Just wanted to give an update on my popping issue. It's gone !! I had been using two amps and recently moved everything to one amp. I had been using an Aragon 4004mkII for the front and an Acurus A125X5 for the center and side ssurrounds. I thought I would try connecting eveything through the Acurus since I only noticed the popping in the front channels. Since then, no popping. It seems that there is probably a ground loop issue between the two amps. Hard to figure since they both connect directly to the same power conditioner. I haven't yet tried using a "cheater" plug on the Aragon and re-connecting it to the front channels. By the way, all cables are unbalanced.