There is a cracking/popping sound when I play music/video using the mbp speakers, and jump to next song/video

I've had the same mpb speaker pops with my MacBook Pro 16 (OS 10.15.3) and since I've upgraded it to the newest OS version 10.15.4 that was just released I no longer have the issue. It appears Apple may have fixed the issue with the latest version of Mac OS.

Try upgrading to 10.15.4 and see if the problem is fixed.

I have to strongly disagree. 10.15.4 fixed the popping issue in my 16" MBP. I can now scrub YouTube videos, Final Cut Pro editing time lines, Quicktime videos and everything else. Not a single popping sound anymore after the update.

Well it's understandable that you would feel apprehensive but ignoring updates is also risky as you're forfeiting security updates as well. I would recommend giving it a try. My MacBook is working great now. I bought it in late January and the popping sound was driving me nuts. I mean, not all the time because I don't always scrub through videos but I use my MacBook Pro for editing in Final Cut Pro and the popping was making me feel like it would blow the speakers. This latest 10.15.4 fixed everything. Haven't had a single popping sound since.

Search for Audio MIDI and then change the format to 48000. See if that helps. I changed mine and don't hear the crackling sound. Try it.

What you describe sound again totally different to what this thread is about.

There is currently no solution that works for everybody. For me it only appears when scrubbing through a YouTube video.

If find it a bit disturbing but it’s no major issue for me. And it’s fixed when setting samplingrate to 48 or 96 kHz

I can only recommend writing feedback to apple and contact the support. The more people doing this the better.

10.15.4 fixed most of the popping sound issues but in some rare scenarios like playing high bass YouTube video and you quit Safari during playback it appears in my case. I reached out to Apple again and they acknowledged the issue and said to wait for a future update. So it’s not entirely fixed.

I think I found a possible solution to this problem. I had to change my midi settings to 48kHz. I've added a video to show you how to do it.

Edit: DUPLICATE POST

SO HERE IS SOMETHING INTERESTING -- I plugged my MBP (16 2019) into my Thunderbolt 2 display using a StarTech T2->T3 converter box and then routed the audio to play through the display AND this has the same cracking issue. It did not occur when plugged into an LG ultra fine and routing audio the same NOR when I play through bluetooth speakers.

SO I am guessing that the issue is between the MBP drivers and Apple Speaker/Audio modules.

Hi Nicholas, It's unfortunate we don't get any official word from Apple, at least, I haven't seen it, but I installed 10.15.5 the other day and think it's fixed. I need a few weeks to do various testing.

I'd go for the update. See how it works out for you and let us know.

Thanks!

-Vincent

Another confirmation that after the update, only 48KHz setting eliminates the problem. I remember that the sample rate setting did not help before the update.

I'm quite sure that this is a tech/design-issue with the speakers

when you skip through a sound it's very likely that you do this while a waveform is not at zero-crossing.

It's normal that you get clicks then. If this happens at certain frequencies the speaker are resonating stronger the click gets louder.

This should be fixable with the software or even the audio-driver by doing some very short fades when skipping.

I'm not quite sure why it goes completely away at 96 kHz and why this doesn't work for you.

So the update fixed my speaker issue but now I’m having brightness issues with the screen when it wakes up from sleep. I also had sparks occurring while inserting a wire into the usb c ports. It only happened when I have a usb c adapter plugged in with an active hdmi connection. It’s weird, this laptop is full of issues. Doesn’t feel like it was ready for release.

Well considering I've seen quite a few people on Reddit and some here (including myself) that had great success with the popping sound going away after the update perhaps you should get an exchange. Updates don't work only for certain machines. Results should be the same for everyone. We're all using the 16" MBP here, so something may be faulty with your machine.

Anyone experiencing this kind of popping noise when the Macbook Pro wakes up from sleep (say, when coming back to work after having lunch)? You need to wake it up via external mouse or keyboard and not touch it until prompted to use Touch ID:

https://youtu.be/IPZBex3j0nc

...it pops. And then it pops again after some time has passed not touching it and using an external mouse and keyboard. When you touch the enclosure (anywhere), it pops again.

I think it might be related to the same audio issue. Something related to the T2 power management, outputting pops to the built-in speakers. There's a specific thread for this

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251250713

Well that's unfortunate for you. After the the 10.15.4 update I haven't experienced anymore popping sound. I've seen the same great experience with a lot of people on Reddit as well. It may have something to do with your setup or possibly corrupt software files installed.