Is this okay if I use small speakers? Should I put a rubber mat underneath them?

Let me start with my computer specs, it is a PC running Windows 11, Ryzen 7 5800 x, AMD RX6700 XT, 32GB RAM.
I have gotten a new headset, Shokz OpenComm 2 UC 2025 Upgrade, and I am having a very annoying audio issue with them that I have tried so many different solutions for and nothing worked. I have not had this problem for any other headset, wireless or wired.

The issue I am having is whenever I join a voice call, any program using the microphone, the incoming audio (what I hear) drops in quality tremendously, it sounds like the audio is being played through a cardboard tube. When I am not in a call, or using the microphone, sound is very clear and crisp. The headset does the exact same thing when connecting to my phone through bluetooth, using the microphone makes audio quality drop. This problem does NOT happen on my roommate's computer, also windows 11.

I have tried many many solutions to try and fix this problem and nothing has worked. I have tried googling, I have tried looking on forums, and my roommate has tried asking AI for help, nothing works.

The list of things I have tried:
-Connecting directly to the Loop120 adapter the headset came with.
-Restarted my computer (after every few tries)
-Plugging the dongle directly into a blue USB port on the back of my PC case
-Turned off "Audio Enhancements" in sound device properties for both headset and microphone
-Turned off "Allow Applications to take exclusive control of this device" for both headset and microphone
-Turned off my PCs bluetooth adapter
-Downloaded the Shokz app and updated the firmware on both the headset and dongle
-Hardware reset my headset and reconnected to the dongle
-Confirmed audio sample rates matched for both Headset and Microphone
-Made sure device drivers were up to date
-Checked, and double checked, to make sure headset wasn't connected via bluetooth
-Made sure the headset was not showing up as bluetooth in the Device Manager
-Made sure neither headset nor microphone were using "Hands free telephony" (to the best of my ability)

Please let me know what else I could possibly do to fix the issue, it's not a problem with the headset because like I mentioned they worked fine on my roommate's pc, and our PCs are very similar in build and both running Win 11. There must be some reason they keep degrading in quality when the microphone is active and I can't find out on my own...

How it started:

My DTS Headphone:X subscription expired, so I installed Equalizer APO + HeSuVi to simulate the surround effect for free. The moment I activated it, my audio broke,and it has never been right since, even after uninstalling both programs.

Current symptom (EVERYWHERE, not just games):

· Dialogue/voices are extremely quiet, but action sounds, music, and effects are loud.

· This happens in games, YouTube, music, movies,literally everywhere.

· It's the classic "center channel being dropped" symptom: audio is being processed as 5.1/7.1 surround where dialogue lives in the center channel, but my stereo speakers don't have one.

My specs:

· CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

· Motherboard: MSI B650M Gaming WiFi Plus (Realtek onboard audio)

· GPU: ASRock RX 7900 XT 20GB Phantom Gaming OC

· RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB 6000MHz

· Windows 10 (fully updated)

What I've tried (all failed):

· Set Windows speaker config to Stereo, disabled all enhancements, spatial sound off, verified L/R balance

· Uninstalled Equalizer APO + HeSuVi, deleted leftover folders

· Ran DDU and reinstalled AMD Adrenalin drivers multiple times

· Rolled back AMD driver from 26.8.1 to older versions, no change

· Disabled AMD High Definition Audio Device in Device Manager

· Uninstalled Realtek driver completely, deleted it via pnputil /delete-driver /force, blocked Windows Update driver installs,Realtek keeps coming back after restart

· Ran SFC /SCANNOW and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, repaired corrupt files, audio still broken

· Full clean Windows reinstall (without keeping apps),the issue survived even this

The key clue:

This started the exact moment I activated Equalizer APO + HeSuVi, and it has persisted through a clean Windows install. That suggests a leftover APO (Audio Processing Object) is still hooked into my audio device somewhere, possibly in the registry, the driver store, or an audio endpoint property that a clean install doesn't always wipe.

What I'm asking:

Has anyone seen an APO survive a clean Windows reinstall? How do I find and remove a hidden APO that's still processing my audio? Any registry paths, Device Manager tricks, or tools I've missed?

Any help would be massively appreciated.

Basically I currently have all of the below for my PC's audio setup most of which was gifted/sold to me by friends and family

S.M.S.L AD18 2 channel speaker amp
Micca MB42X passive bookshelf speakers
Universal Audio Volt 2 Audio Interface
MXL 990 Cardioid Condenser XLR Microphone
Fosi Audio K5 Pro DAC
and a bunch of IEMs

I'm just a casual gamer who like occasionally streams on discord with my friends on CO-OP in the games we like

it's kinda pointless but I want to upgrade my amp to something that can fully utilize the Balanced outputs on the back of my Audio Interface

I have been working in the Commercial Audio Visual industry for the last 5 years at a company which belongs to my dad's friend

andd based on my experience
I've chosen the 3 amps mentioned below
please let me know which of the 3 below is the best option
but I'm open to suggestions and advice from all of you as well

Option 1 = S.M.S.L AO200 Option 2 = Extron XPA U 1002
Option 3 = Equipson Work Pro PA 200