EDIT - deleted most of the post, need to stop futzing with the system and enjoy it for a while.
Are you kidding? This is the best post i've seen in a long while. Keep going! Would be interesting to see frequency response graphs before and after all your changes, if you were to go that far with software and a good mic.
I'm guessing with all the photos that you got onto high speed internet at some point.
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."