Headphone noise / static / pops / digital squeaks

I haven't noticed the problem nearly as much recently. Might it be the latest software update (10.5.4?)

I am going to try and replicate the problem tonight and then try to solve it with the above method.

Hi all,

Count me in, unfortunately. My brand new MacBook Pro (2.4GHz Penryn) exhibits this problem. On headphones, at least, it is silent until I play some audio; as long as the audio is playing, there is hiss in both channels and a disgusting warble in the left channel (irrespective of volume or balance setting); when the audio stops, the hiss continues for 30 seconds and then, with a little "pop," it returns to silence.

I took it to the Apple Store. Naturally, the Genius couldn't hear anything, and I was told that as long as Apple can't find fault, I can't swap it for another computer without paying a 10% restocking fee (and it may be a pandemic problem anyway). For what it's worth, I found that AlejandroJ's close-the-lid trick works a little for me - it reduces the left-channel warbles, but not the hiss, and the warbles return after another sleep-wake cycle.

If any of you use a USB audio interface / USB speaker system with headphones, do you notice these problems there?

Um, just to follow up on myself...

I went to the Apple Store again with my own music and headphones, and I'll be ding-danged if I couldn't reproduce the problem. The Genius gave me a printout of this, contending that it was a grounding problem. He explained that plugging the adapter into the wall directly (or using the battery) instead of using the grounded cord would cause the machine to be its own ground (??) and help eliminate the warble sound.

I got home, and still the warble comes and goes, no matter how it's powered ... it seems to be just a hit-and-miss thing.

Thankfully I took the advice in this thread and swung by RadioShack on the way home and got a little inline volume thingy ($8 from their own GoldSeries line, only about 12" long), and that did the trick - I can just keep it with my headphones.

So, thanks to all of you for your advice.

People slaved by R2 and the Great Hiss,

Today I went to the apple store to get this problem looked at! I arrived with my laptop and every hardware that came with it. And also I brought my own headphones.... I made a Time Machine backup the night before with a borrowed hard drive: I was decided to get a replacement.

Naturally, with the store ambient noise, it was IMPOSSIBLE to replicate the problem... or at least to notice it... Very quite stressing situation: I have a problem, and they won't believe me!

But for me it wouldn't end there... I INSISTED! My arguments were a mixture of the following:
-This is a laptop that is worth a lot of money, I even paid in cash with many or 10 dollar bills because what I paid was really HARD EARNED MONEY!
-A laptop this price shouldn't have any problems.
-I am not making up this story! It's not like the Apple Store is in my neighborhood.
-etcetera!

He told m: "Ok I can take it in for a diagnosis and it will be ready in 24 hours"... to which I responded! "I CANT LEAVE MY ONLY COMPUTER HERE!" I can't! I just can't! I didn't wanted to have those problems! That is why I bought a 2k laptop! "... of course... I said it kindly and with patience... The genius guy was really trying his best...

Finally after having a relaxed (but insisting) discussion. He asked me for the computers serial number. I lent him my computer for like 2 minutes. I don't know exactly what he did, but he did use it and finally veredicted: "I'll talk to my manager". And after that I got out of the store with a new macbook pro.

I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro with the R2D2 simptons and it's driving me crazy!

Right now i can't let it go to repair as i need it to work. Anyway, i've just discovered that with my iPhone connected on the left side usb port, noise stops!! I supose that anything on that usb port will stop the noise!

Can anyone confirm if this happens with your MacBooks too?

Thanks!

I have the exact same problem: Macbookpro 15" bought in March and this problem started about two weeks ago. It is not confined to only the headphones, but also the speakers - sometimes the whine is so high pitched and loud that people leave the room. This is infuriating for a music lover. Currently the only way I can really get an acceptable sound is by plugging in a little attenuator (?) that I got with my Shure earphones and then playing with itunes/system/attenuator until it is just acceptable. Unfortunately I left my USB soundcard in Ghana where I live, so I cannot test if the problem is confined to analogue output or not. This is totally unnacceptable for a laptop that cost this much.
My brother in law who we are staying with just laughs - his unbranded €400 windows machine is two years old and perfect: now my macbook pro sounds like a 70's TV dying and my girlfriends Macbook is on it's 3rd battery and shedding keys left and right...
Starting to wonder why we stick with apple.

Yes, this trick helped me shutting the r2d2 sound off, some static noise remains, but that is totally affordable for me!

I hope it is just a firmware problem, hopefully it can be fixed in an update soon!

BTW:
Using WinXp in dual boot, I have discovered, that If I pull down the volume slider the noise almost disappears and the maximum volume is still enough to blow my earwax into my brain. 😀
I think this problem based on a way too high amplified output volume under macosx, but the built in sound slider cannot solve this issue, some basic amplification occurs I cannot deal with. 😟

Hey, I've noticed something similar with my newish iMac! I always use my iPod earphones to listen to my iTunes library running in the background. Sometimes, (not every time) when a song finishes or after any alert sound, a quiet "eeeeeeeeeeeee" will start. It NEVER does it during a song or video, just after one finishes. They can sound really funky too: sometimes it's a short warble, sometimes a chirp, sometimes the "eeeeeeeeee", and even a low bass-like "ooooooh" once. Yeah it's kind of annoying but I really don't mind as long as it doesn't do it during one of my songs, which it never has. Plus, most of this was on OS X 10.5.4, and now that I'm running 10.5.5 it's been WAY less often and much less noticeable when it does pop up. But this is THE only problem I'm having...I love my iMac soooo much and tease my mom constantly about how her 7-month old Dell (with a 2.8GHz proccessor and 2GB of RAM) takes 6.5 minutes to boot up, and my 2-month old iMac takes 5 seconds! 🙂 🙂

AARGGHH SAME PROBLEM!! I just dropped a 2 something grand on a new MacBook Pro for my audio editing work and I have to do all that work now in my old PowerbookG4. This machine is worthless to me now ! ***!?????
WHAT CAN I DO?!

so alajandro did your new macbook still have the problems?

anyone notice improvement under 10.5.5? I just plugged in my headphones for the first time in a while and I don't hear it. I've tried two different sets of headphones from which I clearly heard it before. I used to hear it very clearly before. Anyone else?

nevermind. still there 😟. especially bad with classical music i guess. if anyone comes up with anything, or has luck with apple, let me know. I just bought an applecare plan, and I'm not afraid to use it if there is no fix for this down the line.

I have found a temporary fix for this. I noticed that the sound levels on the new Macbooks are much higher than the gen 1 macbooks running tiger: IE my shure e5c's didn't hurt at max volume with my old MBP, now I can't go past half way without pain.

The E5c ship with a line attenuator ( for listening in airplanes ), basicly a resistor you can run the headphones through, with that in place the static disappears. When I use my Sennheiser HD560 headphones, They need alot of power, I can't hear anything unusual. I think apple upped the level of power they are sending out the headphone jack, via software/firmware and that's the root of the issue. Until they have a software fix, I will use the attenuator.

It's frustrating I know but I've just about given up, just assume you will have to use a USB or Firewire audio interface at all times. Not ideal if your interface isn't particularly portable.

The noise generated by the audio card in the MBP's I own are not volume dependent,
meaning that I can have the volume all the way down and I still hear artifacts at the same level.
Therefore an attenuator will only cut the level to MASK the problem you were hearing and the noise is still there at a lower level.