Mac Mini popping/crackling when connected to stereo

[jbischke]

I am using a Mac Mini with my home theatre set-up and when the Mac Mini is connected to my stereo using a 3.5mm Stereo Plug/2 RCA Plug Cable I get constant crackling and popping from the speakers. I've tried a new cable (didn't help) and tried plugging the Mac Mini in to a different outlet (didn't help either).

Are there any other things I can do here that might help? The cable connection at the back of the Mac Mini feels a bit loose but it seems like that's the way it's supposed to be rather than any sort of hardware issue.

 

[indg]

if it's not a hardware or cable issue, check the Audio MIDI Setup under /Applications/Utilities

play around with the audio output format (48khz or 44.1khz) and the 16/20/24-bit.

if the crackling is heard while using a webcam, then do the same for the input source.

 

[jbischke]

Thanks indg. I guess my question is how to diagnose whether it indeed is a hardware or cable issue. Since I've replaced the cable with a new one and the problem persisted I don't think it's a cable thing. However, it's possible there's a connection issue on the back because when I jiggle the cable it definitely creates a lot of static/crackling. However, my iPhone/iPod does the same thing when I have it plugged into my car stereo so I'm not sure that's an indication that something is necessarily wrong.