CAD U37   I was also thinking about the Yeti or AT2020 USB but tried this one out beforehand thinking I would just return it to Amazon if I didn't like it.  It ended up doing everything I needed at half the cost.  No issues with it after 2+ years of use.   I thought I would be sacrificing...

I've been using a CAD U37 for gaming and it works great.    I picked mine up for $36 about 2 years ago and prices have creeped up a bit since then but I think it's right in the same performance levels of the Blue/Audiotechnica USB offerings for half the price.

I agree with vjack.   The D1 sound difference is very subtle.  Tighter bass, smoother vocals, slightly expanded soundstage is what I noticed out of a 2008 Macbook vs D1.  Again very slight changes though that you really need to focus in on to hear. It's not a night/day type difference.  ...

$1,200 cables for $200 speakers. I rest my case.

Don't bother listening to goodolcheez's advice. The more I see him post the more I realize he's trolling.   He's suggesting you buy a cable that costs more than either your speakers or DAC .... so just go out and buy a DAC that is 5x the price.

The static noise you're running into could be interference from your computer.   What soundcard are you using?   I had the same noise issue on my pair until I went to a USB DAC.  Completely silent even with the volume turned up all the way.   The A5+ are probably worth the extra $100...

Monoprice   A long time ago I bought one of the Blue Jeans LC-1 (still use it actually) but I could not tell the difference between the $40 BJC and the $2 version from Monoprice.   YMMV.

The best mic I ever used for gaming was a $10 mic I picked up from Walmart.   It was an older version of this mic.   I was really impressed that when I used it, it only picked up my voice and had no static or background noise.  Friends could hear me perfectly through VOIP.   Much...

With your music tastes, I'd look into the Emotiva airmotiv4.  They are on sale right now for 10% off so are right in your budget.

I like both Audirvana & Fidelia for different uses.   Fidelia works well with headphones because of the FHX processor. The playlist allows header sorting but it doesn't handle .cue files.   Audirvana has a much better GUI, handles .cue, and is much less buggy (on my system).  The...

Monoprice

I really didn't expect to find anything in this range but was surprised to find a pretty well reviewed set for $41 exactly.   Cyber Acoustics 2.1 .. over 1,500 reviews and most of them are very positive, they look pretty good and have a breakout box to control volume with a headphone jack...

Quote:   Do you have the link to his page?  Would like to see if he has any more ... especially at that price. 

Quote:   If you find you don't need floor-standers and want some bookshelf type speakers also look into the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE speakers.  I finally got the chance to listen to a pair about 3 weeks ago after reading/hearing about them for the past few years.  Very good sounding...

One thing you could try is to isolate the speakers to their own power outlet or power strip. Doing this fixed the same issue I was having with my speakers.   If that doesn't work, it could be noise interference from your computer.  Getting a USB DAC or sound card could fix the issue.