You really should change the title of this article... So far from the truth. In short, Youtube is most likely trying to improve how they auto generates thumbnails for those who don't upload a custom ones. Nothing about their test or statement says they'll be straight up removing custom thumbnails.
And of course I'm not saying their "experiments" are ok. Very uncool. Much like your title.

Thank you for sharing the video! Although the preamp in the video is different from the hack one. It costs $99 but doesn't need to be hacked AND has 2 channels! Pretty slick.

I used to think the same, but it turns out unbalanced signals are actually fine for short runs. But if you start running 15+ feet you'll start getting into the danger zone.

I was going to say the same thing but you nailed it first.

I agree. I'm always grateful when NFS posts a video of mine. If anything, they help us little content creation guys out! That said, I believe content creation should also be a priority rather than 95% curation.

Wow, don't mind the haters Renée. Keep up the great work.