Hey guys, a buddy just lent me these. Almost brand new, bought from an official retailer, it has the full package which is excellent btw. And it sounds... how to put it... bad? Muffled, rolled off top end yet sibilant with some songs, bass heavy, slow, lacking definition in most areas. Female vocals and saxophone sound nice, almost everything else is a letdown, even without considering the price. I have an old Tinhifi P1 with me, these are much more open, detailed, layered, with much better separation, just on an other level. I tried both iem's with an E1DA Powerdac v2 and a Lotoo PAW S1. With the Powerdac the IE900 was way too bass heavy no matter how many tips I tried, with the S1 it's more balanced, still too dark. I also tried different set of tips, both silicone and foam, I won't touch the factory ones though since it's a loaner unit. I'll try to drive it with some other sources and amps, but as far as portable gear goes, that's all I have. And again, the P1 sounds excellent with either sources. I also tried different types of music, from vocal jazz to electronic to metal.
Anyway, any advice on how to make them sound better? Do these love tubes or solid state? Brighter or leaner amping? Should I try one of the factory tips and clean them before I sent these back? Also do these require extensive burn-in, and if so, how long should it be? It's been a frustrating few hours so far, so any advice would be appreciated.