Macbook Pro 16 inch speaker pulsating noise?

The only update I have is that Apple confirms there is a problem. I wasn’t given any timeline on a fix (not at all surprising). It’s a bit disappointing, but also exactly what I expected. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes awhile before we get a fix. Maybe the next major macOS release (next fall). Maybe sooner. Maybe never; but then they would need to completely revise the speaker subsystem in the next release of the MacBook Pro, which they probably don’t want to do. Not to mention ill will from customers like ourselves.

I’m going to continue poking around. I actually know a guy who knows a guy that works on the Apple audio firmware team (but I think it’s more on products like Air Pods/Beats). I might try to get the intro at some point.

Hi ,

I had the exact same issue but my popping & crackling stayed even after 10.15.4.

I was so frustrated like everyone else..

And I had this error message:

After some googleing to find a solution for this problem I played around with the Logic Pro X settings and

that eliminated the whole problem for me.

I don't really know why it's working now but it does, even system wide

(had the issue on splice as well but it's completely gone after I changed the Logic settings 🤷🏼‍♂️ don't know why)

Here are my settings:

(I hope it works for everyone else too)

Yeah, it’s only on the speakers for everyone. In general I’ve found the audio systems are weaker on this laptop unfortunately. They all seem like software issues tho, so I’m still hopeful we’ll see a fix.

FWIW, I got a call from Apple this morning looking for more diagnostic info. The good news is that this means the issue has bubbled up to the top of someones queue. The bad news is the person didn't try to reproduce the issue themselves, and instead punted to me to give them more info. This is pretty typical when the engineer thinks they're dealing with something unusual, but I think those of us on this thread will all agree that this is _not_ unusual, and in fact very easy to reproduce.

I had the support engineer make a note of this in the ticket. I gave them all the info they wanted, and followed up with steps for them to reproduce it themselves. Hopefully this will convince the software engineer investigating it to put in the time to reproduce it themselves. Once they reproduce it in house, it's just a matter of time for a fix, I think.

Am beyond grateful to see so many having this same issue, as it's been plaguing my new MBP 16". I first noticed it in Garage Band, and now I get the "whup whup whup" diseased galloping sound in iTunes, browsers, Quicktime, etc. -- it doesn't matter the app, it always happens with bass and low frequencies. Here's my own video of this in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRXnCSCVbkw&feature=youtu.be

So... I have just purchased (in the UK) this last week a 16 inch MBP. Wasn't aware prior of any sound related

issues. OS X immediately upgraded to 10.15.6.

Downloaded Logic Pro X, got everything set up and was raring to go, until...

Noticed a flapping/fluttering in the low to mid tones on speaker. Tested this on YouTube, similar problems,

although the tone changed to a sound similar to horse's hooves galloping over hard ground. I'm convinced

this is a S/W issue.

Spent over an hour on the phone to Apple. 1st line tech said Apple were not aware of any issue!! Reading

this thread I'm perplexed.

Machine is going back to Apple who will replace with a new one. I'm not convinced this will resolve the matter.

Will report back.

Cheers

Thanks for that. I have a case open too (101162218008). Might be useful to reference.

I have sent Apple 5 videos of the interference happening under different conditions uploaded promptly so they have an idea of the times. I also just sent them a Data Capture log so hopefully they'll be able to identify what might be causing this interference when they cross reference the videos with the captured data. Perhaps it's something happening in the background. I sent them a link to this thread as well. I was told that a result should take a couple of working days.

My last call with Apple was close over a month ago. They recognized the problem, but gave no timeline on a fix (what I would expect). I'm hopeful they fix it in the next release of macOS...

I’m having the same issue, but only on the speakers. If I plug in headphones it’s fine. I find it mostly when using pro tools. Drives me nuts!

I have created a YouTube Playlist with videos of the issue by various users: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnF7kUxl7Lqh5MR6RBYokiJx2lLG-c-p7

I am just trying to clarify the symptom we are talking about.

So when I listen to that, your complaint is that you play a clear piano-like tone, But you get loud clear tone; faint clonk, clonk, clonk, echo right?

Yes, it's the after echo. The recording is a bit loud but if you listen carefully at 00:17, you hear it best.

It's like a pulsating after beat. With whiskers, lol.

I am waking up this am quite unsettled by Apple's misinformation and their irresponsibility in making this

transparent to customers who are trying to get clarity. It's deceiving and I want to make a formal complaint,

but where to?