Unfortunately live music is not tame, laid-back, recessed, or distant. Live music is dynamic and clean. Live music also in the mids, not the trebles or subbass.
Yet music players is a preference choice. When you have a player like a Sony, for example, you are stuck with a signature sound.
In contrast, when you have an analytical and more neutral sound, you are less bound by any signature, and a side effect is also some more clarity.
The Ibasso still has the most variability because of this. You can still buy an amp13, or customize the amp more for different signatures like those your referring to, and also change music player, as Mango is a bit less forward, And Neutron is a bit more forward. Also the gain setting also can have differences.
But Ideally you want
a pure source for your IEMs& headphones. The use of headphones/IEM are where want to choose your preferences in sound, NOT the source (player).
When you choose a tainted
player with a certain signature, you limit everything you use, to the "sound" of this player.
Choosing a "tainted" source was a "reverse" thinking, and why I finally left from Sony WM1Z "analog" sound, to a more neutral player. The key moment was when I did a side-by-side of the WM1Z with an Ibasso 220max. Even though the 220max was in itself not the most neutral, I realized then, just how much artificial "processing" of sound the Sony was introducing. It actually was producing effects that did not exist in the source music(!). I realized then it was artificial beauty. A sad day of realization.Then, what sealed the deal for me, was noticing a bit more details and realism in the most upper registers. The Sony, especially with the "Mr Walkman" firmware, was the most seductive sound I ever heard in a player, but I was snapped out of it, by ibasso. Since then I crave realism more than anything.