent updates have helped some with that.

I just wish Logic handled MIDI ports like Sonar does rather than summing all input ports into a single stream as it enters Logic. So unlike Sonar you can't choose different MIDI input ports for tracks but have to route everything just by MIDI channel numbers. It would also help if Apple put out the kind of detailed manuals and documentation Cakewalk do.

Did you download all the manuals? The main one alone is 1043 pages - and then there's one for effects, one for automation, another for and one for instruments, control surface support. 
 
I'm not sure how familiar with it you are, so maybe you've already tried to no avail, but I believe that the environment should allow you to configure your MIDI inputs the way you want them. I've never worked with more than one port at a time, so I may be mistaken there. 
 
I admit I have yet to find the time to go through the manuals for Logic X, having read the ones for Logic 9 and the certification manuals, I usually just look up things if I can't figure out the answer myself. The fundamentals stay the same, pretty much, at least for the way I work.

It's specifically the lack of documentation of the MIDI environment that's one of my main gripes with Logic. Another is that while the OS Core MIDI studio lets you combine and route hardware, software and networked MIDI very easily it's almost completely ignored by Logic. So while MIDI Studio allows for lots of MIDI ports and handles them fine, Logic sums all incoming MIDI into a single sequencer input which in effect strips out the different ports presenting Logic with a single MIDI port.

This can be a problem if you have, for example, two hardware units both tied to channel 1 and want to use both of them at the same time. In Sonar it's just a matter of selecting the correct MIDI port as track input for a couple of MIDI tracks. Not possible in Logic, or if it is extensive forum searching fails to turn up a workable solution for how it can be done and considerable complaints that it can't be done. There are also issues with routing a single MIDI controller keyboard to various different hardware synths. It can be done, but Sonar does it better.

Another is how cpu threading of software-monitoring was handled, though recent updates have helped a lot with that. The original way it was done ended up pretty much shoving all live monitored tracks through a single core, which is a problem if you use hardware synths and want to apply effects to them before recording the audio. Sonar is far better at handling that sort of thing.

A single instance of Amplitube running as an AU plugin can still pretty much bring a current top end MacBook Pros (i7, 2.2GHz, 16GB RAM) to it's knees at 64 or 128 sample latency, though I suspect IK are to blame there - Amplitube stand-alone also uses much more cpu on my Macs than on similar Windows PC laptops. Nothing else seems to, just Amplitube. Fortunately I can easily live without Amplitube.

It will be interesting to see how Sonar for Macs compares.

True.

But on a similar spec PC laptop to the Macbook there's still quite a difference in cpu usage. Can't test for differences as a plugin as I don't have a suitable Mac+Windows DAW and can't be bothered to install a demo version of something on both computers.

A mac Pro  2014, can it run all Older and new Mac OSes?
 
Is it update able?
 
And can it be refurbished to higher ended devices or updates to the hardware made via swap outs of the boards?
 
This all depends on whom you talk to....and whom is doing the Development of...marketing..and the CEO who squashes the IDEAS of Forward thinking into a corner of no way out of the old, and into the new via updates added onto?
 
And the videos you watch that counter the way, or not the way...To do so.
 
If some People will risk overclocking things...
 
Why is it no one wants to do the updates for...a refurbishing of what is already at hand?
 
Because they want you to buy the next one..or another one they make with those bells on they put at too high a price labeled....
 
That is what fueled the PC market...to gain over Mac....it is cheaper to have a PC and such with flexibility of options, as to the restrictions said exist..or did exist...are being hacked and those saying it cannot be, are being shown it can...And then the Bug is put in to screw it up...So, it is then redesigned...or stollen...and so sabotage is a means also to stop people from trying to do it them selves...Some say, some show, and some do have a Mac Pro 2014 updated at home, and being brave enough to try...Not sure if it works to spec...But it does void the warranty with Apple if done.
 
These Companies are just People with IDEAS...We are also...No one holds only PC and Apples..if Humans made these things the tech is availible to do so on your own....As all were ventures in Garages once upon a time!
 
Now why is it..Apple does not refurb their most recent Mac Pro 2014s to the new tech ports and such?...and give a way to put on a pci express or x16 port...Well it does have these extension things...So, you have to go to the CWA for some of that PCI box add on slot thing ...and it is expensive.
 
But what of the USB 3, and new thunderbolt 3?...That is a board design refurbish....which they can employ!
 
 
But they say it is not going to happen....and are at work putting this onto the new laptops...but nothing for the Pro end yet....
 
I am told by the apple techs, the 2014 is not able to be updated in any way...what was bought , stays as is, or replaced with same parts on warranty or under.
 
Yet as soon as some got the machine...They bought a higher ended cpu, took the thing apart, and put in the high end cpu for that machine....Same machine...no different power supply?...not sure.
 
So, how long since that video I saw of the home user doing this ?...2
 
and since then new ports have come out...
 
Now does that mean one needs to go to these new things ?
Nope....10gbps is fast enough to record and play back, and 64gb of memory is enough to hold what needs be held in it...
 
And is their a box one can buy with PCI ports through Thunderbolt connect? and drives or raids...Yep!...and the drives swappable?...yep!
 
So a Mac Pro 2014 is not dead, nor slow, nor is it limited...it can be expanded...but only through those ports on the system....or added onto via those ports....at the moment.
 
I got a couple of PCs of the x99 i7 5930 and 5960 type...and windows had its run of messing up my plans for too long now.
 
Hackingtosh sounds like a plan!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jim Roseberry
and you've got one shot to get it right.

Unless you pay a pro to do it?

Fleer
If you don't need a Mac Pro, I'd go for the portability of a Macbook Pro 15" with an i7 quad processor. Its retina screen gives you ample space. Up the RAM to 16 GB and include a smallish SSD for OS stuff. Then add some Samsung T3 external ones for your samples and projects. Thunderbolt allows you to get Apogee I/O and their new Element series is quite affordable.
If you're not getting a second hand Mac, then wait a while, at least until the end of this month.
A new MacBook Pro and more are set to be announced.

Right now, the latest iMac (27" with 6700k Skylake) is outperforming the $4000 Mac Pro.