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

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will get to an appropriate Apple team member. Please take advantage of it if you really care about getting the problem addressed. That link creates valuable complaint data for assessing the extent of the problem---these user forums do not.

There are plenty of examples where large numbers of reports though the above feedback system made a difference. There are no examples of complaining here helping fix anything.

Hi all,

I recently bought a new MacbookPro 16 inch in Dec 2019 and have both these issues. It's a 16gb ram, 512 GB storage and has Logic Pro X added to it. I use my Macbook mainly for music. composition.

This person has a video on youtube that replicates the most annoying audio issue perfectly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoyXuI0j2BE

Issue: Rumbling sound with certain sounds (rumbling feedback/echo) - initially recognised problem in Logic Pro when recording

Current issue experienced in Logic Pro , Youtube, iTunes and general notification sounds

Issue: MacBooks own internal speakers (not experiencing issue with headphones)

Point 1: problem isn’t just in Logic

Sound - noticed the rumbling sound when I plugged in the charger cable (the short notification sound when you put the cable in or take it out when charging)

Issue within: MacBook speakers only, headphones seem fine

The rumbling sound also happens in YouTube videos.

For example, the harp in Logic and also harp sounds in youtube videos are where I notice it the most.

Progress: Had 3 Genius Bar appointments and spoken to a few Apple tech folks online

Audio test in Genius Bar = passed

Issue still happening after full restore - backed up from Time machine

My next Genius Bar apt is next Tuesday.

I could replicate the ‘rumbling’ issue on at least 1 out of the 3 MBP 16 inch in store today.

Apple chat suggested to even try Safe mode to isolate the issue - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201262

I’m hoping this is software related but not sure yet. My friend also bought a MBP16 inch and it was kind of doing the same thing on his but mine seems to be worse.

Force quitting Coreaudiod seems to fix this very temporarily but then within a few minutes, it happens again.

Will keep you all updated! Fingers crossed :)

I can't justify the amount of money I have paid for this - and I come from a low income background :(

Bests,

Amy

Hey,

I have the same issue on my new MacBook Pro 16 inch. I just bought it and went to a local Apple store to replicate the issue on their new demo computers.

We tested 4 demo Macbook Pros. 3 of the 4 we can replicate the issue.

Steps to replicate:

1) Open Youtube.com/SoundCloud.com

2) Play a media content with audio

3) Jump to another webpage, you will hear an audible POP as the system exits the page.

4) If you don't hear a pop,... navigate to previous page, and repeat step 3.

Notes:

Tested YouTube/Soundcloud on Safari, and Google Chrome (2 different browsers with 2 different webpages)

Tested Spotify by exiting the application instead of skipping to new song, creates a popping sound. Spotify Application has a built-in gradual descent on the audio, to 'mute' the sound instead of actually cutting the audio out completely like the other applications.

I don't know if we are allowed to post links, but here are some additional forums with same discussion.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/dy7c9l/16_inch_macbook_pro_speaker_popping_issue/

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/dztbj9/macbook_pro_16_popping_sound_issue/

http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/articles/2227-clicking-audio-issue-with-new-16-inch-macbook-pro-and-final-cut-pro-x

Dear Apple, do you plan to address this hardware/software issue? I am inclined to say it is a driver/firmware issue, but only your company is able to provide this statement.

Same here. Brand new MBP 16-inch base model.

Happens on YouTube in Safari when skipping around the video, or when closing the tab that's playing the video. Pops come randomly out of the left or right speaker whenever the sound is stopped abruptly. Doesn't happen when skipping around an MP4 video in QT Player. Doesn't happen when playing music in Spotify and skipping around - but it does happen in Spotify if I stop the sound abruptly by closing the lid or plugging in headphones.

Another reliable way to reproduce: Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup > MacBook Pro Speakers > Configure Speakers > click either of the Test buttons in the bottom right corner of the window. You'll (usually) hear a click after the test noise stops.

Would be great to know if this is hardware or software related. I'm assuming it's a driver issue at this stage.

BTW there are other reports of this issue with the 16-inch appearing at the end of this thread on the 2019 15-inch model:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250758649?page=3

I fixed it.

I have owned a 2014 MacBook Pro 15 and bought a new MacBook Pro 16 today (2.3ghz I9, 16GB RAM). I run Ableton Live 10 for professional music production.

First Attempt (brand new laptop, failed): Used Migration Assistant to restore data from Time Machine. Sound was terrible - I had the clicking issues as well as other dropouts in Ableton Live.

Second Attempt (success): Factory Reset - which is a two step process. First delete your data (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496) and then reinstall Catalina (https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/reinstall-macos-mchlp1599/mac).

If you used Migration Assistant / used an older mac backup on your new laptop, maybe this method will work for you too.

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

This appears to be a widespread issue. There are 30+ other people who have the same issue here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/any-one-notices-the-cracking-popping-sound-of-new-16-inch-mbp.2211902/page-3

Considering that people have only just started receiving this laptop, we'll probably see more people with similar complaints in the coming days.

I got my 16 inch MBP last Friday and I noticed popping sound when skipping video or closing tabs. Also, see the thread of Macrumors. From the vote we can see this issue is widespread.

I believe it's a software issue since if I play some music in background and keep it muted, then the popping sound disappears no matter what I do. So there may be some issues with the audio driver or related codecs, I'm not an expert of this. I hope Apple could investigate this and give an official explanation.

Also getting this under the same circumstances. It is definitely related to the power/signal being cut from the speakers. I'd bet it's a hardware issue that could potentially be rectified by software (OS/Driver) issues, but that's just speculation. Taking mine in to the Genius Bar tomorrow for them to take a gander.

Let's get an official response here Apple, that's all I want. I don't want to return the computer, I'm otherwise quite happy with it. But some communication would be great.

Not sure if this helps, but every time there's a pop when you skip in YouTube, this error appears (tens of times) in the Console:

default 17:35:04.917068+1100 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent SourceBufferPrivateAVFObjC::enqueueSample(89250002) prerollDecodeWithCompletionHandler failed

I don't see this error on my 2010 MBP (macOS 10.13.16) when skipping around in YouTube (with no pops of course).

There is a "stupid" workaround: just put an empty mp3 files in background, I mean a long mp3 file of "silence".

If you are lazy like me, this could be automated with crontab that run "afplay" shell command every hour (my mp3 is 1h long), or with automator that run same command.

Losing 1% of cpu, but problem is solved.

Hope that Apple fix this issue with a more elegant solution.

Bye from Italy.

This may be part of the problem or it might not be. I was able to reproduce your error in both Safari and Chrome. But both of these browsers are webkit browsers. When I switch to Firefox (which is not a webkit browser), I still hear the clicking noise but I do not see the error in the log

I have the new MacBook Pro 16 inch and I have the same problem I took it to Apple and the told me that the can't do anything so I'm going to give it back

cracking/popping sound when I play music/video

its bad and all the 16inch coming with this problem !!!!

I had the same issue, it was very obvious when playing video on Chrome and Final Cut Pro.

I received a replacement MacBook 16 Inch in store after a thorough inspection and I still had the same issue in the new MacBook 16 Inch. I got support through Apple Chat and they got me on a call with a senior technical advisor who promptly asked me to submit files through a link so it goes through to the engineering team. I submitted several screen recordings of this popping noise on multiple programs, some more apparent than others. I also mentioned the YouTube videos/threads and the advisor did reassure that they will be looking into this issue and get back to me within 4 days. He said that over time they will be either be developing a software update or creating a new replacement model depending on the findings by the engineering team.

[Edited by Moderator]

Same here! Here's a video: https://imgur.com/DOY8m9a

Having certain apps running, such as DaVinci Resolve, makes the problem temporarily disappear. Easily reproducible.

16 inch MBP, 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 2.3 GHz i9, 8GB GPU.

Seems to me this can be fixed in software.