OK .. I struggled A LONG TIME with my Pod HD500X and my laptop. My laptop is an HP Spectre i7. A VERY nice laptop but only has USB-C ports. Here's the thing. 2 of the ports are USB/Lightning ports and one is just USB-C. If I plug my Pod into the dedicated USB-C port, it works without popping and crackling.
I had always had my USB-C monitor plugged into that port because it's the more dedicated laptop charging port as well (and my monitor supplies 65W of USB-C power). Plug the HD500X into that port and it works fine.
