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15" 2016 MBP Speaker Crackling?

Same issue on another 15" MBP, late 2016. I just have experienced this right after setting up Windows: Instead of the system bell a painful loud and very brief popping sound was outputted, even though I have set volume to the lowest setting/muted. Sounded like the digital-to-analog conversion failed horribly.
This seems to be a Windows issue that when reading this thread could possibly damage speakers and/or the amplifiers :/ The issue was repeatable, but went away after rebooting...
 
Does anyone know whether this happens on a 13"? Also, if I plug in a pair of earphones before I boot into Windows, does this issue occur?
 
deranged58 said:
Does anyone know whether this happens on a 13"? Also, if I plug in a pair of earphones before I boot into Windows, does this issue occur?
Click to expand...

On 13" it shouldn't happen and if you plug your earphones before starting windows the issue doesn't occur.

Sorry for my bad english :(
 
New BootCamp packages for 13" & 15" mbp are on Apple Software Catalog on Nov. 22nd.
So open BootCamp assistant and download new drivers.
I checked 15" one and it has a new Cirrus Logic sound driver. I assume this is a fix.
Mine is already blown. So I cannot test whether it'll fix or not.
 
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chromafile said:
New BootCamp packages for 13" & 15" mbp are on Apple Software Catalog on Nov. 22nd.
So open BootCamp assistant and download new drivers.
I checked 15" one and it has a new Cirrus Logic sound driver. I assume this is a fix.
Mine is already blown. So I cannot test whether it'll fix or not.
Click to expand...
Can someone assure that the problem is fixed now?
 
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chromafile said:
New BootCamp packages for 13" & 15" mbp are on Apple Software Catalog on Nov. 22nd.
So open BootCamp assistant and download new drivers.
I checked 15" one and it has a new Cirrus Logic sound driver. I assume this is a fix.
Mine is already blown. So I cannot test whether it'll fix or not.
Click to expand...
Can you provide the link to download?
 
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Installed these new drivers. There is indeed a new Cirrus Logic sound driver dated 11/22/2016. Version 6.6001.3.36. I haven't done any testing to see if it fixes the issue. I only experienced the crackling very briefly once before and I was lucky enough not to blow my speakers. Don't really want to be the guinea pig on this!
 
For you folks that have had problems, did you have anything plugged into your MacBooks (other than the stock power adapter) when the speaker blew?
 
I will be the guinea pig. Installed the new Boot Camp driver. Gonna play some Overwatch without headphones now.

Update:
So far so good. Tried Overwatch and played some YouTube videos. No buzzing sound, no pops.
However the speaker volume inside Windows is very low. Maybe that's to protect the speakers?
Switched back to Mac, volume is back to normal, no cracking. Great.

Make sure you have audio driver from 11/22 installed.
 
Last edited:
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powerocool said:
I will be the guinea pig. Installed the new Boot Camp driver. Gonna play some Overwatch without headphones now.

Update:
So far so good. Tried Overwatch and played some YouTube videos. No buzzing sound, no pops.
However the speaker volume inside Windows is very low. Maybe that's to protect the speakers?
Switched back to Mac, volume is back to normal, no cracking. Great.

Make sure you have audio driver from 11/22 installed.
Click to expand...

You sir.... are a saint! Keep us posted! By chance are you playing with an xbox controller plugged in and if not, would you be willing to try?
 
Brennan.14 said:
You sir.... are a saint! Keep us posted! By chance are you playing with an xbox controller plugged in and if not, would you be willing to try?
Click to expand...

I don't have an Xbox controller to test. I tried it with and without Apple USB-C AV adapter connected to external monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Speaker volume is not "very low", it's just slightly lower in Windows vs in Mac.
 
What is the purpose of the downloads people are talking about? I think I get the occasional crackle on the speaker, but had that on the non touchbar model and now touchbar model.
 
Apple is now producing faulty products... Every now and then, I see that a new thread been created on forums related to Mac or iOS complaining and cursing about Apple's products (mostly MPBs). I can't figure out what's wrong with Apple or seems like the last quarter of 2016 is a bad luck for Apple.
 
Jker said:
What is the purpose of the downloads people are talking about? I think I get the occasional crackle on the speaker, but had that on the non touchbar model and now touchbar model.
Click to expand...
It's not an occasional crackle. You get a few super loud pops (electrical shock sounding) and then that damages the speakers, mainly the high end tweeters. From then out you get a crackle consistently and then it shuts the tweeters off and you only receive low end frequencies. The hardware is permanently damaged. Far worse than a crackle from playing your music loud. The downloads everyone is referring to is and updated audio driver from apple that should have been there to start with for bootcamp partitions. The outdated drivers is what was causing this issue. Unfortunate oversight, but that's the way she goes. Apple will replace your product for sure, you just might have to wait if they don't have your configuration in store which I lucked out on. Hope that clarifies things!
 
Brennan.14 said:
It's not an occasional crackle. You get a few super loud pops (electrical shock sounding) and then that damages the speakers, mainly the high end tweeters. From then out you get a crackle consistently and then it shuts the tweeters off and you only receive low end frequencies. The hardware is permanently damaged. Far worse than a crackle from playing your music loud. The downloads everyone is referring to is and updated audio driver from apple that should have been there to start with for bootcamp partitions. The outdated drivers is what was causing this issue. Unfortunate oversight, but that's the way she goes. Apple will replace your product for sure, you just might have to wait if they don't have your configuration in store which I lucked out on. Hope that clarifies things!
Click to expand...

Thanks bud, I installed the driver but everything is okay tbh :) Again, just the occasional flicker / crackle, nothing too noticeable. When I watch videos sometimes however, I get the occasional flicker too, i.e. a sudden black screen flicker that lasts literally .5 seconds maybe, anyone else?
 
I called Apple and they told me I can pick up a replacement in my local Apple Store within a couple of days, they put me on a priority list because I Need it for my daily work so I won't have to wait until 30th of December for the replacement.

They'll send me a new one and I can drop off the my current one at the Apple Store after I set up the new one.

Of Course it shouldn't have happened in the first place but still I'm happy with the solution. Class act how Apple handled the failure in my case. If there is an issue with the Quality, they replace the device no questions asked. One of the reasons why I like the products so much.
 
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my gut tells me apple used an existing audio chipset and modified the physical hardware to increase sound quality. in doing so Apple is modifying the driver to compensate for the change.

however their modified driver for Windows (to compensate for the physical hardware changes) which installs with bootcamp gets overwritten by MS when Windows updated, which is where the problem is coming from.

my concern is this - how is Apple going to keep Windows from updating that driver in the future? if Windows thinks its a normal Cirrus Logic chipset, and it has a driver version number higher than Apples driver, it will replace it.

do we know which Cirrus Logic chipset it is?
[doublepost=1480107072][/doublepost]btw is this happening to any 13" models?
 
I think this could be a much more widespread issue, my 2015 MBP made these sounds when I installed bootcamp a few months ago.

Ever since when I listened to anything with vocals such at podcasts the right speaker sounds blown. It vibrates, rattle blown speaker sound.
 
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Add me to the list of speaker issues...

Left speaker has diminished high frequency volume. No popping or crackling...

Installed bootcamp/Win10 while setting up the computer, so I don't know if it ever worked. Removed bootcamp/Win10 so as not to cause any further issues as a precaution.

Contacted Apple Support and went thru the usual stuff, not resolved.

Has anyone reinstalled OS X, to see if that's a fix? I feel that my speaker may be blown, but don't know if it's hardware/firmware/software, etc...

Thanks...
 
Can someone please test Skyrim on the tMBP 15"? Whenever I use it, most sounds&music wont play when using either headphones or speakers. This happens on both the old and the new drivers for the CS8409...
(I tested it on both Skyrim Classic and Skyrim Enhanced Version - both no luck. Fallout 4 and all other games work great though)


I know its slightly offtopic, but I really dont know where to turn anymore.
 
Tmargo101 said:
I did install Windows 10 under bootcamp, but there was no "popping" on my end. Just started happening today. Issue persists on both MacOS and Windows.

EDIT: The issue is only occurring on the right speaker, not the left. I have noticed no loss of volume.
Click to expand...

Anything plugged into the USB-C ports ?
 
Installed Bootcamp and windows 10 (With new speaker driver released on 22-Nov) on 26-Nov and tested two days on windows.

No issue after playing Overwatch 4-5 hours each on 26-Nov & 27-Nov with volume 80 out of 100, sound quality same as before in OS X.

but found Wifi connection seems not stable (When using Windows 10), tried 3-4 times disconnect when i playing Overwatch on 26-Nov. I restart my airport extreme when i wake up on 27-Nov and got some improvement, no disconnect anymore, but sometime have a little bit lag (around 1-2 sec lag and not frequently, may be 1-2 times in 4-5 hours).

Anyone got same situation about Wifi connection?

Thank you.

Spec:
15 MPB with TB (2.6ghz, 460 pro)
 
Last edited:
Kars said:
Installed Bootcamp and windows 10 (With new speaker driver released on 22-Nov) on 26-Nov and tested two days on windows.

No issue after playing Overwatch 4-5 hours each on 26-Nov & 27-Nov with volume 80 out of 100, sound quality same as before in OS X.

but found Wifi connection seems not stable (When using Windows 10), tried 3-4 times disconnect when i playing Overwatch on 26-Nov. I restart my airport extreme when i wake up on 27-Nov and got some improvement, no disconnect anymore, but sometime have a little bit lag (around 1-2 sec lag and not frequently, may be 1-2 times in 4-5 hours).

Anyone got same situation about Wifi connection?

Thank you.

Spec:
15 MPB with TB (2.6ghz, 460 pro)
Click to expand...

I had run into a slight wifi issue, but a restart solved the problem. I am sorry I can't help with that! My question is... were you using a xbox controller while playing overwatch? If so, was it with a usb dongle?
[doublepost=1480325352][/doublepost]
woo said:
Add me to the list of speaker issues...

Left speaker has diminished high frequency volume. No popping or crackling...

Installed bootcamp/Win10 while setting up the computer, so I don't know if it ever worked. Removed bootcamp/Win10 so as not to cause any further issues as a precaution.

Contacted Apple Support and went thru the usual stuff, not resolved.

Has anyone reinstalled OS X, to see if that's a fix? I feel that my speaker may be blown, but don't know if it's hardware/firmware/software, etc...

Thanks...
Click to expand...

Did you install boot camp prior to 11/22/2016?
 
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