I discovered my computer's audio settings had a default EQ and simulated environment on, which would explain why I had such a drastic change in audio quality when switching from ASIO to my soundcard driver.
My mixes have been off, but thankfully not by much.
Now for the good news.
Just got a pair of these puppies: http://www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR2325P-Bi-a ... B001U92K6M
I went to my local Guitar Center in search of the KRK Rokit 5's, which had some good reviews and at a decently low price. While there, the store representative allowed me to play my songs through them, and they sounded pretty good, but not overly great.
He then recommended me the JBL LSR2325P's, and the overall sound quality was much tighter, not to mention they looked better from the eye candy perspective.
Once home, I set them up so the tweeter's are right at ear level, and tested some songs through them. Wow! These things can certainly get loud
Anyway, I've read through a lot of reviews for these monitors, and they seem to get great reviews everywhere.
@ ~ $200 each, these are both affordable, easy to setup, and sound great.
My own personal recommendation for those who haven't invested in stereo monitors yet.
