Louder Volume Results In HIgher Disk Usage/Choppiness
 

When playing audio in Winamp (5.5) at relatively low levels, my system operates normally; however, when the volume is raised, disk usage increases abnormally - sometimes to the point of making the audio choppy and the OS/environment unresponsive. The only way to recover seems to be to lower the volume or mute the audio altogether.

No third-party plugins (outside of the Winamp installation package, at least) are installed or active.

I've removed and reinstalled Winamp, but this doesn't seem to have any effect. I've searched for solutions to this issue and have come up with nothing, but I may have just overlooked something; any help would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance...