Audio files being corrupted on import?

I get an error message in AU about the sample rate of my audio file and it seems that the file quality is being degraded when it is resampled on import. I'm getting weird feedback and echos in AU but when I play the original file in any other program--Audacity, Quicktime, iTunes, it sounds totally fine.

I've tried exporting my audio files from audacity to change the sample rate to what AU wants, still, it tells me I need to resample and the sound is degraded. Please help. I've tried searching online and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.