# Speeded-up MP3s **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786 "2005-02-01T16:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ookpik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@ookpik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ookpik)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/1 "2005-02-01T16:05:47Z")
Last night I decided to move some MP3 files from one PC to another. They’re networked, so I simply copied the files from their folder on PC#1 to a folder on PC#2. This worked fine, the files were all the same size in their new folder, but when I tried to play one through Media Player it was as though they were playing at a slightly faster rate than on the original PC. Almost but not quite like playing a 33 1/3 RPM record at 45 RPM…basically the vocals sounded like the singers had taken a hit of helium! I went back to PC#1 and played one of the files from the new PC over the LAN and it came out correctly, so the problem has got to be a setting on PC#2, but I’ll be damned if I can find anything different than on PC#1. Any ideas? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/2 "2005-02-01T16:10:56Z")
> [@ookpik2](#): > > basically the vocals sounded like the singers had taken a hit of helium! You sure you weren’t just listening to Rush? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/3 "2005-02-01T16:15:52Z")
Exactly the same thing happened to me the other day. It was particularly amusing trying to use Skype, since the people I was talking sounded like chipmunks, while they heard me sounding like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. Turned out I merely had the wrong driver for my sound card. Maybe attempt to upgrade? ---
**Author:** ![ookpik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@ookpik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ookpik)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/4 "2005-02-01T16:30:33Z")
Rush! Thanks! That was great… I’ll check out the drivers, I didn’t even think of that. I was concentrating on the Media Player settings etc… Thanks for the suggestion! Steve ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/5 "2005-02-01T17:00:57Z")
Is your sound card an integrated device, perhaps a SoundMax or AD1885? This is a common problem with certain Dell machines - Dell altered the clock rate to the audio card from whatever the standard is, so only the drivers that come with your system will work - default ones won’t. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/6 "2005-02-01T22:41:10Z")
I too had this happen, on a Dell Optiplex as a matter of fact. I solved the problem by uninstalling then re-installing the sound card through the Windows control panel. I actually liked how some of the mp3s sounded when they were sped up 10%. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speeded-up-mp3s/287786/7 "2005-02-02T10:07:29Z")
For the record, the computer on which I had this problem was indeed a Dell Optiplex with an integrated SoundMax card.