[pabbi1]

Monsieurguzel (Alex), Shellylh, and I had a get together in Houston this evening.
 
Gear:
SR-009
SR-007, MK 1
HE-60
Thunderpants
HD800
LCD-2
Grado PS500
ATH ESW10
 
Headamp KGSS
Cavalli Audio LL
TTVJ
 
PS Audio Perfect Wave Mark I
PS Audio Perfect Wave Mark II
 
Most thanks to Shelly and Alex for bringing such fabulous gear. Impressions later, but here are a few pics:
 

 


 
Ok, an embarrassment of riches for three folks, but I came away with two impressions.
 
A - I need a new source, and pretty sure which way to go (with a digital file storage)
B - the SR009 is the most spectacular headphone I have ever heard. And, the DAC is FAR more important a consideration than is the amp.
 
Yoiu learn something new at every meet. Did not ever see it coming - scrape me off the pavement. More specifics later, but the PS Audio Perfect Wave made me an instanmt believer... with the SR009.

 

[shellylh]

This was a sweet little meet. It was great meeting Alex and seeing Al again.  
 
I can sum my feelings in one sentence.  The PS Audio PWD + KGSS + SR-009 was as good as I've heard and I want a pair (of Stax SR-009).  They were seriously good with both amps and sounded great with a variety of music.  I am seriously thinking of selling a bunch of gear (LCD-2, Woo Audio WA5LE, 404LE, AD2000, ... ) to justify getting a pair.
 
Now for some pics before I head to bed. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

[sachu]

Sweet mini meet. And agreed, SR009 slays all! 

 

[thinker]

Quote:

Monsieurguzel (Alex), Shellylh, and I had a get together in Houston this evening.
 
Gear:
SR-009
SR-007, MK 1
HE-60
Thunderpants
HD800
LCD-2
Grado PS500
ATH ESW10
 
Headamp KGSS
Cavalli Audio LL
TTVJ
 
PS Audio Perfect Wave Mark I
PS Audio Perfect Wave Mark II
 
Most thanks to Shelly and Alex for bringing such fabulous gear. Impressions later, but here are a few pics:
 

 


 
Ok, an embarrassment of riches for three folks, but I came away with two impressions.
 
A - I need a new source, and pretty sure which way to go (with a digital file storage)
B - the SR009 is the most spectacular headphone I have ever heard. And, the DAC is FAR more important a consideration than is the amp.
 
Yoiu learn something new at every meet. Did not ever see it coming - scrape me off the pavement. More specifics later, but the PS Audio Perfect Wave made me an instanmt believer... with the SR009.

B.i did the same finding i had to upgrade the dac and now the SR 009 is stellar i like to use only one word to describe the sound of SR-009, natural.It's like walking in the woods surrounded by fresh air and here and there you will make discoveries.
 

 

[monsieurguzel]

It really was a great little meet and I felt I got a lot more critical listening than most other meets I had been to...partially due to the small size of the group and great equipment on hand.
 
Couple things I learned from this meet:
1) HD800s are still my favorite not stat headphones out there...more people should take these seriously instead of going with the trendier LCD2/3.  Really a great combo with the Apex Peak / Volcano, which is a reasonably priced setup in my eyes.
2) Still don't understand why ppl like Thunderpants.  Every time I try them they sound really wonky and tonally off to me.
3) It was a toss up for me between the O2 through KGSS and the HD800 through Apex Peak.  I can see how people would have both depending on music they listen to.
4) Grado PS500, while extremely uncomfortable and looked like cheap plastic, were a very pleasant surprise for me!  I actually greatly enjoyed listening to these through the Peak.  Great performance / price headphone by my book!
5) SR-009 is really an awesome headphone, even powered from a KGSS!  I can't believe i've had these in my closet for the past 7 months and haven't been able to listen to them up until now, which makes my wait for the BHSE oh so much more painful.  I was really worried about brightness issues people were talking about but none of us in the room heard the slightest bit of harsh treble / glare.  Bass was very very satisfying out the PWD mk.II but not as great from the Ayon cd player which shows you how important a good source is with such headphones.  Overall, I had no complaints whatsoever with the headphones and they managed to image way better than any other headphone i'd heard up till now.  I do agree with thinker that a word to sum them up would be 'natural' in a sense that they are spot on tonally and sound extremely close to real life.
6) I love my PWD  Not really sure how much better a $10-15k source would be than this.
 
We definitely need to have another meet in a few months with more people possibly.  Hopefully by then I'll have a proper amp to drive my headphones.
 
Here are a couple more photos I snapped from my iPhone.
 

 

 

 

[shellylh]

Pretty much agree with everything Alex said except I do own a pair of Thunderpants... 
 
Those SR-009 sure do look funny on people with smallish heads.  

 

[TMoney]

Looks like an awesome meet, guys. Thanks for sharing your pictures and impressions.
 
If you liked the 009s through the KGSS then you are going to be floored when your BHSE finally shows up.

 

[nmxdaven]

Looks like a great time with great gear!

 

[DarknightDK]

Are there more impressions of the 009 paired with the KGSS vs the Liquid Lightning? Which sounds better with the 009?

 

[Maxvla]

All three attendees have posted their impressions I think.

 

[n3rdling]

Alex, when the heck did you move to Houston?
 
Cool meet

 

[monsieurguzel]

Haha  Yes it was kind of a sudden thing that happened this past summer for family reasons but now i'm in Houston for the foreseeable future  But it's great that there's a great community of Houston head-fiers, although not as big as the SoCal group.
 
As for the BHSE, thats really exciting to know that the performance of the 009 might get better with it!  I was super impressed with the KGSS as is and can't imagine them getting much better...but you never know.

 

[lithe1]

Sounds like a fun mini-meet y'all had. I'd be interested in any follow-up meets and I'll make sure and bring the equipment that I have. Let me know if, and when, y'all decide to meet again.

I would definitely want to try out the SR-009 headphones...

 

[MorbidToaster]

Kind of upset no one invited me! Still haven't heard the 009 + LL. Time to call Alex!

 

[MomijiTMO]

You post enough on these forums. Spend 1% of your time here checking the meet section