My MacBook Pro 2018 version speakers are crackling.

Since you just got it replaced you could wait at least until the return period is almost over. I believe this to be a softaware problem and not a hardware one.

I’m currently in contact with one of Apple’s Help Desk operators. And they titled it “T2 tech: Audio is chuncky”! lol

So, it’s most likely, as everyone is guessing, related to the T2-chip.

I've found that I don't have to fully restart the app, just ctrl+tab or cmnd+tab (depending on OS) to leave the app and stop the sound for a second. I think it's an issue with continuous speaker usage so that pause fixes it (only temporarily ofc)

Edit: I've only noticed this problem while in Windows Bootcamp, macOS is perfect for me

I am also having this problem just today a little over 2 weeks from purchase. There are a lot of YouTube Videos starting to post what a cyclical crackle sounds like. Mine was when watching YouTube from Desktop For YouTube Application and then when playing from iTunes Apple Play.

I rebooted and now I cannot yet reproduce the crackle but I can return it and get my money back or keep it and hope its fixable in software or with Mac OS Mojave.

There have been lot of problems with the 2016 and 2017 models. Why go down that rabbit hole?

What to do?

Bende aynı problemi yaşıyorum ve bu soruna çözüm olabilecek bir deneme yaptım.
Sizlerde denerseniz işe ne kadar yarayıp yaramadığını görelim.

1- "Hey Siri!" dinleme özelliğini kapatın.
2- SMC Resetleyin.

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I have the same problem and have made an attempt to solve this problem. I can see how much it works for you.

1- "Hey Siri!" Turn off the listening feature.

2- Reset the SMC.

I get a different repetitive sound sometimes(half a second echo), like a microphone feedback crackling. But I had yours as well. If I stop the audio source(youtube) the echo repeats 3-4 times then stops. Restart solves the issue momentarily.

Have you found any permanent solution. Does a replacement unit solve the problem ? Mine started doing this the first day after using it.

That's the problem I have, netflix and youtube are gonna stop for a second or two, cut the audio then start again, with quicktime it's even worst, it's gonna stop the video completely, and keep cutting the audio for the next 2 seconds...

I have the same problem with my 15" MacBook Pro 2018.

Disabling Hey Siri does nothing for me.

It must be software, because when I reset Core Audio the problem goes away for some time before it comes back.

Really annoying. Apple should fix this or take back these models and put in a different sound card if it's a hardware issue.

Unacceptable for a €3000+ computer.

Same issue. You can fix it temporarily in terminal by issuing a sudo killall coreaudiod. The problem usually returns within 20 minutes to an hour for me. Extremely frustrating when working in Logic Pro.

I have a workaround that is much faster when you want to fix the audio temporarily.

Open Audio/Midi configuration, select the audio source you're using atm and set a different sample rate. It will clear the buffer in Core Audio, which basically has the same effect as restarting it. It's much faster and Logic doesn't have to think about it.

The problem sounds like a conflicting audio sample rate clocking issue. I noticed the problem started immediately after running one audio program at 44.1 and launching a second one that was running at 88.2

In other answers i've seen that users are selecting a different sample rate in the audio preferences and the problem stops possibly due to the audio clock is reset when you select a different rate. What is interesting is that for some users such as myself, the noise starts after 30 minutes of use. Possibly an audio extension running simultaneously at the same rate but drifting, which would explain why it takes a while for the noise (starting with clicks and pops which is a symptom of clock drift, then distortion) to become noticeable.

on my previous MacBook pro I also don't recall being able to use the speakers if anything was plugged in to the headphone jack. It seems that the running of multiple audio streams (possibly due the new T2 chip) is causing some issues since there might not be any prioritizing of sample rate..

just theories, but I'm looking for solutions too

Same problem, even though it’s the 2017 macbook (June 2017). I bought it in Japan and noticed the bad speakers a bit too late. My 1 year international warranty ended in July 2018 but I’m still hoping to find a solution here in Europe. Apple, Help us.

Definitely a little considered with my latest purchase. Already returned swapped for a MacBook Pro that had the crackling speaker. Got a new one that now had an uneven trackpad and a scratch out of the box. Worried about the quality of Apple products these days.

I’ve been having this issue too. Thought I was the only one until I just read an article linking to this thread.

At first I only experienced it using the internal speakers, and the only solution was to stop listening for a while, restart or switch to headphones. Then one day I was using Logic (previously I had only had the issue with iTunes and youtube, and Konstantin in stand-alone mode with headphones and started getting the same buzzing noise over the headphones. Each time the buzz occurred I got an error message for a sample rate conflict. I can’t remember exactly what I did, so this probably won’t be very useful, but I think I switched some sample rate settings around in the Audio Midi Settings utility, and it seemed to stop it.

Usually it would happen randomly after a few hours, but after that I didn’t experience it for two days of solid use with the internal speakers. Since then I have mostly been listening through an external interface which the problem never occurred through.

Yeah I think you’re right. When happened while using logic it gave me a sample rate conflict error. Felt like it was a hardware issue prior to that when I was just listening to iTunes etc. Changing some sample rate settings fixed it for me, for now at least.

Had the same problem. Already swapped the machine for a new one. Working on logic it happened again but with my headphones. (The past machine would happen with headphones on and as soon as I removed the headphones the issue transferred to the speakers. )