First off, thanks for the review! Estats don't get talked about often on platforms like youtube. Also, there is very little said about the x9000 on RU-vid, so this is helpful. I did notice you mentioned the limitations of what dacs you had on hand. I would encourage you to look into upgrading the dac. Once you start going to these totl headphones, the source becomes more important than on cheaper headphones. A number of totls, especially if it's from stax, will really chase after the source. You might be surprised by how much they change once you acquire a higher end dac. Good luck on finding a deal on a higher end dac if you start looking for one. Thanks again for the review,