Loud screeching and popping sound when streaming lossless songs in Big Sur on iMac

I just had the issue now and it almost blew out my new expensive headphones, wont be using apple music till its fixed. It happens at the same point in each song when replayed, extremely loud and uncomfortable, sounds like loud tv static, my phone is updated to latest ios.

Hello Tkhubb,

We would like to see how we can help you with your iMac. Which macOS version are you currently running? If you reset the NVRAM with the steps in this link, does the issue return: Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac

Cheers!

I’m experiencing the very same issue on iOS.

It is very startling but also a health hazard that may lead to damage not only to very expensive Audio components but also hearing.

• Happens over Bluetooth with my AirPods Pro
• Happens over AirPlay with my Mac’s Hi-Fi Setup
• Happens over IDAM (Inter-device Audio and MIDI Mode)
• Doesn't seem to happen over the iPhone speakers.

Apple Music in Lossless over IDAM sounds so great btw!

Also the Apple Music app for Android doesn’t seem to have Soundcheck (Loudness Normalization)

FEATURE REQUESTS (in case you’re reading this 👀)

• Support for higher sample rates over AirPlay and IDAM would be great!

• Automatic sample rate switching is ideal (fortunately apple’s SRC and resampling isn’t too bad)
• Soundcheck should have an option to always play songs at their respective album playback levels even when played from a playlist or station.

Yeah it’s still an issue for me. Anytime I stream any form of lossless audio, hi-res lossless or regular lossless I’m greeted with a loud screeching noise in my AirPods Max. It’s really unpleasant and is an issue with Apple Music. I’m using the latest iOS and hope to see some form of an update soon. It’s terrible and simply a health risk continuing to use it without a fix. Also to clarify, this issue CAN BE RESOLVED temporarily, simply turn off lossless audio in the settings and screeching or loud sounds shouldn’t reappear in your music. However, this does defeat the purpose since we cant use a feature Apple just released for its consumers.

Had that same thing on my iMac (BigSur 11.5). Tried suggested solutions like reset NVRAM or PRAM and no change. Still loud bang every time I started most of songs. Then I played around in Music preferences and switched Dolby Atmos to off. That solved (or at least bypassed) problem for time being and/or until problem is solved by Apple. Hope this helps someone.

Still experiencing this with 11.6 on a MacBook Air M1. Only happens with lossless tracks. Only solution is to turn off Lossless Audio.

Apple support is stumped. Said they've referred it to "the engineers," but I think that's the standard line to get you off the line.

I had the same problem. But found the answer from another thread. it worked for me. So if any one is still searching for answer, follow this

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252057795

Thanks. This solved the issue for me too although there's still a subtle sound (like a needle in a vinyl record) when starting a new song.

This worked for me also. I see it as only a temporary fix. All of the available features should be functional or grayed out.

I hate that screeching sound. i was using with high sound on my headset. suddenly i heard that weird sound which shook me!

Thanks, Turning off Dolby solved it for me, its incredible that this is not fixed yet