Took me almost 2 weeks to find solutions but I found a video that essentially helped me resolve the crackling / distorting sound that was caused after the Monterey update.
This is the link to the video but just in case it might be taken down from apple site for copy right issue, I'll leave step by step down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=177&v=VNd2PgEfrRM&feature=emb_title
- In the search icon on the task bar, search for "midi" and should pop out with "Audio MiDi Setup"
- Select on the "Built-in Output
- On the right hand side, you'll see input option and output option. Press onto the output selection
- Under the "format", select highest frequency you have (eg. Mine was on 48,000 Hz and changed to the highest Hz which was 96,00Hz)
This solution worked on me. Not sure if will for everyone else but hopefully this solves some of yous users' frustrations.