In programming terms:

(1) changing the source names (as long as the new name fits the length constraint of the table) is benign as it is not used to drive logic (I presume)

(2) the +3db hack is potentially dangerous as it changes a parameter which is used to drive logic; overflows could occur, badly-writen code could trip over, etc.

(3) the firmware hack is copying and pasting logic from one place to another and expecting it to work without understanding how it interacts with global parameters in the new location and how its internal defaults relate to the source product rather than the target - this blind engineering is potentially lethal in software engineering terms

So, with respect George, I fundamentally disagree with your comment "not a bit of code was touched".

In the spirit of Spinaltap, I would like to confirm that I am not involved in the corrupt theft of a global sport.