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

Well I don't know why anyone would play high bass on the 16" MBP speakers. You can blow them. Quitting Safari in the middle of playback does not produce any pops or clicks for me.

"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. "

It may not be entirely fixed for you but it's entirely fixed for me and several others. Would you be able to explain how that could be?

LMAO! Firstly, the fact that you asked me to me listen to a Taylor Swift song on my precious MacBook Pro is punishment enough. 😂. I heard a very slight and faint sound when going through all the steps you just mentioned upon quitting. A non issue. I think anyone can make ANY computer make slight quirks in sound or even video anomalies when doing multiple steps. Interesting when I NORMALLY hit Command Q while punishing myself with that video there's zero popping. Having to play a video and minimize it then using Command Tab to navigate to Safari then quit it from there is over the top.

This isn't the issue in the first place. The issue is about scrubbing through videos while using Safari, Chrome or other browsers. Also when scrubbing through the Final Cut Pro Timeline and Quicktime videos. That issue has been addressed. You're creating your own scenario with multiple steps that's not a common use and the sound is so mild it's not something most would ever notice. But I shouldn't be surprised since you mentioned playing high-bass music on the MacBook Pro speakers which is ridiculous.

@DPJ This isn't the issue... seems you haven't read through this entire thread or researched this problem thoroughly. This problem is varied. It doesn't just happen while scrubbing it happens during normal playback, when switching between apps, and no that issue has not been addressed. You don't know what you're talking about, so please stop spreading disinformation and being an Apple apologist; there is an issue, it's unacceptable, and hasn't been addressed.

Glad to know your issue was resolved even though you had to go through a couple of bad units. I've been successful as well after the recent update. Some people here just refuse to believe anybody when they say the issue was resolved. They just want rant on until they turn blue in the face and childishly hurl insults. And yes that song was awful! 😂

I hear you, but I think most people are genuine with their experiences. There might be a few rogues, but generally, people are fairly competent and honest with their experiences. This issue is extremely nuanced, so you've got to take that into account. Here's something I experience I haven't heard from anyone yet, when I have notification audio on, whenever I'm listening to anything and a notification comes through I get an unreasonably loud and long disruptive crackling. For me, this laptop isn't getting better, but worse. That's my experience, that's the truth, as is for many customers.

I am having issues again unfortunately, this is the 4th machine. Been on the phone again to Apple and they have asked me to return for another replacement. 4th time lucky!! I am thinking of giving up on the product.

Thanks for the update but you're saying a lot of THEY SAID and THEY SAID. This can only be taken with a grain of salt since there's no facts to back that up. Like I said not all of us are having this issue anymore. My popping sound is now gone after the recent update. Since you now appear to have gotten your refund you may either look for a different Mac or look into Windows options.

LOL! I can only offer what Senior AppleCare advisors are saying to me on the phone. We went through multiple steps, I was on the phone for nearly 2 hours with them. It's a shame as the machine is exactly what I want and I have had MacBook Pro's for 10+ years now.

I must have misread your post. I thought you were stating that you were getting a refund.? My mistake. My advice honestly for you would be to request a refund if that is possible. After 4 machines it's best to let this model go. I can't guarantee any further success for you. It certainly wouldn't take 4 machines for me to be convinced to move on. After the second machine I would've gotten a refund. I bought my 16" MBP in late January. I immediately noticed the popping sound from reading about it. Since Catalina and the 16" were new at the time I gave it a couple of software updates. Things happen. Not sure why after 4 machines the latest update didn't fix your machine. Perhaps different parts? Apple does resource their parts from different vendors.

Staying on Mac you may want to try an iMac if you need the power of the MacBook Pro, or an older 2019 15" MBP. If those aren't suitable then take a look at the Dell XPS and while I don't care for this other model you may try the Lenovo X1Extreme 2 or the Razerblade laptop.

Who are you referring to DPJ? Who is trying to downplay? No one here has done anything except represent their personal experiences and have stuck to that. Please point out where the "downplay" was occurring.

I experienced this for the first time on 10.5.5, changing the MIDI frequency didn't help. It keeps making a random noise even while I'm not doing anything. At first, I thought it was a fan problem but it gets much worse when I'm actually playing audio. Muting the system audio is the only way I can get it to be silent, but that's not practical.

Dear Apple, is this ever going to be fixed? Throughout the whole week while having online meetings I had a regularly recurring popping sounds with the built-in speaker. I have it in Microsoft Teams and have while listening to music in Spotify. If I restart the machine they go away but simply plugging in an external speaker (via jack plug) can break the system again and the popping/breaking sound comes back to the internal speaker (external speakers unplugged).

I have this issue also. I have the base model 16" with cracking in the speakers when closing or switching Youtube videos and when closing the Pandora website.

can I ask where is that console? Id like to see these errors please

This is a great find. No doubt will be of some help. A good sign of maybe a software based solution is possible.