Distortion am I missing something

[in a mo]

Hi I am using my computer to play music I download ,the sound seems to be distorted ,am I missing something ,the different programmes have different volume controls etc ,does this make any difference to the overall sound,? how do I set up the sound .
I play through a small hifi unit, using headphones direct from time to time.

On the subject of Limewire I use gomusicnow.com the prices are brilliant have a look let me know what you think.

In a Mo