@johnythehess: the 2.5 is not a beta, but a “release candidate” version that would be officially released as version 2.5 if it passes testing. In this case there will be a second release candidate but you can get whichever is the current release candidate when you visit https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/audacity-2-0-5-release-candidate-2-available-for-testing/31389/1 .
Let us know if the playback problem is fixed when you reset preferences. If not, the problem is a mystery because none of our Macs show this problem. But you can read https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/crackling-audio-playback-multiple-formats-and-volume-level/31325/2 as I suggested if the problem persists.
Gale