Everyone who has ever owned an electric guitar knows exactly what it is - time for a new cord. In your case, it's another pair of AQ's (trade them in - you got a bad one).
Popping Sound Coming From Speakers
I just installed two pairs of Audioquest Coral interconnects and when I turned on the amp the speakers started popping and crackling. When I removed them and put my old interconnects back on the problem disappeared. Any suggestions as to the cause would be greatly appreciated.