No.  

It would be better if you could tell us about your source, like PC or laptop. Then describe the audio hardware. The KRK headphones you described have a sensitivity of 95 db which seems low. Maybe you just need more power.  

I have a Sony Blu-ray player which has USB input and analog stereo output.  

Sounds like Windows 7, have you considered latency in respect to wireless network adapter?  

If you are using AKG x701 then you need an external amp for best results.  The Creative (metal of choice - model of choice) devices are not to my liking.  

Quote: I have done a lot of comparisons in this regard and I find the major differences have to do with mastering. If I take a hi-resolution recording (say 96-24) and manually convert to (44-16) I don't hear a significant difference. The results will depend of course on your playback DAC...

Quote: and...... How about a review or some opinions? (I'm a big fan of Norah Jones. I have the SACD of her first album and look forward to more.)

This is ridiculous, I use foobar2000 for media management and testing and something else for playback!  Foobar 2000 playback is OK but not the best.

If you want "everything" to work bit-perfect with Linux ALSA you can re-define the default device in ".asoundrc" (note this is a hidden ALSA control file in your home directory).   For Via Envy24 and other cards that require S32_LE data:   pcm.!default {     type plug     slave.pcm...

"popping and clicking" sounds like a latency problem with your PC. Have you analyzed the configuration of your USB ports?

Quote: Xonar STX is pretty good already. Improvements will likely depend on synergy and personal preference. You could spend $500 on an external DAC and not get much. Maybe a Lavry or Benchmark DAC?  

Quote: References, please. This is not he Sound Science forum!

Quote:   The home page http://deadbeef.sourceforge.net/ uses the spelling "DeaDBeeF" but that's not important. I've been using it since version 0.5.0 and recently 0.5.2 is released. This is a great player that allows direct hardware output through ALSA so mixer problems are easy to...

Quote: I actually liked this response!

Quote: My comment led to a helpful correction on your part. And I I didn't insult your choice of undergarments. Please conduct yourself with civility.