Distorted speaker on brand new M1 MAX and not sure how to go about getting it fixed.

I’ve also developed same problem on my 2 month old 16 inch m1pro Macbook pro; the left speaker is buzzing and vibrating particularly with bass in all applications. Just suddenly. It’s only with the macbook speakers and not headphones wired or bluetooth. Spent several hours chatting with apple support and it wasn’t fixed with trying safe mode or anything else and diagnostics were normal so it’s being sent for repair. Seems like a hardware issue; very frustrating and disturbing considering these are state of the art devices. Will update after repair.

Tried this, it didnt work for my case, tried reset, resetting PRAM etc. It was a hardware fault.

Do Mac OS latest update and it should fix itself.

Hello eltondeluxe,

We definitely want you to be able to enjoy your new Mac and have the speakers working properly. We'd love to help. Let's complete the steps listed here: If the internal speakers on your Mac aren't working to try to resolve the issue. 

Take care

Having the same issue, bass distortion as if there's an obstruction or blown bass driver on the left side only, this with very little use of the speakers. Please let us know how your issue was resolved. Dreading having this replaced and downtime.

PS The sample rate suggestion didn't work, obviously a strange idea as audio should be distortion free at any sample rate.

I know the "fart" version of the noise as well, and have experienced that. The video I posted was what the fart noise eventually morphed into.

On my second system it was buzzing for a while, then I pinched the case around the speaker and got it to (mostly) stop. Eventually I will have to have it repaired (my first system with the issue which Apple called a "ribbon cable" replacement--perhaps that was the part that sort of busted loose).

Best of luck getting it resolved.

I have already replaced my new mac because of this issue and now just over 24 hours after having the replacement, the new one is doing the exactly the same thing on the exactly same side. As it is still within 14 days I will ask for another replacement as I can't go without it for a week (or longer) for them to fix it.

This is a serious issue Apple!

The Output in the Audio Midi Setup App is already formatted to 48,000 Hz so this clearly isn't the issue.

This is so annoying!

So would been nice to wait for the software update...that said, I took mine into Apple, they sent it off, said it was speaker. When I got it back. the slip said my service was a "complete cleaning" no mention of any repair work or replacement. None the less...it seems to be ok now. We shall see.

Rueckkoppler wrote:

1. I don't know what software update some of you are talking about. I have macOS Monterey 12.2.1., which was released on February 10th and I still had these pop/crackle sound showing up during music playback.

However after I received my MacBook back from repair at the premium seller (and still had these issues), I gave it to an Apple Store. They sent it back after roughly a week and when I got it and read the sheet that was included, I was disappointed at first. It wrote something along the lines that "our technicians conducted extensive tests and couldn't reproduce the issues I reported. My device succeeded all of our diagnosis and extended tests".

So according to Apple, they did not repair anything on my MacBook. But I noticed two things:

My MacBook has apparently been restored to factory settings (probably a common thing to happen)

2. The issue disappeared or at least didn't show up so far

I'm certainly happy about this, but I still wonder. Did they swap my MacBook with another one? Did the repair it but didn't admit it (so that they don't admit possible issues with production)? And finally: What fixed it?

I had some slight playback issues with my audio interface (Focusrite's Scarlett 4i4) and solved these with deleting my audio settings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akP-IlX_Phk. I'll keep you posted on this, whenever I get these speaker issues again.

Update on my issue: The problem is back. Listened to a YouTube video, when multiple (sigh) of these short distorted fart-sounds came out of the speaker.

We really have to make this issue known. Otherwise Apple will keep shrugging it off and we'll be stuck with our overly expensive and defective machines till our warranty expires and we have to shell out another few thousands for an updated, flawless model.

I've a MacBook Pro 16" with M1 Pro chip and got the same problem by watching the show "Dickinson" in the TV app. The problem occurred only during bass heavy scenes. I found an easy solution for this problem:

1) Open the app "Audio MIDI Setup"

2) Select the "MacBook Pro-Speakers"

3) Go to "Output"

4) Select "48.000 Hz" instead of "44.100 Hz"

I hope this simple solution helps some of you too.

Dude! I really wanted this "simple" solution to work...But no. Didn't. Still annoyingly distorted. I thought for a moment, it may have helped a bit, and will continue to check...but, no. Still making some stupid buzzing sound. But like others have said...certain frequencies. And for me only the left side. Dang!!

I’d also like to refer to this thread on MacRumors: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-16-speakers-popping.2321514/

There’s some more insight on these issues with people trying hard to find the cause.

The latest OS upgrade should fix this problem.

Was there any resolution on this? I am outside the 14 day window, and just noticed pretty bad distortion on my right speaker, which comes and goes. Sometimes it is VERY bad. The above troubleshooting link was not helpful. Any fixes or advice from Apple? The speakers work fine except for specific frequencies - some bass and non-bass frequencies create the distortion and buzz. This is on a brand new M1 Max, received mid November 2021.

I noticed the same issue on my new 16" MacBook Pro M1 Pro. I was watching a YouTube video where the "buzzing" on the left speaker was intolerable. I figured it was just this particular YouTube video, but just now I was playing a video my staff generated -- one that I know has no distortion. The buzzing was mild and intermittent, but still there! I guess I need to call AppleCare.