Jylee, FWIW, I share your lack of enthusiasm for wandering around in a jungle, especially after dark. A couple of things to consider, apart from the underlying question about whether or not PC's really make a substantial (as opposed to nominal) difference. I won't go there. But, if they do, I would argue that either you are a super anal audiophile with highly resolving equipment or you might just have yielded to the power of suggestion. :-)
Just for fun, analize what 'might' cause the changes you are hearing in your system and whether they can be related to what a different PC might do. For example: 1) You feel that your system now has a more focused center image, that the speakers have 'disappeared'; 2) Bass was less boomy; 3) there is less bass (but tighter); and 4) the apparent stage width has lessened, but the depth of image has increased.
When I look at 1) thru 4) I find a common denominator, i.e. going from a 'sound' with a lot of added (out of phase) information not inherrent in recordings, to a system without, for lack of a better description, a lot of added out of phase information. Your description of your present sonics is a description I personally feel is the more correct one.
Faced with that possibility, I really don't understand how the difference in PC's ability to deliver current would affect phase issues created by electronics or component set up. But sudio systems are a mystery some times.
For example, this weekend I made a change in my system which amounted to only removing/changing a source, but it was involved and required a lot of shifting and moving of things. I did not change amps, pre-amps, PC's, IC's, or speaker cables. But, I am confident that what ever I did, perhaps only in relocating/routing equipment and wires, that the repositioning of the IC's and PC's made a difference. A fuller upper bass/low mid range.
Go figure. But don't be self judgmental. :-)
