MPC LIVE 2 output crackling/popping almost sounds bitcrushed

Any audio coming out from my MPC Live 2 has some sort of a crackling/popping sound coming from it. Sometimes it subtle, most times it’s loud and obnoxious. At first I thought the speaker was blown on the MPC Live 2, but when I listened through headphones and turned off the internal speaker the same issue occurred. This sound goes in and out and started occurring after the most recent firmware update. Happens on any project I open, so I know it’s not a plug-in that I accidentally left on that’s causing it. Please Help

Blake wrote:Any audio coming out from my MPC Live 2 has some sort of a crackling/popping sound coming from it. Sometimes it subtle, most times it’s loud and obnoxious. At first I thought the speaker was blown on the MPC Live 2, but when I listened through headphones and turned off the internal speaker the same issue occurred. This sound goes in and out and started occurring after the most recent firmware update. Happens on any project I open, so I know it’s not a plug-in that I accidentally left on that’s causing it. Please Help

What firmware are you on? When you updated (last time), did you do a system Preferences reset afterwards? Are you using an external USB Audio Interface? Do you have anything connected to your MPC Live II via USB or MIDI or CV? Did you delete anything from the Factory Storage? Have you installed an SSD into the SATA cradle?

EnochLight wrote:

Blake wrote:Any audio coming out from my MPC Live 2 has some sort of a crackling/popping sound coming from it. Sometimes it subtle, most times it’s loud and obnoxious. At first I thought the speaker was blown on the MPC Live 2, but when I listened through headphones and turned off the internal speaker the same issue occurred. This sound goes in and out and started occurring after the most recent firmware update. Happens on any project I open, so I know it’s not a plug-in that I accidentally left on that’s causing it. Please Help

What firmware are you on? When you updated (last time), did you do a system Preferences reset afterwards? Are you using an external USB Audio Interface? Do you have anything connected to your MPC Live II via USB or MIDI or CV? Did you delete anything from the Factory Storage? Have you installed an SSD into the SATA cradle?

How is any of this acceptable after performing an update lmao. Shit should just work without having to reset anything.

EnochLight wrote:

Blake wrote:Any audio coming out from my MPC Live 2 has some sort of a crackling/popping sound coming from it. Sometimes it subtle, most times it’s loud and obnoxious. At first I thought the speaker was blown on the MPC Live 2, but when I listened through headphones and turned off the internal speaker the same issue occurred. This sound goes in and out and started occurring after the most recent firmware update. Happens on any project I open, so I know it’s not a plug-in that I accidentally left on that’s causing it. Please Help

What firmware are you on? When you updated (last time), did you do a system Preferences reset afterwards? Are you using an external USB Audio Interface? Do you have anything connected to your MPC Live II via USB or MIDI or CV? Did you delete anything from the Factory Storage? Have you installed an SSD into the SATA cradle?

• I'm on 2.11.6.
• I can't recall if I did a system preference reset, I just updated and followed the screen prompts after each update.
• No external USB audio interface.
• Nothing connected to my MPC Live 2 other than headphones at times and my tunrtable to sample. Turntable is not always connected and sound still occurs. All audio including expansion packs make the sound I was describing.
• Did not delete any factory storage.
• No SSD into SATA cradle.

Thank you for asking all these questions. Hopefully it'll help someone give me an answer. Could something like this happen if it got bumped around a bit? I've traveled with it in a backpack, but have always mindful of how it was stored and handled. I've never dropped it.

Does it generate the same sound if the Live 2 runs on internal battery only ?

Telefunky wrote:Does it generate the same sound if the Live 2 runs on internal battery only ?

I’ve never tried it with an external battery, but it generates the sound when it’s plugged in the charge and without it (with just the internal battery). I wish there was a way to go back to the prior firmware to see if that was the issue.

C-Bucs Rule wrote:How is any of this acceptable after performing an update lmao. Shit should just work without having to reset anything.

Are you talking about the trouble-shooting questions I asked? Where did I say any of the OP's issues were acceptable?

Blake wrote:• I'm on 2.11.6.
• I can't recall if I did a system preference reset, I just updated and followed the screen prompts after each update.
• No external USB audio interface.
• Nothing connected to my MPC Live 2 other than headphones at times and my tunrtable to sample. Turntable is not always connected and sound still occurs. All audio including expansion packs make the sound I was describing.
• Did not delete any factory storage.
• No SSD into SATA cradle.

Thank you for asking all these questions. Hopefully it'll help someone give me an answer. Could something like this happen if it got bumped around a bit? I've traveled with it in a backpack, but have always mindful of how it was stored and handled. I've never dropped it.

I'd absolutely try doing a system preferences reset first to see if that corrects your issue (especially if this didn't occur in the previous firmware for you). If you're getting this in both the main outs, the internal speaker, and your headphones then it's either a software issue or a hardware issue. Carrying in a backpack is fine, but "bumping around" can damage any electronics. Current-gen MPC's are essentially specialized computers running specialized software, and there are a ton of components inside that are susceptible to damage depending on how much or how hard the "bumping around" is.

As for downgrading to the previous firmware, that's of course an option. I'd try it as a last resort, but if the issue still occurs with the previous firmware, you very likely have a hardware component issue.

Download the 2.11.4 firmware here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=214645

EnochLight wrote:

C-Bucs Rule wrote:How is any of this acceptable after performing an update lmao. Shit should just work without having to reset anything.

Are you talking about the trouble-shooting questions I asked? Where did I say any of the OP's issues were acceptable?

Blake wrote:• I'm on 2.11.6.
• I can't recall if I did a system preference reset, I just updated and followed the screen prompts after each update.
• No external USB audio interface.
• Nothing connected to my MPC Live 2 other than headphones at times and my tunrtable to sample. Turntable is not always connected and sound still occurs. All audio including expansion packs make the sound I was describing.
• Did not delete any factory storage.
• No SSD into SATA cradle.

Thank you for asking all these questions. Hopefully it'll help someone give me an answer. Could something like this happen if it got bumped around a bit? I've traveled with it in a backpack, but have always mindful of how it was stored and handled. I've never dropped it.

I'd absolutely try doing a system preferences reset first to see if that corrects your issue (especially if this didn't occur in the previous firmware for you). If you're getting this in both the main outs, the internal speaker, and your headphones then it's either a software issue or a hardware issue. Carrying in a backpack is fine, but "bumping around" can damage any electronics. Current-gen MPC's are essentially specialized computers running specialized software, and there are a ton of components inside that are susceptible to damage depending on how much or how hard the "bumping around" is.

As for downgrading to the previous firmware, that's of course an option. I'd try it as a last resort, but if the issue still occurs with the previous firmware, you very likely have a hardware component issue.

Download the 2.11.4 firmware here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=214645

Thank you so much for your help

Hi guys,
Thanks for your investigations
I have a lot of cracking sounds on my MPC Live, with or without power supply, on pretty simple projects, and resetting the settings only worked for a few minutes ...
I'm disappointed because I usually rely on hardware instruments to avoid computers problem, but I guess the internal computer of the MPC is at fault here. It surprises me that only some people encounter this problem tho, since we all have the same internal specs ...
I upgraded to 2.11.8 lately (from 2.8 I think), but I'm pretty I heard them a bit with 2.8 too ...
Does anyone found a solution or a firmware version that actually fixes the problem and I could downgrade to ?

Thanks for your help and support anyway !

Could be a cooling problem. Avoid using your device on pillows or textiles, use hard (e.g. wood) surfaces while using it.

In fact, it was due to the Firmware v2.11.x update ! I downgraded to 2.10.1 and everything is fine
I found this solution in a discussion on Reddit, and it saved my MPC !
This might help someone else in the same situation

I just started having this issue. I accidentally left it on for a few hours playing a sequence. From these responses, sounds like it may be an hardware issue? Any suggestions on fixing the crackling in this situation?

andersynth wrote:I just started having this issue. I accidentally left it on for a few hours playing a sequence. From these responses, sounds like it may be an hardware issue? Any suggestions on fixing the crackling in this situation?

You’re 100% standalone with no USB-Class-Compliant audio interface connected, correct? Re-install the latest firmware (2.12), and reset preferences.

I don’t think it’s the firmware per se. More likely than not, it was a bad install. If there are hiccups during the installation then it may run but not run well. Downgrading usually wipes the slate clean. Double installing the same update seems to not overwrite the bad data.

I think it is an error or conflict in a configuration. Downgrading then installing the latest firmware always fixed any issues I’ve had after a update.

Hey guys,
I tried to install firmware v2.12.1 but the crackling sounds came back ... I tried to downgrade and re-upgrade, with no more success
Has Akai already communicated on this problem ? Am I stuck with v2.10.1 forever ?
Since I bought it second hand, I don't know which are my options on this
I mean, v2.10.1 does the job, I can't complain, but it's a bit frustrating ...