All right. I am sitting in front of the computer and can better describe the unexpected and unwanted behaviors as listed above (this is, by the way, my XEON 8 core with 16gigs RAM using a lynx AES 16pcie card).
-Both of the options you ask me to check above are consistently being checked in the fashion you request, yet the unwanted behaviors exist.
-The “Play Through Master Section” menu choice I refer to is at the bottom of the Options menu that appears in the menu bar for the Montage section (Options in File/editing section are different)…I consistently uncheck this before quitting and saving, and it consistently is back on when I reopen the program.
-After emptying the Master Section and making sure it is disabled in both the Montage and File windows (having it in one and not the other is a completely new behavior, by the way, and does not logically follow the “shared tool windows” concept from WL7), then saving, exiting and reopening the program (with the “restore last layout” option and with the similar option checked in the Master Section settings menu), I consistently get the old plug-in chain GUIs from the Master section displaying over the Files section window with the Master section itself sitting loaded in the Files section window, but the option for the Master section being unchecked in the Workspace menu for the Montage section.
-With the program open, I clear all the plugins from the Master section and close it out…but the difference in sound remains between having the “Play Through Master Section” checked in the Options menu for the Montage compared to when it is unchecked…With today’s fresh ears, it seems that what I am hearing when it is checked might actually be the Master section with the restored plugin/dithering chain that I keep trying to eliminate…even though the bit meter is displaying 24 bits.
…In any case, it is completely unacceptable for me not to know clearly what is going on with the Master section inside a mastering program.
With all the new monitoring functions, and with some options which are yet unclear to me (like an option for “Monitor 16 bit dithering”…currently unchecked in the Master section settings menu), there is the huge potential for confusion about what one is listening to at any given time. This is new, and makes it even harder to define bugs or lack thereof.
No matter what, I desperately need a way to make the settings I choose persistent through an exit and program restart , and I need a way to be absolutely sure of the internal signal chain I am listening to. If you can point me to a working methodology to achieve this beyond your instructions above, that would be great. The instructions above do not fix the problem.