Audacity crackles horribly

Whenever I import a file that has been generated by other software, there is a horrible crackling noise in the playback. Is there any way to fix the problem? Thanks.

What version of Audacity are you using? What Mac? What version of macOS? Are the files MP3, WAV, AIF or something else? What “other software” made the files?
– Bill

I have the same problem. I’ve tried with four different microphones when recording, both in Audacity and in Garageband. In garageband it sounds fine, but when I transfer it to Audacity it makes a constant crakling sound. I have macOS Monterey and use WAV files…

If you “have the same problem” as the original poster, what is the relevance of “four different microphones”?