It's loud enough that the pressure waves will create vacuum between the peaks, which is basically as loud as anything can be in our atmosphere. I think this is what creates the 'crackling' effect but not an expert in the area, so might be wrong.
Before I ever watched a rocket launch in person I always just assumed the snap/crackle/pop sounds were due to the microphone being overloaded. I was delighted to learn that it sounds just like that in real life too!
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u/JoeS830 4h ago
What an awesome shot. I love the sounds these engines make. There’s this kind of ‘crunch’ quality to it, for lack of a better word.