Audio Problem with 2012 MacBook Air and Thunderbolt Display

Same issue her (sound distortion over time, NOT background noise) with TBD update 1.2, MB Pro 2013, Yosemite 10.10.1

Sometimes distortion starts even after 5 min, can be returned to clear sound by simply stopping the player for 2-3 sec. Sometimes it's going away after a reboot. No pattern yet recognized.

Same distortion issue. Using MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013) with Thunderbolt Display with latest version 1.2.

I can fix it by switching over to the Internal Audio on the Air then back to the Thunderbolt. It will work for a few minutes then start slowly getting worse again. I called Apple and they suggested I swap it for a new one. I swapped it and the new one has the same problem. Would love a solution other than swapping audio every few minutes.

Both my colleague and me, who are running 13" MPBs with retina attached to 27" TB displays running Yosemite 10.10.3, have experienced this recently with video conferencing. Once with Skype and once with GoToMeeting. After about 15 minutes, the audio suddenly becomes terrible - all crackling and distorted. The only way to solve it is to unplug the MPBs from the TB and carry on. Frustrating.

Same distortion issue. Using MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite Version 10.10.2(14C1514) with 27" Thunderbolt Display with latest version 1.2.

I have used this set-up for a few months with no issues, now all of a sudden I'm experiencing the issue explained at length here. It looks like this issue has persisted for a while now. .. no fix?

When the distortion occurs, if I momentarily switch to a different sound output device, then back to the display audio, the distortion no longer exists . . . that is until it happens again real soon.

Example > I'm listening to iTunes music through the display audio and also have a Beats Pill connected via bluetooth, so when the display audio starts getting weird I switch to the Pill, I can then switch right back to display audio and it sounds great with no distortion but it will only be one to three minutes before the distorted sound occurs again through the TB display audio. I can just leave it on the (+/- $100) Pill, but the sound is a bit better on the (+/- $1,000) inconsistent audio Thunderbolt Display.

Because the audio can go from good to bad and back to good very quickly - it seems this isn't a TB audio speaker-specific issue (meaning it doesn't seem like replacing the TB display would solve the problem).

I completely agree with your assessment. When I switch audio devices from TB display (which shows up as Display Audio - USB in Sound Preferences) to the Internal Speakers - Built-in, audio playback is not distorted. I can then switch back and have a few minutes of undistorted playback on the TB display most of the time (not all the time). Of note, it seems like if there is a secondary sound emitted from another application, the distortion kicks off and grows from that point forward - maybe coincidence. For example, if I receive an iMessage, the sound begins to distort mildly and continuously degrade. Same with an email alert.

I experience distortion across a wide variety of software, including iTunes, Hangouts, Skype, Citrix, GoToMeeting, VirtualBox...I think the software applications have nothing to do with the problem. I wholly believe this to be a software related issue and perhaps something to do with the digital transfer over TB to the monitor. It would be great to get Apple to investigate this further as there is substantial discussion about this as noted by this thread alone.

Something else to note, prior to release 10.10.4 Public Beta on Apr 27, I would say that I was having a pretty good run at NOT getting the distortion at all...that would be between the releases of 10.10.3 Final release early Apr to the 10.10.4 release. Once the Apr 27 Beta was released, I'm getting it more than ever.

I have recorded a screen capture, it's not great, but you can definitely hear the problem start at about 1:12. At 2:20 I switch to the built-in speakers and the sound is tinny Macbook Pro undistorted gloriousness. When I switch back to the Display Audio, it sounds great too...until it doesn't again.

You can see it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ozx4i1ewvn7mfwy/Sound%20Distortion%20Example.mov?dl=0

I have a MBP Retina Late 2013 model and the Thunderbolt Display. For the kind of money we pay, this type of issue is unacceptable.

I have a retina Mac Book Pro, same issue.

Same issue - surprised to see that it has been around for so long. Excellent sound most of the time, but sometimes it just spontaneously gets all distorted - actually, today it seems to be worse than usual. Switching sound to my Macbook Air speakers and then back to the display helps, a least for a while.

My 2012 Macbook Air is working in clamshell mode and linked to the display with the magsafe adaptor.

Same issue with a mid 2015 mbp and 10.11.1. I have never had it happen on the headphones port, only the TB display