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MBP 2021: Crackling speakers at low volume?

Buzzin speaka said:
Same issue here, guys. Is it even worth replacing it at this point? Notice it a lot during voiceover videos on youtube that have some static noise in the background.

I have also found a way to replicate the buzzing: use the tone generator ( https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/ ), set the system volume to 1 bar. The frequency has to be set to 17-19hz for prominent results.

MBP 16 2021
Click to expand...
Exactly this, many thanks for the tone generator tip!

Anyone found a solution?
 
Try using the "Audio Midi Setup" tool and changing your speaker output format to 48,000 Hz. This seems to have done the trick for me. Others have had success changing it to 96,000 Hz. I would try and test until one of them works for you.
 
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@embotix - I only tested this for an hour now, without any crackles. I need to continue observing it, though.

It seems you are right. This sounds pretty much like digital distortion one quite often gets in a studio if rates aren't in sync. Looks like a software problem. At least I hope ?
 
MBP 16 Max here

Hmm, for me changing the Hz doesn't work. I can recreate the crackling when sending a message in telegram, where the sound will always be followed by crackling, UNLESS the messages are sent in quick succession (that already signifies a software problem).

I also created a new user on my MBP and started telegram over there: no issues with the sound at all. So it's likely this is a software issue, most likely connected to some app interacting in a bad way with the OS. Does anyone have tip to quick fix this issue, other than the MIDI setup which doesn't work?
 
I am also facing similar issues. When the speaker is projecting at 30HZ to 60Hz. I am seeing the cracking sound
 
I am developing a hypothesis as to what might be going on with this "crackling".

On Tuesday, I received a new 2021 16" MBP as a replacement for the 2021 16" MBP that I returned early January because of intermittent crackling/popping noises from speakers.

I am user of Davinci Resolve Studio (DRS). Yesterday when I was testing out the new MBP I began to get crackling/popping from the speakers when playing back a clip I recorded at 23.976 FPS. When I looked at the project settings, somehow the Playback Frame Rate and Video Frame Rate got changed to 29.97 FPS. Probably changed during set-up and Time Machine miscoded the playback frame rates.

When I changed the playback and video frame rates to the correct 23.976 FPS the crackling/popping stopped.

In any case, my hypothesis on this crackling/popping is that it is a MacOS software issue and somewhere along the line it gets confused on frame rates/sampling rates. When this occurs, the crackling/popping starts.

Next time I hear this, I am going to do the following:
  1. Confirm that Audio Midi Set-up has the sampling rate it correct: Video should be 48,000 Hz and podcasts at 44,100 Hz.
  2. Go into Activity Monitor and kill "coreaudiod" and see if MacOS can re-set itself.
Just some thoughts on what to test and see if this might be the issue.

Don
 
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