Rthomas

O7brother was the one who lent me his 009 Yes, EQ has really changed the game for me and to my ears there is no penalty in terms of sound quality. Maybe somebody more qualified may be able to detect some issues and of course not all headphones will handle EQ equally well. My amp is a Mjolnir Audio KGSSHV Carbon. I don't have any DIY skills so I just went for Birgir's best amp. It sounds fantastic with the 009.

I agree with you which is why I always call the dealer and explain that I only intend to audition the headphones at this stage. I'm not sure how useful my impressions would be as I EQ all my headphones to the Harman Target. From the measurements I've seen the 009 and 009S seem very very close in frequency response. My guess is that once they are EQed to the same target they will sound nearly identical. Anyway I will post some impressions once I've had them for a few days. I bought mine from HiFi Lounge in the UK. Got them for around 3300 euros which is considerably cheaper than the EU dealer price. As UK is out of the EU we don't need to pay UK VAT (I'm in Spain) but I will need to pay 21% VAT to get them in Spain. Even then it worked out cheaper than buying them in Spain. Paul at Hifi Lounge was willing to send me a demo unit so maybe you can give him a call? Tell him that Ranjan Thomas recommended him. I have no relationship with the dealer other than my recent purchase. He was willing to send me a demo unit and also gave me a 10% discount so I decided to give him my business.

I'm new the to forum as well but I've bought some of Birgir's amps in the past and have gained from the knowledge here. I've played this game of asking if A is ''better'' than B on the internet and it is pretty useless. I have a possible solution for you. Find a Hifiman dealer in the EU who will lend you the Susvara for a few days. In my experience many dealers are ok with this. Of course you'll need to pay full price as a deposit. Directly compare the Susvara to the 009 in your system and voila you'll have your answer in a few days. No need to waste time reading 500+ pages of babble on Headfi. Instead spend more time with your family, watching a movie whatever I've started doing this and it is much better than wasting time on bullshit reviews. I borrowed a Raal SR1a from a dealer, found that I liked my Utopia better. Then I borrowed an SR009 from a friend. Found that I liked the 009 a bit better than the Utopia. Now I have an 009S on order As a matter of principle I have avoided Hifiman's headphones as the founder seems to have zero respect for his customers. I'll probably borrow a Susvara out of curiosity but would never buy them. He pulls his prices out of thin air as a dick waving exercise nothing more. I guess his home market like high prices as a marker of quality. All the best.