Noise on 16-inch Macbook pro speaker when I’m using logic pro x

POST 2 of 3

What worked for me - How to determine if its a bad plugin

Before I get into the instructions it is important to think about when you started experiencing the audio issue and if you have recently installed any new audio devices, virtual instruments, or anything with plugins. This will help you narrow down the issue and this is how I quickly found the plugin causing the issue even though I had ones that failed validation they were not the ones that were the issue, but they could have been. It was a newer plugin that was "successfully validated" from the moment I went into the Plug-Ins Manager. It is important to note Apple's Logic Pro support told me that a Plugin in Logic Pro can cause systemwide issues even if it is disabled.

• Close All Apps
• Open a Finder window.
• Select Go from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
• Hold down the Option key to reveal the Library folder option in the dropdown menu and click on it
• Navigate to Audio\Plug-Ins\
• Copy the Components folder to your desktop
• Delete the Components folder in the \Library\Audio\Plugins directory
• Launch Logic Pro and try to use one of the built in Apple sounds. The sound issue should be gone, providing it is go to the next step. If it is not gone then you will need to contact Apple Support.
• Close Logic Pro and keep it closed until instructed to reopen it
• Make a Folder on the Desktop named "Troubleshooting Plugins" and continue with one of the three sets of instructions in bold depending on what applies to your situation

If you have recently installed a new plug in, audio device, etc then do the following:

• Copy the Components folder back to the Plugins directory.
• Start with the most recent plug in you have installed and remove it from the Components folder and place it in the "Troubleshooting Plugins" folder on your desktop. In my case I had just installed ROLI Studio which was "successfully validated"
• Launch Logic Pro
• Test the audio again using any of the sounds you have in Logic, if there are no sound issues and the problem has been resolved then you will need to contact that Plugins manufacturer for an updated plugin.

If you have NOT recently installed a new plug in, audio device, etc BUT you have plugins listed as "crashed validation" then do the following:

• Copy the Components folder back to the Plugins directory.
• In the Components folder in the Plug-Ins directory look for the plugins that were listed as "Crashed Validation" and remove only one of them from the Components folder and place it in the "Troubleshooting Plugins" folder on your desktop.
• Launch Logic Pro
• Test the audio again using any of the sounds you have in Logic, if there are no sound issues and the problem has been resolved then you will need to contact that Plugins manufacturer for an updated plugin.
• If the issue has not been resolved Close Logic, select the next Plugin that "Crashed Validation" in the list of plugins in the Components folder and remove it from that folder and place it in the "Troubleshooting Plugins" folder then relaunch Logic Pro. Keep repeating this process until you have removed each one of the plugins that "Crashed Validation" if it is still not working continue on with the next set of instructions

If you have NOT recently installed a new plug in, audio device, etc and you have NONE that say "crashed validation" or you have already eliminated all of those from the Components folder then do the following:

• Go into the Components folder in the \Library\Audio\Plugin\Components folder and sort the files by date created or date modified (if you want to troubleshoot chronologically in order from most recent installed to oldest installed plugin. Otherwise you can sort by name
• Start with the first one in the list of files in the Components folder and place it in the "Troubleshooting Plugins" Folder
• Launch Logic Pro
• Test the audio again using any of the sounds you have in Logic, if there are no sound issues and the problem has been resolved then you will need to contact that Plugins manufacturer for an updated plugin. If the problem persists continue removing plugins one by one from the Components folder and then launching and testing in Logic Pro. Eventually you will find after removing a particular plugin that the issue stops. Once the issue stops you have successfully identified the troublesome plugin and will need to contact the maker of the plugin. You can then restore the other plugins from the Troubleshooting Plugins folder to the Components folder. If you find the problem reappears then you may have more than one plugin causing issues you can then go back through the same steps as outlined above to repeat the process of finding a bad plugin.

Hi there. I just received my new MacBook Pro 16" for music production, and was disappointed to experience this same clicking sound (It sounds like a galloping horse to me!).

Here is the workaround. It worked immediately, and I have no other sound issues.

Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup > change the output format to 48,000.

For me, it automatically kept changing back to 44,100. But, after trying to click on 48,000 about 10 times, it finally worked. Just keep trying until it sticks.

Hi JC,

Excellent work around, thank you! I also figured out why it keeps reverting back. If you make sure that all music programs are closed and then open the midi configuration and set the freq to 48000hz it stays and does not revert back. Also when then open a new project in for instance Logic Pro you can also select 48000hz there and the problem is solved.

On all other playback like youtube, Spotify, etc etc I have no crackling sound. But the sound on the beginning of the thread is Identical to what I have.

MacB Pro 16” 2020 32gb 8gb 1T, Keylab 61 MK2

At this point, I'm not sure there is a software fix, Catalina or otherwise-- or we would have had it by now. In fact, I got this message the other day from the guy on my bug report at Apple:

>>This issue is a hardware Based issue. 

Please call back into the UK support and talk to a hardware specialist they will seer the case. we need you to go there because it is system wide and because you are in the united Kingdom., system issues are taken care of with different procedures. <<

In other words, sounds like there ain't a fix except at the hardware level, and we need to take our laptops in to get them "fixed", presumably with a new or modified chip. Ouch.

POST 1 of 3 - had to split it up due to character limits

I have this same exact popping, clicking, stuttering issue that at times it sounds like a horse galloping through any sound in Logic Pro X. It also has made system sounds, Music App (formerly iTunes), even YouTube videos once I open Logic Pro X.

I just worked on this with Apple. Multiple steps were taken but I finally found the cause, now it may not apply to everybody but I hope it helps. I will list all of the steps but you may want to skip down to the what worked for me section in bold.

Try another user account to see if problem persists

• Apple icon - System Preferences - Users & Groups - Click padlock - Click + sign - Select New Account as Administrator - type "Test" for the username assign a password, verify it - Click Create User
• Close Logic, Log out of account
• Log into test account, Open Logic and see if problem persists - if so then its not a profile issue and you will need to continue to the next section of instructions. If problem stops then it is something in the user account causing the issue and will need further help from Apple or from someone versed in troubleshooting user account issues

Try NVRAM SMC Reset

• NVRAM Reset https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063
• SMC Reset https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
• Try launching Logic and see if the issue persists if so go to the next section of instructions

Clear Cache Files

• Close All Apps
• Open a Finder window.
• Select Go from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
• Hold down the Option key to reveal the Library folder option in the dropdown menu and click on it
• Copy the Caches folder to your Desktop (Command C to copy and Command V to paste)
• Delete the original Caches Folder in the Library Folder
• Restart the computer
• Launch Logic, you should be greeted by a message saying that it is scanning Libraries. If no errors appear but the problem persists go to the section of instructions. If errors did occur continue with this set of instructions.
• In Logic go to Preferences - Plug In Manager
• Scroll down the list of plugins to the right if any say "crashed validation" write them down or screenshot them.
• For any that say crashed validation check with the plugin manufacturer to see if an update is available if so then close Logic and update the plugin
• Once the plugin is updated launch Logic go into the Plug In Manager click on it and select "reset and rescan selection" if the "crashed validation" message has now cleared and it shows "successfully validated" try playing audio again to see if the issue persists, if it is resolved then that particular plugin was causing the issue and it is now resolved. If the issue continues go to the next section of instructions.

Post 3 of 3

IMPORTANT NOTES and Thoughts

As JC Franklin mentioned earlier in this thread to go to Utilities > Audio Midi Setup > Change the output format to 48,000, This appears to fixate Audio issue too but it is temporary as the system does switch it back after reboots, closing Logic etc. This makes me wonder if the bad plugin is somehow coded for a higher output format when the default for Logic Pro is 44,100 which can be confirmed In Logic by going to Choose File > Project Settings > Audio. Also to note is the flipping behavior when setting it to 48,000 it would flip back to 44,100 about 5 - 6 times until it "stuck" at 48,000 and when it did the audio problem disappeared. Once the troublesome plugin was removed from the Components folder the flipping behavior stopped. -I wonder if this behavior is a tell tale sign of a plugin issue.

Try changing the sampling rate in Logic.

And no, running a second application in the background is not a fix but it does point out that the popping and motorboating sound are caused by the same problem. Which could be related to sampling rate as the second application is stabilizing the sample rate.

In electronics, motorboating is a type of low frequency parasitic oscillation (unwanted cyclic variation of the output voltage) that sometimes occurs in audio and radio equipment and often manifests itself as a sound similar to an idling motorboat engine, a "put-put-put", in audio output from speakers or earphones

I think this has worked for me... So far so good. I'm gonna give it another day or two to see how this goes. But I went ahead and changed the sample rate within Logic , set to 48kHz and then went in the Audio MIDI setup of my Mac, changed it also to 48kHz and it seems that this solved the problem, anyone had also this fix their bug? Thank you Pancenter !

The 48kHz "fix" that JC Franklin posted back in April does indeed seem to be a good band-aid for now, but as a few folks online and on YouTube have pointed out, not all of us have the privilege of only working (or only wanting to work) with 48kHz sample rates. Nor does the 48kHz fix always "stick" as we move around between different audio sources and projects (your Audio MIDI Setup devices, for example, can be set to varying rates, and as you move between interfaces and devices this can create some timing glitches with projects-- as I found out two days ago on a recording project for a client).

That said, Apple will hopefully spread the word that this is a decent workaround for now-- but by no means a solution to what is a major flaw on a seriously expensive piece of equipment supposedly running a state of the art professional piece of software. The rep I spoke to was aware of the 48 versus 44 issue, and I hope we'll see a proper fix soon. 10.15.5 sure ain't it. Keep the faith and-- as the rep reminded me the other day via email-- keep posting feedback until this thing is sorted!

I've had crunching sounds on various playbacks--whether in Garageband, Logic, or simply playing an MP3 file. I think it's a sample rate issue. I kept on trying to switch the output from 44,100 to 48,000 on Audio/Midi setup, but it wouldn't change. Finally, after trying to switch over & over for, like, 20 times, it stayed, and for the time being at least, I'm not hearing the sound. Fingers crossed.

OK. I think I'm on to something regarding the crunching sounds on Logic Pro. Apple Midi setup has to be set to the same sample rate as whatever Logic Pro project you're working on. The reason it took me 20 tries to change the sample rate in Audio Midi setup to 48,000 is because the sample rate in Logic Pro was set to 44,100. Somehow I could eventually manage to get Audio Midi set up to stay on 48,000, but it wouldn't stay for long.

Here's another question & possible issue: My Audio Midi setup doesn't give me a choice of bit rate. It's fixed at 32-bit float. But both Logic & GarageBand have 24-bit as their default bit rates. I have 2 questions: 1) could a bit-rate discrepancy between Audio Midi setup and Logic Pro cause sound output issues? AND 2) Do other folks with MacBook Pros have only the one 32-bit float option in Audio Midi setup, or can you choose from several bit rates? The tech support guy I spoke to at Apple said that on HIS MacBook Pro, running on Big Sur, he had several choices of bit rate on Audio Midi setup; I only have the one, 32-bit float. And btw, I have Catalina 10.15.7, so a recent OS. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY INPUT!!

https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/07/apple-says-a-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uFVkC6E482-update-is-coming-to-fix-16-inch-macbook-pro-popping-speakers/

Coming back to add that you do also need to change the sample rate to 48,000 in Logic Pro's Project > Audio settings. The thumping remains if you leave that at 44,100.

Apple called me back today. They have been very helpful and have had lots of discussions with creative team and the engineering team. Looks like they are aware of this bug now and are looking into it and bringing it as a fix in point update.

They can’t say when yet but the advisor is going to keep in contact with me until it’s done.

In the meantime they have suggested the 48k workaround (which I know isn’t perfect) and obviously running through external soundcards, again which is not perfect.

Really hoping this will get done soon as she said it’s getting a lot of traction behind it and a lot of reports of the bug.

So whilst it’s still so very very annoying on a machine of this calibre the to have such a massive problem like this there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

In other words, sounds like there ain't a fix except at the hardware level, and we need to take our laptops in to get them "fixed", presumably with a new or modified chip. Ouch.

Watching from the side and not involved but agree with this assessment. It's at the hardware level, since the T2 chip controls multi-functions including audio it's probably an interaction with the new sound/speaker system or an interaction with other hardware specific to the MBP 16" or even the motherboard design. While it shouldn't have been released like this, headphones and a 3rd party interface work around the problem. Hopefully Apple will admit fault and address the issue.