Update: I returned the original pair and got another, which reduced the issue to a much more tolerable point. But, better yet, I plugged them into a hybrid tube amp I’d gotten for the HD 600’s just as a “might as well see” and the tinny-ness / “speaking through a box” issue practically vanished, while retaining the rest of the profile of the headphones afaict. Loving them now!

It’s crazy how audible the difference is when switching between the amps (Schiit Magni and Schiit Vali 2).

Good to know, I’ll have to play with it – thanks!

Just learned to apply EQ and applied oratory’s settings – it helped this issue a bit but not much. Tried tinkering further but any gains I got on this issue came at the cost of music quality.

Might just be that the headphones I’m used to have been hiding issues, though given the 560S reputation for analytical strength, seems more likely the 109 Pro’s are shining a spotlight on this particular type of issue.