Apple Studio Display has "Choppy Audio" from the display speakers

The problem I had with sound from the Studio Display speakers was somewhat different:

I was looking at a video segment originally posted to Twitter. The sound cut out after a few seconds. I tried a couple of other sources of the same video: YouTube and The Guardian. The same thing happened.

Other YouTube videos played normally.

Today, I found another YouTube video with the exact same problem: a few seconds in, the sound cut out.

On all of these, using the speakers in the Mac Studio worked fine (though those speakers are pretty paltry)

I found this suggestion on another Apple Community Thread (where the user reported that Apple was aware of the issue) and here.

So I shut down my Mac Studio, switched off the power strip (functionally the same as unplugging the Studio Display), waited about 10 minutes, switched the power strip back on and restarted the Mac Studio.

Both videos which were cutting out now work as expected.

I will send my results to Apple Feedback.

So, thanks for the tip.

Display Firmware Version: Version 15.5 (Build 19F77)

Guess I should have read the rest of this thread before posting! Yes, turning the monitor off at the mains, waiting, and then turning back on has resolved the issue. Still a concern that these problems are happening in the first place. I assume it will happen again in a few months...

Hi mcpete,

I, like some some others have had the choppy speaker problem.After following tomac14s advice to unplug the display for a while, it appears to have solved it. I have noted that I am on Monterey 12.31, but I can't find a way to ascertain my firmware status.Any advice on how to check this would be appreciated.

I am on Display Firmware Version: Version 15.5 (Build 19F77) and can confirm the problem is still happening. This morning started to play a video, got about 5 seconds into the audio and it stopped. Tried playing song from iTunes, same thing - 5 seconds then stopped. Unplugged the monitor for 5 mins, and it cleared the problem.

I had the problem for the first time this morning and have the latest Studio Display firmware version 15.5 (Build 19F77). After powering down the Mac Studio and Studio Display for 30 seconds the problem was still present. Only after powering off the Studio display for 5 minutes did the problem finally clear. Hopefully the problem is not going to occur again - will report back if it does as this is an unusual workaround.

Same issue here. Experienced it first soon after purchasing the display and connecting to the Mac Studio. I updated the firmware that was made available at the time and that seemed to resolve the issue. Until today (July 20, 2022). The audio began cutting out again. I unplugged the power, waited about 20-30 seconds and reconnected the power. The monitor rebooted (3 dots appeared) and then connected. The audio was back to normal. So far so good, but I do believe this requires some sort of further investigation by apple and a possible firmware update or as someone else suggested, the ability to reboot the monitor through the Mac OS.

I'm experiencing similar problems. I have a Mac Studio with two Mac Studio Displays. All of a sudden, the sound started cutting out on the monitors after a few seconds if I played a song in Music or played audio. If I chose the other display in the sound settings, it would play, and then it would cut out after a few seconds. Switch back, audio for a bit, then out. If I choose the audio in the Mac Studio itself, it plays fine (but that audio sucks).

I tried the unplug for an hour approach. One of the two monitors still has the problem. The other does not any more. When I restarted them (and the computer) the one that has audio now playing right, I saw three dots going through a routine when it restarted. The other monitor didn't do that and it's not playing right. I will try unplugging that one again to see if I can get it to be at least temporarily resolved.

I believe this started (for me) when I downloaded the lastest release of MacOS (12.5). There was no update to the monitor firmware and I'm on version 15.5 Build 19F77 like others.

I had exactly the same problem as many others. Choppy and intermittent sound soon after buying the new studio display. Followed the advice here and downloaded first the new mac os update and then the update for the display, which sorted the problem. However today the problem is back. This time sound plays for a few seconds, there are a couple of clicks, and it goes. If I switch to my macs speakers it is fine, then go back to the display, and again it plays fine for a few seconds before cutting out. This happens with any audio - YouTube videos, Spotify, iTunes, etc. This is really bad, considering the amount this monitor cost, and all the publicity about how good the sound is. No good having good sound if it only works half the time, and there doesn't seem to be any further software updates. Anyone any ideas? If this can't get resolved permanently, I will have to consider returning the monitor as not fit for purpose.

I did update to 19F80 and found no improvement. However, I've tried one more power cycle in desperation (unplug display altogether and re plug-in while my Mac studio was still on) and so far the problem seems to have gone. Tried to post this a few days ago, but it seems posting via my iPad logs me out every time and have only just had time to reply on a desktop.

Interestingly, I had an unsolicited automated call purporting to be an apple technician after I used the apple.com/feedback link to report the issue. Sounded like spam, so apologies if it wasn't when I hung up rather than clicking numbers as the message requested!

I guess for those still reporting issues like me after updating, try another power cycle. I'll post again if it recurs, but fingers crossed it's fixed now.

When it happened to me, unplugging for 15 seconds as per earlier posts didn't resolve it, but leaving unplugged for a couple of minutes fixed it. Hasn't (yet) happened again...

I had exactly this problem — plus the microphone was not working. Unplugging solved it for now. Thank you to those who came before...