[David1961]

Rather than trying to find the best amp to drive the 009's, it would be better to find the best headphones to use with the BHSE, which for me even though I only heard them for a short time with my BHSE, was the 007mk1's.
Having said that, I've only heard the 009's and 007mk1's with my BHSE so that's not a lot to go on.

 

[nk77]

I see a lot of mention of 'best'...And since I haven't heard the 009s or BHSE or any Stax for that matter...my HE-500 beats them all to a pulp and you are wasting your money....
 
So if anyone now is despondent and wants to sell me their amp at a discounted price....

 

[David1961]

I see a lot of mention of 'best'...And since I haven't heard the 009s or BHSE or any Stax for that matter...my HE-500 beats them all to a pulp and you are wasting your money....

So if anyone now is despondent and wants to sell me their amp at a discounted price....

We are only referring to stats gear.

 

[nk77]

Quote:

We are only referring to stats gear.

 
Yes I know 

. 

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Quote:

the questions yes, but you should not exaggerate as you make him so often

 
The 009's are so bad I sold them.  How is that an exaggeration?  Nevermind, why am I wasting my time on somebody who registered this month...

 
So? You're not immune to having personal preferences. Nor are you exempt from having a bit of respect towards other people who disagree.

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Rather than trying to find the best amp to drive the 009's, it would be better to find the best headphones to use with the BHSE, which for me even though I only heard them for a short time with my BHSE, was the 007mk1's.
Having said that, I've only heard the 009's and 007mk1's with my BHSE so that's not a lot to go on.

 
I just did a 009 and 007 MK1 shootout in my home over the last week. I found the 009s outperform the 007s easily, with no brightness or fatigue whatsoever. Tube choice with the BHSE for me is critical with the 009s, I know others have said the circuit yields little performance enhancement for tube rolling, but for me the difference has been substantial.

 

[satorarepotenet]

Quote:

 
 Tube choice with the BHSE for me is critical with the 009s

Would be nice if you could tell us what kind of tube you are using.
Thanks. 

 

[David1961]

With the majority of the songs I listened to when I was listening to both the 009's and 007mk1's in the same day with my BHSE, most of the songs did sound better from the 009's, it's just the songs that sounded and sound uncomfortable with the 009's, didn't with the 007mk1's.
That's the only reason why I'd prefer the 007mk1 over the 009 when driven by the BHSE.

 

[rgs9200m]

Here's what sounds superb to me with the 009s:
All Beatles.
Rolling Stones.
Fleetwood Mac
Carole King
Joni Mitchell
Carly Simon
5th Dimension
Mamas and Papas
CSN&Y
Neil Young
Led Zepp
Doors
Neil Diamond
Clapton
Cream
Elvis (the king and Costello)
Cars
Boston
Chicago
Madonna
 
So much texture and discovery and reach in vocals, guitar licks, unbelievably satisfying percussion with deep detail, I could go on and on.
Not as nicely euphonic  or full as my LCD3s or TH900s, but it is clear what is being passed over and obscured with these (still very musical and great) other phones.
The 009s lift a lid and expose a wealth of sonic, musical information that has been hiding in all this music for decades, and I feel privileged like an archaeologist to experience it.
All 3 of these phones get about equal head time for me, FWIW. (And I'll toss in my really nice HE500s here, which are also very fine and I spend time with.)
So, with all that, I still will not say that the 009s are "better" than these other phones, because they serve different listening intentions for me.
 
If I just want to kick back and relax and read while listening, I can't do that with my 009, as they rivet my attention. The others allow for that.
 
The 009s to me are what the HD800s strive to be, but the HD800s fail at this because they don't dig as deep into the details and are more glassy sounding,
like each image is covered in some shiny granite or glass covering, whereas the 009s have no coating or cover of each musical object.
 
(The SR007 mk1 and, after a short listen, the mk2, do not approach this level of exposure, for better or worse depending on one's tastes I guess.
However, I admit I never heard them with a BH, for full disclosure, so I will reserve judgement here of course. Maybe someone could comment if the SR007s of any vintage
do what I hear the 009s do with the BH or another amp. I'd  be curious.)
 
And on a positive note, doesn't everyone around here feel blessed that this level of headphone sound is available these days that was not available until relatively recently,
except maybe for things like the unobtanium Orpheus?

 

[ctemkin]

Quote:

Would be nice if you could tell us what kind of tube you are using.
Thanks. 

 
Also, I would welcome help on the following questions:  Are the problems reported with the Psvane EL34PH (including burning out prematurely, losing guide pin) things that can potentially harm the BHSE?  Second, any comparisons between the SED Winged Cs and the Shuguang Treasures?
 
Thanks.

 

[Golfnutz]

Quote:

 
Also, I would welcome help on the following questions:  Are the problems reported with the Psvane EL34PH (including burning out prematurely, losing guide pin) things that can potentially harm the BHSE?  Second, any comparisons between the SED Winged Cs and the Shuguang Treasures?
 
Thanks.

Any tube you put in the BHSE is subject to malfunction. Doesn't matter if it's NEW or NOS. Hopefully, nothing would happen to the BHSE, but this is why you should never leave your amp unattended. If you have any doubts about purchasing tubes, you should make sure you get them from a reliable source.
 
The guide pin is only a piece of plastic in the middle of the tube and has no affect on sound or failure of the BHSE.
 
I've used both the SED and Treasures in my BHSE. The Treasures are the nicer of the two, but are almost twice as much.
 
If you're looking for the best possible match for the BHSE (of the 3 you mentioned), unquestionably it's the EL34PH.
 
I think Johnwmclean is using Mullard xf2 or xf3, which I've never used and hope he can add comments about how they fit with the BHSE.

 

[satorarepotenet]

Also, I would greatly appreciate any comments on tubes and the 009 from people who listen mostly to classical (or jazz) music. Thanks.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I certainly don't think  or am qualified to say the 007t/ii is the best amp with the 009s or even nearly the best.
I'm just saying that I think the sound is very fine in absolute terms to me, period.
 
I was just trying to summarize what I think others are saying here (in over a year of posts on this), maybe even reading between the lines a little, or trying to figure out why they sold their 009s.
The only other amp I have an opinion on is the WES, which I heard at a meet.
(If you feel I should not be re-interpreting others' opinions, that's a valid criticism I suppose, and I sit corrected on that and apologize to anyone who is annoyed by that. Sorry.)
 
Like I said before, the WES had more authority, deeper stronger bass, better depth of field and layering (all very nice qualities), but there was too much glare for me (on classical and vocal music).
Thus, the 007t/ii is overall better sounding because the vocals and upper-mid/lower treble instruments are nicely in the plane of the music and, in most recordings, not overemphasized or painfully piercing.
That's the extent of my amp comparisons. That's all I know.
 
If I said anything to sound like I was criticizing something I never heard, I of course did not mean to say that at all, that being the ultimate sin of audio-posting,
and maybe I worded things wrong (which happens when my wife is asking me to go somewhere when I'd rather be reading head-fi...).
 
I guess it just gets my Irish up when I hear the 007t/ii 009 combo easily dismissed as unacceptable and I feel compelled to chime in (like a broken record, I know...).
I note again that Tyll said that he liked the amp a lot and mentioned the fine delicacy of the sound with this amp but had big issues with the highs at higher volumes, saying the treble became distorted.
(I managed to tweak my system to make the highs fine on most recordings at any reasonable volume.) And he said he preferred the 007t/ii to the 727, which he disliked.
So, while not exactly a positive endorsement of the 007t/ii, it reflects its ability to produce some very sweet sounds, which is one reason I find it compelling,
the co-existence of sweetness and deep insight, speed, and extraordinary detail, something that is unique to me that I have never heard before in audio, a revelation.
 
I do feel that the 009 is the biggest enigma I have come across in high end audio.

 
I had the SRM-727II and the SR-009s were the best headphones I had heard. I don't think anyone means to say that the SR-009s sound bad with the top Stax amps, because to my ears they best the HD800s and LCD-3s on my GS-X MKII. But after hearing them with the Liquid Lightning, KGSS and especially the KGSSHV (best by a good margin IMO), I came to realize that there was a lot more greatness in them that I was missing. 

 
A local friend (and builder of my KGSSHV) recently built himself a T-2, and I'm hoping to hear it just to see how much more greatness is in the SR-009s.

 

[rgs9200m]

OMG a T2 with 009s. That must be something.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

OMG a T2 with 009s. That must be something.

I bet it is.