Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-109-stax-sr-009d-grado-signature-hp100-se-hifiman-susvara-unveiled

I tried the SR-009D first, because I wanted to see if I could tell the difference between my memory of the transistor SRM-700S I used for my SR-007S report and the SRM-500T I was using at home. I presumed I would notice some obvious trait that would distinguish the tubed drive unit from its transistor counterpart, but I can’t say I did: Apparently the JFETs on the input of both the 500T and 700S dominated the sound. In a blind test, I doubt I could tell which amp was which.On the other hand, the Stax SR-007S and SR-009D headphones sounded remarkably different. The 700S driver amplifier excelled at beat and rhythm-keeping, which emphasized or brought out the 007S’s finest performance traits: nuanced, uninhibited dynamics with palpable vocal and instrumental detail. At Audio46, the SRM-700S put more life and light into the SR-007S than into the 009D.