Apple has admitted that customers using the Studio Display may experience audio-related issues, including sound unexpectedly and abruptly cutting out, audio playing at a high speed, distorted audio quality, and choppy playback.

In a memo to authorized service providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple acknowledges that customers may find themselves facing speaker issues with the company's $1599 display. Apple says that customers facing issues should unplug the Studio Display from power, unplug any accessories or devices connected to the display, wait ten seconds, then reconnect the Studio Display to power. Apple explicitly notes this is not a hardware problem and implies that a future iOS update may address the issues.

Apple has heavily boasted about the audio, mic, and camera built into the Studio Display. Apple says the speaker system is the "highest‑fidelity speaker system ever created for Mac" and has touted the controversial 12MP built-in camera with Center Stage and the six-speaker array system.

Customers have been reporting both microphone and speaker-related issues with their Studio Display over the last several months, but reports have become more frequent in recent weeks. Michael Tsai this week chronicled some testimonies from customers facing issues, with one customer writing:

The audio on my Studio Display fails intermittently. The only way I can get it to work again is to unplug the display overnight. That resets the display and resolves the problem temporarily. Until the next time. This is simply unacceptable for a $1600 monitor, and Apple should be ashamed of the poor quality control.

Based on the number of customer reports, audio-related issues with the Studio Display do appear to be relatively widespread. Hundreds of customers have taken to Twitter, the Apple Support and MacRumors forums looking for a permanent solution.

Updated

Apple today released an updated version of the 15.5 firmware for the Studio Display, with the update coming more than two months after the Studio Display firmware was last updated. The prior version of the 15.5 firmware had a build number of 19F77, while the new version is 19F80.

Apple's release notes for the update confirm that it addresses an issue with the Studio Display speakers. Since the launch of the Studio Display, there have been complaints about the speaker quality. Apple last week sent out a memo to authorized service providers, acknowledging that some customers have had issues with the Studio Display speakers cutting out or offering distorted playback. 

Apple said in the memo that a future update would fix the issue, hence today's firmware update. 

The Studio Display firmware can be updated by connecting it to a Mac. Studio Display owners can go to System Preferences > Software Update to install the firmware.