Distortion of sound when replaying downloaded music CDs or when transferred to ipod

Question

I have just purchased new HP Pavilion G6 1165SA loaded with Windows 7
I store my CDs on I-tunes and have successfully transferred all previously downloaded CDs.
However, having just downloaded from CD  six new CDs I find that while 2 have downloaded successfully, 4 of the CDs have extreme distortion on play back on la top and also when transferred to ipod. Of those downloaded, No 2 and 6 were successful but the others distorted. 
All Cds play without distortion when played without downloading and on other CD players.
Can you advise?

Answer 1

Welcome to the Forum, RDBates,
This is not my area of expertise - hopefully someone will offer some "expert" help.
Meanwhile - I will try to help, at least maybe get you pointed in a direction that will help you help yourself.
There are options for listening to the music while it is on the system.  Most of the time it is not useful to change these options because the onboard speakers and the onboard audio cannot deal with the changes.  However, it depends on how the music was recorded, (and how much you know about the individual recordings), your individual hardware and software...
Things to try...
iTunes is fussy.  Turn off all the "EQ" settings, make a plain recording without any bass, treble, anything, and transfer "cold".  I don't know if this is even possible.  I do not know one would do that.  I do know that when it's not working right, reducing the variables is one of the basic troubleshooting steps in most situations.
Audio Check:
Make sure your drivers are happy - yes, the system is new, so it's likely all is in order.  Check your audio drivers and make sure they are not showing little errors (yellow bits on the icons).  If you like, right click and check the properties.  If you find anything with a "yellow" warning icon on it, right click on it and update the driver.  If it gets complicated, come back and ask for help.
Control Panel --> Device Manager --> audio
Bits:
Next is the adjustment for sample rate and bit rate.  It is likely too late to adjust significantly once the music has been downloaded, even assuming you knew the original information and could control it (which is usually not possible given the restrictions of the notebook hardware).  Having said that, it may be possible to make the listening experience better by changing this setting.  Keep it down in the 16 Bit range when/if you rip - unless you have some reason to know otherwise about your equipment.  (Putting it at 24bit makes larger files and won't ordinarily increase the quality - it could harm it.)
Start with "Bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)" and go from there...
Right-Click on the Sound icon (in your Taskbar)  --> Playback devices --> Properties --> Advanced
Enhancements:
It may not help with distortion, but I've heard that this next setting can help with the awful "highs" and "lows" that folks hear from their systems, that is, first something is too loud and then it's too soft.  If this is not a problem, then don't adjust this setting - it's best to leave all Enhancements "Disabled" unless you need them.
Select and Check "Loudness Equalization" in Enhancements, if needed
Right-Click on the Sound icon --> Properties --> Enhancements
NOTE:  There are a couple of other "Enhancements" - "Virtual Surround" and "Room Correction"... this is not a Bose system and you'll probably be better off just ignoring these.  Just my opinion:  adding variables to a bad situation may not help and could just make the mess worse.
Options for Ripping Music
If you are using the onboard software (Window Media Player on some systems) for ripping music, then be sure to look at the onboard (system) Help file under (search for) "ripping music".  If you are not using the onboard software, then you might try it as a benchmark.
Graphics:
I hope this helps!
Good Luck!
I'd be interested to know if any of this helped.
Kudos are earned!
Kind Regards,
Dragon-Fur