see, now that i'm doing an a/b on this specific track, i'm noticing that the initial mix through the new driver install has more clarity in the higher end and less bass. the new mix through the new driver install has too much bass and not enough clarity on the high end. that would suggest that the new driver install has more bass and less highs - that i exaggerated the bass on the old driver install (leading to too much on the new one) and undermixed the highs.

but, how can i be sure that this driver install is clean? the difference over the highs is much less audible on the laptop. the new mix has more of an oomph on the bottom, but has lost it's tightness. it's not less clear in the highs. that might suggest that the new driver install is a little flatter on the bottom, but is cut through the high end.

i need to be clear that the source is identical. it's a hardware difference. and presumably specifically a driver difference.

i don't like the fact that i can't determine what is the cleaner, least obstructed signal. and, i don't like the idea of using mixes that i can't reconstruct.

so, i think i need to spend some time tomorrow doing two things:

1) i'll need to check if the difference in the highs resolves itself tomorrow when the equipment cools down.
2) i'm going to need to try and break a few things to see if i can recreate a signal that nulls with the initial one.
3) i think i need to do a temporary vanilla xp install to try to and be sure that i'm getting a flat signal.

i don't think the highs were flat this morning. i think that happened when i connected to the internet. i'm leaning heavily towards disabling the network card in that machine altogether. it's integrated, so i'd have to take out in the bios.

the bottom line is that it still seems as though i'm not hearing what i'm actually creating. and i can't get anywhere until i'm sure that the sound quality is not being interfered with somehow.

i want to move forwards. but it's like trying to paint in the dark. you can imagine the result, and hope you're getting it right, but you can't actually see what you're doing. it needs resolution.