actually, i need to backtrack on the previous statement. i'm able to get the correct tone and dynamics out of every single one of these tracks through the soundcard in the laptop, indicating that i really haven't created any kind of consistency and am really no closer to figuring out what the hell is going on. i'm also able to get the right tone and dynamics from the playback card in the pc, indicating that the files do in fact sound the way i mixed them - i just can't get the mixer i mixed them on to play them back with the dynamic and tone i mixed them with, on that mixer. bizarre.

it's time to sleep a little. but, the only other aspect of this i can pin anything on is foobar. so, i'm going to want to bypass foobar when i wake up and see what it sounds like streaming through the mixer from cool edit. if i can establish consistency through that process, i'll have to conclude it's a problem with foobar.

that doesn't make sense to me, though. it's random. the issue is i can't get consistency - the same song sounds different when i listen to it twice in a row. how could the software not provide consistency? but, i've been through this before - i know foobar is not exact reproduction. and, if i can get exact reproduction from cool edit through the same hardware chain then i'm left with no other conclusion.

cool edit is entirely self-contained. it doesn't rely on windows like foobar does. if i end up blaming foobar, i'm still blaming windows. and it reduces to something i'll probably require a full reinstall to actually fix.
for right now, knowing that i can mix it through asio and have it sound right through cool edit is good enough.

summary:

1) they sound good through the mixer, from cubase.
2) they sound good through the other card in that same pc.
3) they sound good through the laptop (with headphones).
4) but, they sound bad through the mixer, from foobar.
5) tbd: do they sound good through the mixer, from cool edit? if so, it must be foobar.

but.

i'm using foobar for the m-audio playback, too. so, it wouldn't be merely foobar, but foobar's ability to stream wdm. and there might be a setting.

but i have to verify the claim, first.