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Loud burst of noise between songs while listening to Apple Music on MacBook Pro

Please help! There is an awful loud static pop sound between songs when playing Apple Music on my MacBook Pro 2016. It happens roughly every 1 out of 4 songs. It is deafening. I am using a wired headset.


It only happens when using headphones or listening through the speaker. When I use AirPods there is no popping sound.

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Aug 31, 2021 3:40 PM

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Posted on Sep 10, 2021 2:32 AM

This worked for me! I don’t know why or how, but it worked. I just toggled the Sound Enhancer off and I haven’t heard the pop again. Fingers crossed it stays that way..


Thank you so much for posting this! I’m so happy I can listen to music on my Mac now.

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9 replies

Sep 1, 2021 9:47 AM in response to Username_42

Hey there Username_42,


Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you're hearing a loud sound periodically when playing Apple Music. We're happy to provide some assistance.


Since this does not occur when using your AirPods, let's try the steps outlined here:


If you can’t hear sound from your Mac speakers


If the issue persists, see if this occurs in safe mode to help isolate the issue:


Start up your Mac in safe mode


If the issue continues after that, do you notice if this occurs with specific songs? Try removing those songs and re-downloading them.


We hope this helps.


Have a great day!

Sep 17, 2021 9:10 AM in response to Username_42

This worked for me too! So refreshing not to be startled out of my seat between songs! JEESH.


to add a bit of detail for others:

  • I only experienced the "POP" when playing through my CalDigit hub > with External Speakers.
  • I did not experience it on AirPods, Macbook Pro Speakers, or when I plugged the external speakers directly into the Macbook Pro headphone jack (External Headphones).


Unchecking Sound Enhancer did the trick!


Thanks Username_42!

Oct 24, 2021 9:38 PM in response to Username_42

Does Apple have any kind of resolution or comment on this? I'd like to be able to listen to tracks at high quality without having the loud pop. Getting pretty annoying playing Russian roulette with my ears while listening to music.


Also, I've tried the above workarounds as well as connected with tech support to do troubleshooting and it's still happening. This typically only occurs when manually switching between songs or playing music after Apple Music has been off/idle for some time. I'm only experiencing the problem only on my 2021 iMac using the internal speakers - has been happening since I purchased it.


If I don't get the loud pop, I get stuttering for the first few seconds of the song then it goes away and seems to not show up again until the next time I play music after a break.

Oct 27, 2021 12:49 AM in response to Username_42

I used to have this issue too. I solved it temporarily by turning the Sound Enhancer feature off. I wasn't happy about having to listen to my music as "non-enhanced," but that was better than the deafening beeps.


I upgraded to macOS Monterey yesterday, and I'm happy to share that now, even with the Sound Enhancer turned on while listening to songs streamed in Lossless format, my Music app makes no sound beeps or any weird "stuttering" noises at the beginning of any songs. At least in my experience, it seems like Monterey on my 2019 16" MacBook Pro fixed these issues.


Good luck, everyone!

Loud burst of noise between songs while listening to Apple Music on MacBook Pro

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