# CD Drive plays audio cd's to sound like chipmunks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178 "2002-04-17T17:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tarkus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tarkus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarkus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/1 "2002-04-17T17:40:34Z")
My CD Drive plays audio cd’s at a higher speed than it’s supposed to. The drive plays data and program cd’s fine. I take the audio cd out of the drive in question and put it into another computer’s cd drive and the audio is fine. Is there some kind of setting that can manipulate the audio playback speed on a cd drive?😕 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/2 "2002-04-17T20:04:24Z")
Go to [www.repairfaq.org](http://www.repairfaq.org) and check on the CD/CD-ROM pages. My best guess is that the control setting for _slow_ (1x) speed is out of whack and the motor _overspins_. This can be adjusted by a knowledgable person but an amateur would just make things worse. Also, once such adjustments are necessary, they become more frequent. I.e., you might be nearing the end-of-life stage of your CD-ROM drive. ---
**Author:** ![Tarkus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tarkus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarkus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/3 "2002-04-18T01:26:19Z")
I neglected to say, it’s about two months old. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/4 "2002-04-18T01:33:31Z")
The speed at which the disk spins is not directly related to the speed at which the audio comes out the speakers at all. The laser reads digital info off the disk, which is processed digitally, converted to analog and sent to the speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Tarkus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tarkus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarkus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/5 "2002-04-18T01:53:53Z")
I wonder if the digital to analog converter is convert and double the rate somehow. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s a setting than can be tinkered with or if it’s a defective unit. Not really a problem since it’s under warranty and I’ll just send it back. ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/6 "2002-04-18T10:17:08Z")
I think I vaguely remember a thread about the same problem. Do you listen to the CD directly through one of its analog outputs, e.g. a headphone jack? If you let your computer read the digital data and output it through the soundcard, it more likely looks like a software problem. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/7 "2002-04-18T20:00:25Z")
There are several possible paths that the bits on an Audio CD can path their way thru a computer. **femtosecond** mentions one, another is via a little cable that hooks from the back of the CD-ROM drive to the sound card. (Usually grey, 3-4 wires, black plug on one end, white on the other.) These two can lead to the phenomena **Tarkus** is experiencing. In both, the CD-ROM drive directly decodes the digital signal and passes on an analog signal. The CD-ROM drive _is_ playing at 1x speed for both of these. (Or is supposed to. Hence the problem.) There _are_ digital ways as well. There is CD/A: direct digital extraction, which most modern CD-ROM drive supports. The signal is passed on via the IDE connector. There is also the SPDIF cable method, not alot of hardware supports this. Both the CD-ROM and the motherboard or sound card need SPDIF connectors to support this (and a cable as well). None of these should lead to the problem described. One solution then might to determine if one of the digital methods can be used instead. Check the input options available on the software to play CDs, also check the OS’s sound-out “device” options. (These are software choices, not all of which correspond to real devices.) Since you didn’t mention platform, OS, player, etc. You’re on your own. ---
**Author:** ![quar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a5b964/32.png) [@quar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quar)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/8 "2002-04-18T20:31:40Z")
Simple…Flip the switch on the side to ‘33’ from ‘45’. Problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![Tarkus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tarkus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarkus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/9 "2002-04-19T18:16:36Z")
Quar - That would speed it up even further. Hah!!! ---
**Author:** ![quar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a5b964/32.png) [@quar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-drive-plays-audio-cds-to-sound-like-chipmunks/104178/10 "2002-04-19T18:28:44Z")
Nope…As I fondly remember from my younger days, playing a 33 rpm album at 45 rpm was guaranteed chipmunk fun.