Mac Studio M1 Ultra 1,300 RPM Fan Noise for iPhone 13 Pro at Maximum Volume

Hear the idle ~1,300 RPM Mac Studio M1 Ultra fan noise by playing this video at maximum volume (both UA-cam volume and iPhone volume) on your iPhone 13 Pro. Then, place your phone where you plan to put the Mac Studio with the iPhone speakers facing towards the back.
While this isn't a 100% perfect match, it is very close. I recorded this fan noise at ~1,300 RPM on a Mac Studio Ultra, and I used a SPL meter to measure the sound levels at various distances. To my ears, this is an accurate reflection of what I hear in my quiet office (for what it's worth, I haven't noticed the sound of the fan, and it's sitting a few feet away on my desk).
Note that I've only tested this at maximum volume on an iPhone 13 Pro, and assuming all iPhone 13 Pros behave similarly, it should be a reasonable simulation. Also note that this is using the fan assembly in the Ultra, which we know to be different than the Max. I don't have a Max to compare it to, so I can't say if they're the same.

[@jellevdvegt]

Hi Michael, thank you very much for this useful video. I heard some people were able to diminish the RPM on their Mac Studio to 1100. I would be very interested in a similar video with 1100 RPM and hear the difference.

[@MichaelDSwanson]

You're welcome! I actually recorded 14 different fan levels, but the time to equalize the sound levels and match the iPhone's audio output to the actual sound took more work than expected. Maybe I'll pick a few key levels and process them. I can state that (to my ears), there is very little difference between 1100 and 1300. In fact, they measured the same db level on my meter.

[@jellevdvegt]

@@MichaelDSwanson Thank you for the reply! Interesting to hear that you don't notice a big difference between the two. Some people on the macrumors forum thought there was a noticable difference. I totally understand if it is too much time to do another one. It is already very helpful to have this recording.

[@AnthonyJoh]

I have the M1 Max version and can report that if you lower the fan rpm down to 1100 you barely hear the fan noise. Instead of the fan noise there's a slight electrical hum but it's barely noticeable. I hope Apple releases a software update in the future to lower the fan speed because it's way too loud at 1320 rpm.
The interesting thing is I ran some tests exporting video in FCP to see what would happen to the temperatures and they didn't really increase that much, barely above 50 and the fan speed stayed around 1300 rpm. So I'm not sure why Apple needs to the run the fans at 1300 when the computer is just idling?

[@jellevdvegt]

@@AnthonyJoh Regarding the fan speed I believe it has to less to do with CPU / GPU temperature but more with keeping the PSU cool. Not sure though...

[@tenparkdrive]

I've just done this on my 20/48/128 and whilst the fan is still running constantly, at 1100 I can barely hear it. I set mine at 1150 just to be on the safe side. It is a littledisconcerting having come from a totally silent iMac 27 late 2019 - however under stress the iMac was very noisy, and it didn't take much to get it going either... I'm not too worried about this now I know that other people have the same experience.

[@natsukirei2016]

is it just me or is does it sound like theirs a slight rattling happening?

[@MichaelDSwanson]

I think it might just be you. I can't detect any rattling in this recording, even with critical listening.

[@Tshdb-74737]

Same exact noise here coming from my Studio Ultra. This is my second unit the first was a Studio Max. Super annoying I can't believe apple is not addressing this. Apple support was no help and pretended the issue didn't exist. Told me to go to an apple store for assessment. That is a 4 hour round trip drive for me so no thank you. Back to apple this studio goes.

[@norbertholzmann8653]

No fan noise issue here:
ua-cam.com/video/QJ3ZYglIzWQ/v-deo.html

[@main.regotube]

I don’t have an iPhone 13 Pro xD

[@MichaelDSwanson]

Then I would be skeptical that this volume level matches what you'll get out of another device. It was only calibrated with an iPhone 13 Pro.

[@christophstoebich]

very bad sound signature, not a clean ffffffff i hate it so much on my computer, cant live with it, worst in 40 years of my PC experience

[@MichaelDSwanson]

To each his own. I do wonder if the experience is different from unit to unit, because mine sits about three feet from me on my desk, and I never hear it.

[@MichaelDSwanson]

For example, I just listened to another recording, and I can say his/her experience would drive me crazy: ua-cam.com/video/KReBC6aujKA/v-deo.html