My Japanese pressings and mobile fidelity pressings (also pressed in Japan), as well as my analog production sets are all dead silent. I use an SME 20/2 and Titan Lyra cartridge. Not a peep but the recording itself. I ran them all through once. Any LPs with issues were exchanged for perfect pressings.
I definitely agree that Japanese vinyl is a true marvel. Love that stuff! And always impressive how meticulously it was cared for by prior owners in Japan. This is in stark contrast to a lot of the vinyl from elsewhere. I strive to approach that level of care. Also my favorite cartridges come from Japan, and of course Stax headphones.
ALL totl cartridges come from Japan.
Just look at the previous posters cartridge - Lyra Titan. Doesn't get much better than that.
Linn cartridges are made by Lyra as well (shhhh... dont tell anybody
My Japanese pressings and mobile fidelity pressings (also pressed in Japan), as well as my analog production sets are all dead silent. I use an SME 20/2 and Titan Lyra cartridge. Not a peep but the recording itself. I ran them all through once. Any LPs with issues were exchanged for perfect pressings.
Wow that is a really nice record player and cart.! However you are talking about fairly new pressings. All of mine are originals I have bought through local record stores, a few direct to disc. I can usually clean them up pretty well with my Nitty Gritty 1.0 but still there is only so much you can do with 40-50 year old media and honestly only so much you can expect. My dad has a large collection I trade with but they were kept in a basement for 30 years and most suffer from crackle now. I can bring them back to life but not sr-007/009 level.
I love mobile fidelity as well but their records were a bit pricey for me. If I remember correctly $50-100 a piece? I did find a local connect for their cd's and I love them for the $15 a piece I paid for them. To me they are the gold standard of digital and they, along with a Sony cdp-xa7es and das-r1, are about as good as your gonna get digital regardless of price. To me they sound like reel to reel without the hiss. Still I would not call it master tape level and a budget to mid level reel to reel player. It's good but I still think I get practically the same results with a Hd800+dsha2 as I would a sr-009+kgsshv where real master tapes and totl reel to reel would be a night and day difference.
I remember I tried out the Abyss Phi CC through the XIAudio Formula S Amplifier in Japan and I had a very bad first impression of it.
The headband and the pads were uncomfortable and it didn't give me a proper seal; I don't know if it's supposed to be that way?
Back to topic, I got to try the 009S again with the same setup and I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the mids/treble was (especially Art Pepper's sax) and how much more bass punch existed compared to the 009.
I was listening to the Planet Earth 2 Soundtrack and the 009S did a very good job at imaging all the diverse instrument sounds with clarity and the usual electrostatic speed.
However with simpler string-based music like from Frank Vignola or Alisa Weilerstein, I had a much more immersive experience with the original 009; it just reproduces the string vibrations for the very fine micro-details so nicely--really second to none.
But if I had to choose between one to get (assuming I already have the BHSE and Dave), I'm starting to lean towards 009S.
Maybe a completely different experience on other DAC/Amps so YMMV.
I remember I tried out the Abyss Phi CC through the XIAudio Formula S Amplifier in Japan and I had a very bad first impression of it.
The headband and the pads were uncomfortable and it didn't give me a proper seal; I don't know if it's supposed to be that way?
Back to topic, I got to try the 009S again with the same setup and I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the mids/treble was (especially Art Pepper's sax) and how much more bass punch existed compared to the 009.
I was listening to the Planet Earth 2 Soundtrack and the 009S did a very good job at imaging all the diverse instrument sounds with clarity and the usual electrostatic speed.
However with simpler string-based music like from Frank Vignola or Alisa Weilerstein, I had a much more immersive experience with the original 009; it just reproduces the string vibrations for the very fine micro-details so nicely--really second to none.
But if I had to choose between one to get (assuming I already have the BHSE and Dave), I'm starting to lean towards 009S.
Maybe a completely different experience on other DAC/Amps so YMMV.
Agreed, 009 and 009s is much different in this department you just perfectly described. The 009 is more natural, references and accurate while the 009s is more specifically tuned to different targets but mostly very musical and precise. Both are just so much fun to have
Some feed-back re sr009s. In regards to sr9 trenles are less overemphasird and as such nuch more pleasant to listen. It is an ideal campanion to sr7 and lcd4 which are more easy going. From a tuning perspective quite similar to final d8000.
If you have a very good recoding such as harndel - tamerlando or also the meistersinger from Karajan, it hardly gets better. On the other hand the operate (as SR9) as a microscope and hence you hear every flaw from less than perfect recordings - such as 1959 kleiner le nozze di figaro recording.
Over all a very, very good headphone for perfect recodings and a good complement to sr7 within the stax family.
Just auditioned the 009S with the T8000 at Yodobashi Akihabara. I wasn't expecting much, but it's a huge step up from the 009. It's friggin perfection.
I was going to get the L700, that's now just an impossibility after listening to the 009S.
I’d really like to do a home side-by-side comparison between the L700 and 009S. The 009S on the T8000 was on the same level as my L700 through the GG or Carbon. I am really curious what a 009S will sound like with a GG or Carbon.
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