Importing audio: sound is awful

I'm trying to import audio WAV files (File --> Import) into tracks in SONAR Producer, and the sound is grossly distorted, as if sampled by a two-bit sampler (pun intended). When I play the audio directly, the sound is fine. This has worked in the past, but I've had to move to a new machine. Any ideas? I'm pretty sure the sample rate (44.1) was the same, though I'll double-check that in the morning. I've been wrestling with this for two hours. Frustrated. Ideas? [Win 10, 64 bit, playback checked via Media Player]

Turns out the audio is fine when exported from Sonar. So it's a playback problem. It happens on both my 64-bit Win10 machines. The playback audio is broken up and distorted... but when I export either a track or a mix, it's fine. I dug up an old Win7 machine that I'd stopped using, and it worked fine there (same files, transferred as a CWB). I'm using Producer to mix tracks from other sources, so it's not an origination issue, just a playback problem. Ideas?
 

Cool may be onto something (great ironic handle for a Siberian, btw). Are the imported files straight wav files? Have you tried importing some known straight wave files for comparison (e.g. something you exported from SONAR)?

What audio interface are you using?
 
Assuming it has ASIO drivers, are you certain the ASIO buffer isn't set so low it's causing problems?
As these are new PCs, have you checked for PCI bus latency problems using latencymon?
 
Finally, what do you mean by "grossly distorted'?

I played the export on Media Player and on a Win7 machine with Sonar, both of which sound fine. On the Win10 machines, the sound is broken even when routed directly to the output speakers (headphones). This is a new problem, BTW, since it used to work on one of the machines (the other is a "new" rebuild) about four months ago. By "broken" - it literally sounds like a two-bit rather than 16-bit conversion, full of crackles, no bass, overload distortion, etc. It is plain awful, not audiophile-only-bad. As in worse-than-1960-Cousin-Brucie-transistor-radio bad, like that transistor radio turned up all the way after Link Wray did his thing with the 2" speaker in the radio. No, even worse than that. And as noted, the install on my old Win7 machine is okay.

FirstPullUp
In response to tlw above, neither Win10 installation is able to find the ASIO drivers, and so they're using (I think) MME - I'm not a driver expert. And I get a funny audio profile saying nothing below 88K (I think) is available.
 
 

that is probably your problem right there. MME is the worst.
If you were on platinum you could try using (on windows 10) the new WASAPI driver mode. you didn't give enough info about your version. which Sonar Producer ? version ?
 
try playing with your buffer rate in your preferences/drivers.
Either way you look at it, if you want good results an audio interface is the way to go.
if your project is heavy, some plug ins, tracks, its going to bog down using MME. that's the windows driver.
a cheap used Focusrite soundcard is about under 100 bucks.

ASIO drivers work only with ASIO-compatible hardware, not Windows on-board audio. It really is worth getting an audio interface with ASIO support. Otherwise it's like using a Nikon with a scratched lens that's smeared with pizza sauce. It will take a picture, but...

bitflipper
Neither the interface nor its drivers come into play when importing files. They are 44.1 files. Assuming the project sample rate is the same the import should essentially be a file copy operation with no opportunity for distortion. That's why I suggested importing "known good" files as a test.

while I agree with what you are saying, if sonar is using MME with a bad buffer rate, clicks and pops are inevitable.