OK, my sound testing is complete.
I used 2 .FLAC encoded tracks locally (
Sevendust -
Denial &
Nine Inch Nails -
Wish), 2 YouTube videos (DJ REBEKAH's set at CRSSD FEstival,
REBEKAH at CRSSD Festival | March 2019 - YouTube) and
The Prodigy -
Champions of London (see
Champions of London - YouTube) and, finally, I played about 45 minutes in the Electronic Arts' release of Ghost studio's
Need For Speed video game (full disclosure - the songs in the video game were not all the same - I could not really control them in the order that they played. But, in each 45 minute playthrough, 4 songs were the same songs, though not in the same order, so there is a bit of a difference in comparison. And I did not note down *which* songs played)
I had 0 clue that 8644 had a very ... for a lack of a better word, subdued sound to it. I listened to all of these tracks and videos as well as playing the video game with the settings at default, even resetting room settings, EQ settings, and using the same pair of headphones for both sets. As soon as I had 8648 installed, I noticed that I could hear sounds over a wide range of frequencies with a little more clarity - which, for lower end freqs, contributed toa more powerful sound, and on the higher end, more crystal clear sounds, particularly from cymbals, whether from a drum or syth. And the mids - the words were much better to listen to in the Sevendust track, and there was less ... cacophonous (for lack of a better description) distortion in the mids on the NIN track.
As fast as these updates come out I really don't get the opportunity for such in-depth testing. This time, though, let me say I am glad I took the time. If I hadn't, I may have skipped installing this build. And that would have been a very bad thing for me.