My first thought. Their best era

I’m not a huge fan of the z10e personally, especially with the 9k, but plenty of people disagree with me there.

And totally. They’re perfect as complementary headphones.

The BHSE has been surpassed IMO. Try the Grand Cayman if you get the chance. I think it’ll end up priced right around the Kerry T2.

If someone could make a headphone that sounds as natural as the 9k and stages as naturally as the 9k but with the visceral physicality of the 1266, that’d cover the bases for me. With the T2 the 9k gets a taste of that, so that could really be endgame, but it isn’t the same as the 1266 of course. I have the same experience switching between the two. 1266 sounds unnatural, recessed in the mids, and boomy when going from 9k to 1266, and the 9k sounds totally flat and boring going the other direction, but it doesn’t take long for me to adjust, and the 9k’s natural staging is starting to win me over. Both headphones are absolutely the top tier performance you can get from a head-fi system, so I hope my comments aren’t taken as otherwise.

And if you go down the speaker rabbit hole, if you haven’t already, check out Kharma speakers. It’s the first experience I’ve had that I felt surpassed Magico M Series and Rockport Lyra. I’d have to do some A/Bing to confirm, but my most recent experience with Kharma was one of the best experiences I’ve had in audio.

I think you’ll enjoy the 9k. Staging isn’t more intimate or closer on the 9k (actually a bit further) vs the 009, but it’s much more natural and coherent. Not as artificially airy between instruments. HE-1 takes the crown for me for a more intimately staged experience, but for that money I’d rather build systems around other headphones.

SR-X9000 is the first headphone I’ve really liked more than my 1266TCs in enough areas to make me want to switch. The staging is just so natural! I’ll probably just get the 9k and use both, but this hobby is getting expensive. TCs are still the most visceral experience in headphones and have their place like you said.

You need to hear the 9k on Headamp’s new Grand Cayman or the Kerry T2 if you haven’t. T2 makes it more tactile and slammy, less soft but still very natural. Grand Cayman makes the staging even more natural and speaker like! They’re both unbelievable pairings natural (these comparisons are vs BHSE). I haven’t had the chance to A/B the T2 and Grand Cayman directly like I have for each vs BHSE, but that’s the next step along with hearing the MSB Select and Viva Egoista STX.

The Shangri-La (Sr) is worth hearing on the T2 as well. Much better than the HFM amp. But I’d have trouble justifying that sort of spending on anything from HFM.

The new Yamaha headphone also looks interesting.