MBox (3rd Gen) plays MP3 audio too fast in Windows - SOLVED!

[truthmonger]

If, like me, you use your MBox for general audio output (MP3s, videos) you might have noticed the audio plays too fast! How annoying! It should be called a bug, but they probably call it a feature.

After a few months of scratching my head, I finally opened up the "MBox Control Panel" application. If you don't have it installed, download the latest MBox drivers from Avid; it includes the MBox Control Panel application. I've never needed to mess with this app before, but it was worth a shot. And this is where I found my solution.

Make sure no audio is playing before you start the MBox Control Panel app.

In MBox Control Panel, click the "Setup" tab near the top, and in the "Hardware Settings" section, make sure the following settings are set:

Disable Host Control: UNCHECKED
Clock Source: INTERNAL
Sample Rate: 44100

Then click "Close."

I suspect this will solve your chipmunk problem!

[albee1952]

Its a well-known Windows tweak to simply not use the recording interface as Window's Default Playback Device(under Sound>Properties). You solved one problem, but you may yet stumble onto another if you find Pro Tools can't function at certain sample rates

[truthmonger]

Thanks, Albee. But in my case, your advice isn't applicable, because I most definitely want to use Mbox as my default Windows output device. And for that matter, I've never used Pro Tools. I specifically bought the Mbox to provide high quality sound output for Windows without the RF interference I was experiencing with the PC's internal audio hardware. Occasionally I use it with Adobe Audition to capture some input. What would be real spiffy is if it would just play Windows audio at the right speed automatically, every time, without needing tweaks. If there's still something I'm missing, a more ideal fix, I welcome it.