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Few realize that the changes described between the "old" and "new" 009 _may_ also be caused by slightly different ear pad materials (leather, pleather, foam) as a result of a possible change in sourcing. This would more plausible then a latent diaphragm or driver change. I definitely hear differences between the old (softer) and new 007 pads, the 007 Mk II pads, and the (new?) 009 pads. Bass, treble, midrange - all can change.
It is also possible there are small manufacturing shifts, and few people can check many 009's in the same conditions in order to verify manufacturing tolerances. Now that number is rising, and we see the same phenomenon like with the alleged HD800 differences (there too, the most criticised area, the treble was claimed to be addressed), but whether this is random, or a tendency, could not be determined with the HD800, and I bet it will be the case with the 009 as well. But at least now we have one more variable to handle in testimonies coming from various sources.
You may be correct here. My experiments with sorbethane show that even adding a bit of this for damping can give notable changes in sound. I would expect that even minor construction changes could cause detectable sound changes.