When two computers of unequal capacity are connected to each other, the download proceeds at the speed of the slower. For a download to be current for eight hours, you must be downloading something really big (like a complete album) and you deserve a lucky rabbits foot because the host stayed up that long to allow you to get the download. For what it's worth, I have never had an MP3 take eight hours even at a download speed of 1kb/s (which is not uncommon from a 56kb modem source). So, given that you cannot change the speed of the hosts you connect to, adopt a simple rule. If you find multiple hits for the same material, select the 4 star hits with the high bit rates first. Only if they fail should you opt for the lower star-rated hosts with low or non-advertised bit rates. Hopefully, that will shade the odds for you. I often have several downloads current for the same material to establish the fastest source. If you experiment, you can establish a number of strategies to optimise your downloads.