XPS 8900, fresh Windows 10 install, audio quality sounds muffled

Recently my PC was facing many complications like slow boot times, big load times and overall minor inconveniences that I just let pile up until I just couldn’t handle them anymore. After evaluating all these issues I figured that a clean reinstall onto a new SSD could solve these problems if I was fortunate, for the most part it did. The sole problem that sprung up was that my audio quality had decreased considerably on the new drive. I still have the old drive connected to the system in case the new primary drive gave me any issues. The poor audio quality is only present on the SSD, not the HDD, so that’s why I suspect it has something to do with the new Windows install. To put the quality shift into words it’s as if I had put a thick cloth over the headphones and stuck them inside of a hollow Pringles can, they sound muffled and staticky if the audio gets too loud.

I did some research online to see if anyone else had a problem similar to mine to no avail. All of the forum or blog posts I found only seemed to alleviate the issue, not solve it. So I figured posting this here might yield me some results.

If it matters my computer is an altered Dell XPS 8900, I had the case, power supply and ventilation completely replaced. The processor is an i7 6700 at 3.4 GHz, the GPU is a Zotac GTX 1060 6GB. The headphones in question are a pair of ATH-M50Xs, I’ve tested them on other devices besides the HDD and they’ve sounded just fine there too.

Things I’ve already tried:

•Troubleshooted my system directly from the BIOS.

•Troubleshooted with the integrated Windows sound troubleshooter.

•Updated my GPU’s drivers.

•Used my old HDD’s Realtek drivers.

•Disabled and Enabled all sound devices individually.

•Tested out all audio channels.

•Disabled the Windows sound enhancements.

•Tested out all sample rates.

•Disabled the spatial sound format.

•Scanned for hardware changes.

•Rolled back, updated, reinstalled and changed between all available Realtek drivers.

I cannot find any discernible differences between the old HDD’s setup and the new one on the SSD. I also have no memory of ever installing any third party software to enhance or alter my audio quality on my old drive ever since I got it, I just plugged my headphones in and they sounded just fine.

If anybody could help me out I’d be very grateful as I use my PC on a daily basis for both school and entertainment. I’m willing to retrace all my steps individually and elaborate on all the issues to anyone who has a clue on what’s going on. Any referrals to any other more adequate forums are greatly appreciated too. I can share my Discord or email individually if need be.