Distortion on New MacBook Air Speakers

Left speaker on my 2017 13" Mac Book Air as well distorting only on spoken word podcasts--not on music--also not in earbuds. Could be hardware that is broken or not up to the task at certain frequencies (perhaps out-of-band non-linearities produced by the codecs or production techniques used) or it could be the Digital-to-Analog converter's inability to deal with certain types of signal but one would think that would present in both channels and in both sets of transducers. It really *****.

I'm having this problem too. Had my macbook for about a week. Turned my volume up to watch a movie trailer and noticed the distinct sharp tinny rattle from the left speaker. Tried adjusting the volume down but at treble spikes it seems to return matter of factly. Seriously considering taking it back, but I JUST got it all set up... apps downloaded etc.

😟

Happening to me too. I sent feedback to Apple in hope of a fix. It's also important to tell that this distortion is happening system-wise. It's not only iTunes.

Ok, just as an update. I took my macbook to the Apple store with the complaint above. Although, I did notice (for me) I only experience the sound issue with spoken word. Youtube videos, podcasts anytime someone was speaking and their voice spiked the left speaker rattled horribly. Music never cause the issue.

Apple replaced both speakers. The problem is still 100% apparent. So this leads me to believe it's not the speaker. I have a 2 year old macbook air and it does not have this problem. I don't think my older laptop has quite the volume the new air does. So that may be part of the reason. I'm starting to wonder if there is a loose part that is causing it to resonate or the speaker is not properly secured with foam or glue. I don't know.

This is definitely still an issue for me. I don't want to take my macbook air back again... because I don't know how they could or would resolve at this point. I hate to keep something that is defective or I'm not happy with though. Not sure what my next move is.

I don't think it's hardware issue. When it happened I checked Console for errors and there it was. A seven page list of audio kernel errors.

I'll post it here when it happens again.

Mine does the same.

Have you tried placing your hand over the left shift and caps lock key while playing? Does it go away? The problem lies in the keyboard rattling not the speakers.

Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaVHF3iv4Gw

Makes sense for me. Not sure if Apple is going to fix it as the problem seems to be also present in the old MBAs as well.

--Alex

Ok, I just tested this out. This is exactly what appears to be the problem. I placed my hands over the keyboard on that side of the macbook and it eliminated the vibrating rattle that i was experiencing. It's not a fix but just knowing that a) it's not just me (and I'm not certifiable) and b) the source, makes me feel loads better.

I do hope that Apple will source out a solution to this problem. My older macbook air, I can honestly state did not exhibit this issue. (I did a side by side comparison)

So, maybe it's just a percentage of air's produced that exhibit this issue? If we are a small margin, than we may be out of luck.

Thanks @agonza80 it's nice to know what the source of the sound is even if I can't immediately determine a fix.

@AlenRozac not sure if @Lauren C S issues is more like what you are describing, but mine is definitively a hardware vibration sound. Apple did a full diagnostic on my machine and did not return any audio kernel errors.

Sounds like this may be yet another issue with audio on the macbook air.

No problem. I noticed this about 2 hours ago and found this "fix" and saw your post. I was going to take it to apple store, but based on your experience it doesn't seem to fix the problem. Maybe I can see if putting it on different surfaces will help. I saw a review that praises the 2013 MBA speakers for not vibrating the chassis. But mine does vibrate.

Link to the review: http://www.digitalversus.com/laptop/apple-13-macbook-air-2013-p16560/test.html

Ok. So I tried the same thing/video with my Windows 8 Bootcamp. No issue.Works great! This may actually be a software issue. However, it generally sounds softer on Windows 8, so it may just be that it doesn't crank it as high as in OSX.

Started a thread on MacRumors to see how many people have the same issue: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1616594

Hopefully some responses....

Nope... It's not a buzzing sound coming from vibrations. It's a FULL ON distortion like a distortion pedal for a guitar. Very unfriendly for my ears. So.. it's not the keyboard vibrating.

Had this problem in two consecutive Macbook Air 2013, returned and replaced at the Apple Store. The problem is a crackling distortion from the external speakers on the left hand side, exactly the same with both laptops. Is it a software glitch, a problem with a batch of Macbook Air 2013s from China or just poor quality speakers? It is definitely no a problem with iTunes as it is a problem system wide, while using Spotify playback for example.