Thanks for all the replies and insults on the first post. I don't really use IEMS. I have old pairs of Shure 846, Sony Z5 and the Audeze isine20. Recently got back into the hobby again after a long break. Bought the Audeze i3 (which will melt your brain good) and it's my main driver. I started looking for a closed IEM to use on occasion. I am not that big of a gearhead. I just enjoy nice music for the most part.
The Variations was pretty talked up in r/headphones like it's the bull's bollocks. I saw fellow countryman Crinacle rated it very highly. The guy really knows his stuff right? Beating about the bush is not a common trait here. How badly can this turn out? Well. It's boring. It does sound 500 dollarsish and nah it's not great. It's okay, passable. It's all my fault though. I bought it online without testing it first. I am used to Sennheisers and Audezes. That pretty much usually is a question of did it meet your expectations or exceed them? SQ is not the issue. It's $500 built like a $100 one.
Anyway back to the story.
I passed by the shop I bought it from and went to check with them.
Me: Hi, I bought a set of Variations about a month ago. The damn faceplate dropped off while the IEM stayed in my ear.
Shop Guy: Yep. (Not a hint of surprise) It's just a little glue holding it.
Me: So what do people do in such cases? Do they bring it back, you send it moondrop for RMA? I'll receive one equally bad? Should I just superglue it?
Shop Guy: Superglue it. Save the trouble.
Me: What would you recommend over the Variations? I want something with body to it.
Shop Guy goes on to recommend a couple of Chinese IEMs. Explaining what to expect. I lost interest really fast but noticed that everything recommended was half the price of the Variations or less. There you go, boys and girls. Don't buy the higher-priced Chinese stuff. Apparently, the recommended ones are somewhere in the $250 range. They seem determined to have a race to the bottom. By this time next year. You'll get the same quality for half of that. After that, it'll melt in the rain and most of the companies will be bankrupt.
I did test the Truthear Nova. Which appears to be talked up here like it's a pair of bear's bollocks. LOL. I get it, different yardstick. I wanted to try the Arya Organics, which wasn't available to test. I did try the Edition XS. It sounded great. The build quality however was hilarious. I am going to stick to something more familiar like Audeze or Sennheiser.
I'll like to thank everybody for allowing me to vent. Really appreciate. What do you think about Chi-fi? Love it? Hate it? Good for the hobby? Just a money grab? The guy (or gal) who called me a sucker for buying anything other than an APPLE airpod might be right. The Nova sounds like ........., I will pick the airpods non pro over it. I am very confused.
I didn't have the foams. The pair I tried only had the normal tips. It sounded really recessed in the mids and the bass was just sad. I am not sure changing the foam tips will make that much of a difference. I suspect the cable needs to be changed as well.
Interesting, I've been listening to the Novas for a week or so. The bass on my pair is really strong; tones under 50 Hz basically shake my head even at lower listening levels. Mids wise, female & upper register male vocals are very forward. The foam tips do make a difference, but mainly in the very lowest freqs and above 6k (see my measurements here).