They were way too quiet and sounded washed out, even at full volume. I usually listen to them plugged straight in to the output of my Creative Audigy 2, so maybe I used to them being over driven ???

Isn't the volume of the European Karma capped because of a European law that forbids portable audio devices to output a larger volume than xx dB's ? (don't know the exact number)
I believe it is, and this may explain why a European Karma sounds a lot more quiet than an American model.