Quote: Well i just moved over some of the .wav and apple lossless files over to my other macbook to see if the problem was my macbook pro. and it turns out it clipped in the exact same spots, in fact even more than on my macbook pro. So im thinking the fault is to the producer or the...

Quote:   its not resource issues. I have a macbook pro with the quad- core i7 and 8gb of RAM.. most likely bad rips.    by the way, thank you guys for helping me out here, its much appreciated. 

So i just got out my old headphones (since theyre low impedance and can be run straight from the computer.. kind of) and plugged them into my computer to eliminate the udac-2 from the equation, then played the songs that clip... still clipping... god damn it. 

Its probably the DAC, but ill check. My circuit goes: Macbook Pro > iTunes (.wav, FLAC, Apple lossless, 320 kbps mp3.) > udac-2 >HD650

hey, just checked the CD. To my surprise, the crackle was still there jut very very very faint, it was subtle enough to begin with but straight from the CD it is almost unnoticable.. yet i still heard it. You know whats most interesting about all this, this happened with me XD-53's as well, but...

Quote: Ya, im really hoping its no the "or worse" but im still under a 30 day return policy so if it is then its not really an issue.  Ill check it out on the CD and hopefully its just due to compression. By the way is Apple "lossless" similar to FLAC in the manor that its just...

Quote: None are .wav or FLAC. All are either 320 mp3 or apple lossless ripped from a CD.  

Quote: Well its most definitely the best pair of headphones ive had. I previously has the allen & heath: XD-53 (you may cringe at that but they're honestly extremely underrated headphones.) and ive borrowed my friends 595 for a while and used it on this same set up. So yes, first pair of...

I got my HD650 not too long ago, and ive been noticing in many songs a subtle crackling noise/slight distortion at certain points. This sound is very very annoying, subtle tho it may be, its agitating. It ruined a couple of my favorite songs because its so distracting. Its most definitely not...

Quote: well, that little of a price difference is not a concern.. my concern is which will produce the best sound quality. 

Quote:  ya, thats what im thinking.. however, things like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCZ-AJQOiDg worry me about the asgard.

Quote: Really? such as...?    but, as far as sound quality goes, would they beat the e7/e9?

Hello.. Well, i recently just got the HD650, and currently am driving them with my udac-2. I know they need more power and was wondering what would be better with the HD650: to get the e7/e9 combo or to get the Schiit asgard and use it with my udac-2

well, if the 990 is decent, and the 595 wouldnt be satisfactory, based on my description of the sound im looking for, in you opinion what would you recommend? (Inside and slightly outside my implied pricerange... nothing above 300 though.)

  So, i have had the Allen & Heath XD-53 for quite a while. They're good and all, but I'm looking for an upgrade. I love detail and clarity (with a nice bassline to accompany it, of course) The XD-53 deffinitly have the bass, but i know they could get MUCH more detailed (since, they are "dj"...