Static Crackling Audio with USB microphones on MBP mid-2015 Catalina

[lorenzfv]

This is making me crazy.

I have tried using my Razer Seiren Elite external USB microphone as well as my spare generic USB external microphone, both of them are producing an annoying crackling robotic sound when recording audio. I used Quicktime, Voice Memo, Audacity, the issue persists regardless of the program. I have also tried playing around with the settings in the Audio MIDI setup but the issue still persists. Oddly enough, I can record audio through the internal microphone or through wired earphones that have microphone, so it's enough to deduce that the issue is isolated to USB powered mics.

I'm on OS 10.15.2 - Macbook Pro 15 inch mid-2015

Any thoughts?

 

[jerryk]

Is the problem new with Catalina?

 

[lorenzfv]

I honestly cannot tell. I recently bought an MBP mid-2015. I was using a mid-2012 with Mojave and did not encounter the issue with that configuration. I'm just checking if anybody else is experiencing this.

 

[jerryk]

See this old thread. A powered USB hub may help.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2055884

 

[DJM76]

Did you ever find a solution? I'm setting up a new USB mic to my 2018 MBP and having the same issue. Records fine for a minute or so, and then randomly starts getting static. This is not static recorded from the mic, but some sort of issue with the USB connection. I've tried all my USB ports, including a powered hub, and it makes no difference. The Mic works perfectly on my Windows box, so its something on my Mac. Driving me crazy!

 

[petermllrr]

Just wanted to bump this up – I am having the exact same issue DJM76 has.

Whenever I use my USB Yeti X mic and record audio using Apple's Voice Memos app, after a minute or so the audio starts crackling.

This problem only appears in Apple's Voice Memos app though. Recording in Adobe Audition, Audacity, OBS or a non-macOS app works nicely.

Using a powered USB hub does not help. Since this problem is only happening with a certain app, I guess it's partially software related.

 

[petermllrr]

I solved it by using the Audio MIDI Setup utility app and setting the format to 44.100 Hz for my USB microphone.

 

[Creede]

I'm having pretty much the same problem. Mid-2015 MBP, Catalina (latest update as of about two days ago), Razor Seiren X USB microphone connected through a powered hub, with a pair of nondescript headphones connected through the mic. With the mic connected and the phones on I can hear both random static scratches and a constant low-frequency "fluttering" sound. It's pretty pronounced when I have the headphones on, and if I run a video I created in Phone Booth through Quicktime Player the noise in the headphones is bad enough to make the video unlistenable. Interestingly enough though when I play through an external speaker connected through the audio jack, the flutter is still there but much fainter and I can't hear the static at all.

I tried connecting the earbuds I use with my phone and the noises are worse, so it's not a problem with the headphones.

I used a different powered hub, same problem.

I wanted to try a shorter microphone cable than the one it shipped with, but I tried several and apparently the socket for the USB micro connection is shorter than usual. I can't get the cords plugged in far enough to make a connection. So I'm stuck with the cable Razor sent me.

I tried messing with the settings in Audio MIDI setup. No luck there either.

I restarted the MBP. The noise persisted until just before the Apple logo, at which point it stopped, but it started up during the reboot process, probably about the time the USB subsystem was initialized and the power came on. A couple of seconds later the fluttering and static got louder, probably as something else was initialized.

I switch to the external speaker and I can still hear the noise through the headphones even though the microphone is no longer the sound source.

I don't know what to do next, if anything. I'm working on a presentation quality video and I'd like to get rid of the noise. I wonder if some kind of high-pass filter to cut out sounds below 50 hz or so would help (though I have no idea whether such a thing exists for a USB mic).

Cheers.

 

[dojorno]

I'm having pretty much the same problem. Mid-2015 MBP, Catalina (latest update as of about two days ago), Razor Seiren X USB microphone connected through a powered hub, with a pair of nondescript headphones connected through the mic. With the mic connected and the phones on I can hear both random static scratches and a constant low-frequency "fluttering" sound. It's pretty pronounced when I have the headphones on, and if I run a video I created in Phone Booth through Quicktime Player the noise in the headphones is bad enough to make the video unlistenable. Interestingly enough though when I play through an external speaker connected through the audio jack, the flutter is still there but much fainter and I can't hear the static at all.

I tried connecting the earbuds I use with my phone and the noises are worse, so it's not a problem with the headphones.

I used a different powered hub, same problem.

I wanted to try a shorter microphone cable than the one it shipped with, but I tried several and apparently the socket for the USB micro connection is shorter than usual. I can't get the cords plugged in far enough to make a connection. So I'm stuck with the cable Razor sent me.

I tried messing with the settings in Audio MIDI setup. No luck there either.

I restarted the MBP. The noise persisted until just before the Apple logo, at which point it stopped, but it started up during the reboot process, probably about the time the USB subsystem was initialized and the power came on. A couple of seconds later the fluttering and static got louder, probably as something else was initialized.

I switch to the external speaker and I can still hear the noise through the headphones even though the microphone is no longer the sound source.

I don't know what to do next, if anything. I'm working on a presentation quality video and I'd like to get rid of the noise. I wonder if some kind of high-pass filter to cut out sounds below 50 hz or so would help (though I have no idea whether such a thing exists for a USB mic).

Cheers.

OK this **** is 100% ****aroni because I have a Yeti Nano, MacOS Catalina, MBP 2015 retina, and THE **** JUST DON'T WORK IN VOICE MEMOS. Crackling all over the place at random times, but windows works perfectly

SOLUTION (temporary) I forced 44.1khz and used Logic Pro X in 44.1khz environment. ONLY THING THAT WORKS SO FAR. Apple ****ed something up on Catalina.

I am gonna do a test environment rollback and let yall know if that's helpin.

peace