my d/l speed is about 1k/sec to 2/k sec, even though the others are getting it at 10k/sec, and i have a cable connection. my speed on other programs(fttp, etc.) are above 10k/sec. any ideas to speed things up? i'm not really familiar with mirc.

Your DCC gets will only go as fast as the other person's connection allows. If you're downloading music, I'd suggest doing so from a dedicated p2p network such as this one, then you can choose the quickest transfer.