If under XXhighend's command W8 is working with the W7's shell why should we?
Or why shouldn't we ?
But there must be other things at play here outside or within W8 that influence the sound.
I think you tried to put this as a negative. This is okay because, of course, I have been saying such things myself all the time. But, this was when it didn't sound right. Today I am merely glad to say that W8 is to my expectations, looking at the behavior of the OS (remember I was disappointed because it didn't work out while it should be so good).
By now I'd say that anyone who did not try Windows 8 yet, doesn't know what he is missing. This is a bit of Dutch I'm afraid, but I mean to say that you miss out.
It is just another dimension - really ...
Regards,
Peter