M5 MacBook Pro for Music Production: In-Depth Testing & Review (Compared to M4)

Should you get the M5 MacBook Pro for music production? What's the best Mac for music production in 2025 and 2026? How well do Logic Pro 11, Ableton Live, REAPER, Steinberg Cubase, Universal Audio Luna, FL Studio and PreSonus Studio One perform on M5's 4 performance cores? How much of an upgrade is M5 from M4? What’s the impact of Studio One’s added support for efficiency cores on Macs? MY LINKS: https://www.james-zhan.com WHAT I’M CURRENTLY UP TO: https://journal.james-zhan.com/now/ My 6K Noisy Gradient Wallpapers: https://bit.ly/miragewallpapers (Free option included) ⏰ Timestamps: 0:00 Start 0:37 The Three Tests This Video Will Cover 1:13 What This Video is NOT About 1:39 10-core M5 vs 10-core M4: Key Differences for Music Production (efficiency core vs performance core distribution) 1:58 Note About Different Form Factors in My Testing 2:18 REMINDER: This Video Is NOT About Which DAW Is Better ———TEST ONE: AMP SIM (NEURAL DSP GOJIRA X)——— 2:58 Amp Sim Test Setup with Neural DSP Gojira 3:13 M5 vs M4: REAPER 4:00 M5 vs M4: Universal Audio Luna 4:54 M5 vs M4: Logic Pro 11 5:26 M5 vs M4: Ableton Live 12 5:42 M5 vs M4: FL Studio 6:11 PreSonus Studio One Added Efficiency Core Support 6:37 Studio One Users Reporting Better Real-Life Performance After the Efficiency Core Update 7:17 M5 vs M4: PreSonus Studio One (efficiency cores enabled) 7:37 Studio One Before vs After Efficiency Core Update: Amp Sim Test (huge improvement) ———TEST TWO: SYNTH (MASSIVE X)——— 8:22 Synthesizer Test with Native Instruments Massive X Setup 8:43 M5 vs M4: Massive X Test Test Results & Analysis ———TEST THREE: MIXING INTO A MASTERING CHAIN——— 9:13 M5 vs M4: Mixing into A Mastering Chain Test Explained 9:45 M5 vs M4: Mixing into A Mastering Chain Test Setup 10:32 M5 vs M4: Mixing into A Mastering Chain Test Results & Analysis 11:03 Studio One Before vs After Efficiency Core Update: Mixing into A Mastering Chain Test (huge improvement) 11:33 DAW Performance on M5: Mixing into A Mastering Chain Test Visualized ———CONCLUSIONS——— 11:46 Key takeaway 1 12:15 Key takeaway 2 13:26 The 10-Core M4 Chip Is Crazily Powerful 14:04 James’ Answer to “Should I upgrade?” 14:27 Buying Tip for Heavy Sample Library Users // MY SETUP FOR YOUTUBE // 🪑 Ergonomic Chair: Anthros Chair ↳ https://bit.ly/jz-anthros ($200 OFF at checkout) 📷 Camera: Sony Alpha A7 III ↳ https://amzn.to/3E7i0Du 📷 Lens 1: Tamron 17-28 F2.8 Di III RXD ↳ https://amzn.to/3YNL9et 📷 Lens 2: Samyang 35mm f1.8 ↳ https://amzn.to/47ozjuI 🎙️ Microphones: ↳ sE V7: https://amzn.to/3Cjs8d6 ↳ Comica CVM-VM10II: https://amzn.to/3Naxni8 🎛️ Audio Interface: RME Babyface Pro ↳ https://amzn.to/3BY9hRi 💡 Key Light: SmallRig RC120D ↳ https://amzn.to/3tAWeoP 💡 Key Light Softbox: SmallRig RA-D85 ↳ https://amzn.to/3RMNK5V 💡 Background Lights: ↳ Aputure LED Panel: https://amzn.to/3BOUbxa ↳ Mini LED light tubes: https://amzn.to/4a1qIAB 🖥️ 4K Computer display: BenQ EW2780U ↳ https://amzn.to/3UbIUOJ ⌨️ Keyboard: Keychron Q12 Max ↳ https://bit.ly/q12max 🔄 YouTube sub counter: Ulanzi Smart Pixel Clock ↳ https://amzn.to/3RqiWJ4 ⬆️ What I use to back up all my projects: Backblaze ↳ https://secure.backblaze.com/r/044bw2 (1 month free) // MAC APPS I USE TO RUN MY STUDIO & CHANNEL // Dropover: https://dropoverapp.com Loopback: https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/ Rectangle Pro: https://rectangleapp.com/pro BetterZip: https://setapp.sjv.io/betterzip Trickster: https://setapp.sjv.io/trickster Dato: https://setapp.sjv.io/5g0kE2 Bartender: https://setapp.sjv.io/xk6JKk Paste: https://setapp.sjv.io/QydY9Y CleanShot X: https://setapp.sjv.io/9gdV6e ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ DISCLOSURE: Some links might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you of course! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with awesome music production content each month!