POPPING SOUND sometimes from Macbook speakers

Gents,

have you ever noticed, sometimes, a kind of popping noise coming from macbook speakers (I have the alu one) when you are launching a program that will require the use of speakers? (never happened in itunes, it occurred only when launching quick time videos or some videos / music from the web...)
As said before, it is not always occurring but it happens only sometimes. Is it maybe linked to the osx putting speakers in standby when not needeed for a while (it happens also with electrical supply) ? I read something on the net about a drawback for this behavior inside leopard, but is it really the case?

Moreover, this 'popping noise' intensity is constant whatever the preset volume of the speakers is, and, up to now, I have never heard it with the speakers set off.

Cheers

 

I have external speakers hooked up and I do experience this as well. Every now again I'll get a popping noise from the speakers. Annoying!

 

Might you check sometime, if you do not mind, without the external speakers?
Thanks

 

I really don't get any popping at all. I guess I got a lucky machine! So it's popping with the volume low and high?

 

I got the popping sound on my NON unibody macbook pro too as well, but this one is caused by wiring in my apartment. When someone flick a switch to turn on a fan in the washroom, the speaker will pop. Only happen when it's connected to external speaker, never on the computer alone.

It might be worthwhile to check it to see if there is any grounding problem in your house.

 

Yes..but it is random indeed; I do not know whether it is linked to the OSX setting the speakers in stby but it is not systematic...strange. Check it out at first occasion anyway and let me know as far as applicble please
Cheers

 

It might just be something electronic that is interfering with the sound, making it pop like that. It's happened with my external speakers, only because the sound cable end was touching something metal, which was messing it all up. Make sure nothing metal is around the sound cable. Nothing has happened with my Macbook, so it's all fine here.

 

oh... so you only care if guys have seen it... ok...

but anyways.. i have heard it once or twice.. but not anything I can reproduce.

come to think of it, I've only heard it with a USB headset, and once through external speakers in the normal line out... never in the built in speakers i remember.

 

It's only when the metal part on the sound cable touches another piece of metal, does it start to pop for me. That's the only way I cound re-produce it.

 

This is not random. I have it with my old Macbook Pro and the new unibody one.

OS X turns the sound card drivers (I'm guessing for power management reasons) off when you're not using anything that emits sound.

So say you're typing a document in Word or whatever and you're not listening to any music or anything. When opening the Finder (for example) and browsing to a folder which has some media (be it audio or video) which can be opened with Quick Look, the system turns ON the audio feature, resulting in a short POP.

This is to anticipate your move whether you wish to Quick Look the file or not, audio should be supported.

The pop also occurs when inserting headphones, since the transition (silencing the speakers and routing the signal through the jack) is made by software, and there's also a short delay.

There's no fix to this as far as I know, it's just how OS X deals with audio.

 

Oh wow. Has it been annoying for you guys? Is it a problem?

 

It can be annoying for some people, but it doesn't pose a problem for me. It's just a small flaw with OS X that will hopefully be worked out in SL.

 

I cant believe they still didnt resolve the popping issue. I had this issue on a previous gen white macbook.

 

So what exactly happens? If you listen to music then stop...you hear a pop? This seems annoying...

Does it happen to All macbook owners or just a couple? Like i hope it isnt a widespread problem...

 

It has only happened to me 2 times, and that was a couple months ago. I can't really remember the process on which it happens, and I know it's a widespread problem, but it doesn't happen every time though.

 

Hmm a widespread problem eh? Darn, I am on the verge of getting one but that popping noise may stop me..

 

have you read this thread?

 

No it is not: it is just a remark I did and I decided to post the thread just to be sure that it was not an isolated problem on my macbook: it is not recurrent as this happens, and I agree with cdnaisi, when the MB has the time to set the sound card in stby.

Indeed, this is exactly what happens to me and this is what I was thinking about: it is not annoying but it might have been avoided by, maybe, calibrating the current sent to the card / speakers when waking them up...
Thanks