Well, although the startup sound hasn't changed, I have noticed a difference: It is always played through the internal speakers of my iMac, even though it is hooked up to my stereo. Shortly after the boot sound, I can hear my stereo speakers being activated (that typical pop sound). Then all audio is outputted to my speakers. Not really horrible (or incredibly interesting either), but it does remove the possible of muting the startup sound via a cable. Since I won't be bringing my 20" to class anyway though, that may not be a problem

Anyone else experienced this?