Some workstations look boring and utilitarian while others, at least sometimes, look otherworldly. The difference between the two usually comes down to good lighting, skillful photography — and often a key visual you don’t see every day.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup relies on atmospheric lighting and exceptionally cool desktop wallpaper on the displays to make it look fascinating.

And because the workstation is used mainly for audio design and includes great gear, it undoubtedly sounds great, too.

It’s always nice to hear from professionals relying on Apple gear and finding it meets or even exceeds their expectations. That’s a good indicator that Cupertino is going in the right direction.

Today’s featured computer setup shows that enthusiasm. A mobile app developer offers high praise for his M1 MacBook Pro. And his stacked displays and raft of AV gear aren’t bad, either. Let’s take a look.

Some computer setups are simply music to our ears — almost literally, in some cases. Today’s featured setup sees (and hears) an M1 MacBook Pro playing frontman to a band that includes a few pieces of key audio hardware and software as well as dual curved ultra-wide external displays.

And whether or not it’s “ultra-minimalist,” as stated by the user — it’s not, by almost any definition of computing minimalism — it appears relatively spare and effective.

If you’ve got a tiny desk for a workspace, you’ve got to make the most of it. Today’s featured computer setup centers on an M1 MacBook Air driving a small 4K external display, clearly going away from the trend toward big-screen-TV-sized displays for a reason — namely, vanishingly small desk space.

A small external display is one way to save room. But the user has some other tricks up his sleeve, as well. Let’s take a look.

Las Vegas-based graphic designer, video editor and photographer Allen Williams recently made the move from an older iMac to a brand new Mac Studio and Studio Display combo.

He shared his updated computer setup — and a bit about what a difference it makes in his work — with Cult of Mac this week.

We like Friday Setups posts to be on the fun side. We look for entertaining gear, wacky decor and exotic locations. Today we found a Dutch guy who works in IT management via his M1 iMac.

That doesn’t sound especially fun, but he also wields a pretty badass electric guitar.

He runs the axe into a Focusrite audio interface and listens to his musical creations on a killer set of cans, too.

We can count the number of times we’ve come across a three-Pro Display XDR workstation in our Setups travels on less than one hand — maybe two or three times. And if you throw in a late-model Mac Pro and a pile of great audio-visual gear for professional-level videoconferencing, well, that’s even more rare.

Liam Hudson, CEO of a qualitative electronic trading company, sent his “ultimate computer setup” for at-home work to Cult of Mac. And it’s really something.

Redditor MacSources, aka Nicholas Calderone, is a photographer, writer, editor and co-founder of MacSources.com. He runs a Mac mini at the center of his formidable dual-monitor computer setup. The workstation’s audio and storage components seem particularly epic.

Redditor madeitinthewild makes beautiful music up in Canada. Or he makes music, anyway. Jazz music. You can tell by the assortment of saxophones next to his M1 MacBook Air- and iPad Air 4-based mini music studio. That, and he said so.

“Remember to always practice safe Sax,” came the obligatory jazz-joke comment.

“No way I live on the edge,” replied madeitinthewild, kinda true to his Reddit handle.

Focusrite’s iTrack One Pre might be the ultimate portable recording gadget for musicians. It’s a little cube that fits in a pocket, but that packs in connections for a microphone and a guitar, as well as a port for charging the iPad or iPhone you connect to. It can even supply Phantom Power to a microphone, and has it’s own gain (“volume,” kinda) knob.