A V-shape lifts the low and high ends and pulls the middle down. It sounds immediately more exciting — but the middle is where the vocal and most instruments keep their body, so scooping too far pushes everything away, and turning it up does not bring it back.
This sets low +3 dB, mid −3 dB, high +3 dB. Clearly a V, but stopping before the vocal recedes. When it still is not exciting enough, the thing that usually helps is the playback device, not scooping further.
The middle here means roughly 250 Hz to 4 kHz. That band holds the chest of a voice, the body of a snare, and the core of guitars and pianos all at once. A V-shape reads as "cleaner" because there is less going on in that band and the ends stand out by comparison. What went missing is not only the mud — the substance of the playing went with it.
V-shapes suit listening that runs in the background: commuting, working, anything where you are not tracking detail. They suit lyrics, close listening and mix decisions much less. Exporting two versions of the same track and picking by situation is the practical way to use this.
Many earphones already have a V-shape built in. Stacking two of them is tiring to listen to, so check the untouched version first.