The synth cymbals hit perfectly, but lacked any harshness. With Swedish House Mafia’s “ Greyhound” the driving bass lines were a little bigger, yet didn’t overwhelm. The bass was a little tighter, more realistic. High treble sounds were a little less harsh, a little smoother, perhaps a little more open. Sure the window was clear before, but you can see that little bit better once you remove the film. The most general way I can describe the improvement of the sound through the Explorer is like pealing a layer of plastic film off a window. I used B&W C5 and Bose QuietComfort 20 in-ear headphones, and PSB M4u 1 and B&W P7 over-ear headphones for my testing. Each computer's headphone output sounded a little different (the HP's is especially poor), so the descriptions of the sound below are an amalgam of the two, compared to the Explorer. Though the quality of the audio output is going to vary a bit computer-to-computer, the range is generally “not great” to “meh.” I used my Asus laptop and HP desktop for the comparisons in my testing of the Explorer.
For example, if you’re listening to some classical music, the tympani hits and cymbal crashes will really pop, while keeping the mix of the orchestra full and not mushy. While it’s true that more power will let you drive your headphones louder (which is rarely needed), it also allows for better dynamics.