Favorite Mac M1 Dock interface? thunderbolt 4 or etc...

PincoTech

Experienced
For a while, nothing was in stock, but there's so many other variables. Thunderbolt 4, or save with thunderbolt 3?
Also, need enough USB A's, USB C's 3.2?
I've kind of given up on the interface having to power the Mac itself, not really that important, and in my opinion it needs that one extra cable, since its so hungry.
Optical in & out?
Connecting to Apollo twin, high speed sound libraries

What are your thoughts and or experience?
 
+1 to CalDigit. Rock solid.

Avoid the Corsair stuff if you have an M1 chip. I had one that kept locking up my MBP M1 every so often when I'd use it with my external camera. Which was a pity because it worked great with my Intel MBP.
 
For a while, nothing was in stock, but there's so many other variables. Thunderbolt 4, or save with thunderbolt 3?
Also, need enough USB A's, USB C's 3.2?
I've kind of given up on the interface having to power the Mac itself, not really that important, and in my opinion it needs that one extra cable, since its so hungry.
Optical in & out?
Connecting to Apollo twin, high speed sound libraries

What are your thoughts and or experience?
This one from OWC works well for me:

OWC 14-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock with Cable, Compatible with Windows PC and Mac, Space Gray https://a.co/d/037GejM
 
I have an M1 Pro Max as well and haven't had any charging issues but my workflow is generally pretty lightweight. The TB4 puts out up to 98W.
I just ordered M1 pro max as well, I don’t have any audio interface. Do I really need one what is the benefit of spending so much money for apollo?is the thunderbolt interface is the best connection?
 
I've been using the Axe Fx III as my main interface for a long time, and it's great, as long as you don't need to record @ 192k 24bit.... I have an Apollo but use that mostly for vocals, or send the analog signal of the Axe through the Apollo, but there really isn't a need. You definitely don't need the processing power of an Apollo with a M1 Pro max. The M1 Max is an absolute beast! You'll probably find that a dock is most important, rather than wasting a ton of money on endless adaptors. I run my drum & synth samples from a Samsung T7 SSD thru the Caldigit, as well as the Axe, midi controller, Apollo, and external monitor
 
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I just ordered M1 pro max as well, I don’t have any audio interface. Do I really need one what is the benefit of spending so much money for apollo?is the thunderbolt interface is the best connection?
You'll find a guide here to help you answer whether you need an audio interface or not:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-for-the-recording-musician.177592/

The primary benefit of using an Apollo is it offloads effects processing from your computer. A Thunderbolt connection to an audio interface is generally only used when recording large numbers of inputs simultaneously.
 
I've been using the Axe Fx III as my main interface for a long time, and it's great, as long as you don't need to record @ 192k 24bit.... I have an Apollo but use that mostly for vocals, or send the analog signal of the Axe through the Apollo, but there really isn't a need. You definitely don't need the processing power of an Apollo with a M1 Pro max. The M1 Max is an absolute beast! You'll probably find that a dock is most important, rather than wasting a ton of money on endless adaptors. I run my drum & synth samples from a Samsung T7 SSD thru the Caldigit, as well as the Axe, midi controller, Apollo, and external monitor
I already have star tech hunderbolt dock below, why do I need docking station exactly?
 

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I have one but I don’t use it
I was wondering why would I need to use it?
What are you connecting to docking station exactly?
 
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