Mark Levinson No. 5909 - High Resolution Wireless Headphones with Active Noise Cancellation (Red)

Product Information

There is no getting around it, for a headphone on the top side of moderately heavy, the No. 5909 rests on my head immensely well. And as someone who shaves his head, I can appreciate the softness of the leather and the type of foam used. Might as well be a dreamy pillow, same for the earpads, which are the same materials. This moves the driver further away from the ear compared to most models where the driver sits even with the surface of the cup. One major plus about the design is that the inner foam pad and cloth that protects the driver is easily replaceable should the need arise. This is a gorgeous headphone worthy of the Mark Levinson heritage, and it will exceed the sonic expectations of even the most demanding music lover. In the app, an Auto-off timer for the cans is also available if you need it. There’s the ‘On-Head-Detection’ (turns them off when not on your head) that does not work at all. This feature cost me many hours of going crazy and researching in audio chat rooms trying to figure out why the connection to the 5909s would be cut off constantly. I am sure it wasn’t on my end because I had no more issues as soon as I turned off this feature on both models I tried. This is my biggest complaint about these headphones. So Mark Levinson, please let’s fix this issue.

As for headphones used for comparing the Levinson 5909s: Sony WH1000-XM5, Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX, Focal Bathys (review forthcoming) and Bowers & Wilkins PX-8. Also wired headphones, the Focal Clear and Hifiman Arya. Streaming was done through Qobuz, Tidal, and Apple Music.One big correction is regarding the passive mode. I own these headphones and true passive mode is engaged when they are fully powered down. They can then be connected via usbc (headphone) to 3.5 mm (DAP) and the volume gets much louder than Bluetooth. It also allows for some tweaking of the sound simply by omitting the inner pad if desired; should you decide to do this, there is a protective cloth layer built into the pad so dust and debris don’t have access to the drivers. I have had them for about a month now, so far they are the best sounding wireless headphones I have heard. I prefer them over the B&O. I'd never touch a focal product for my own reasons

Wireless users are given the choice of LDAC, aptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC protocols; the wireless connectivity range proved to be quite good allowing me to listen up to 25 feet away from the source as long as line of sight was maintained. The Mark Levinson No. 5909 needs a few minor fixes, but it is the only premium wireless headphone right now that delivers strong performance in every area that matters.With such a high asking price, it is not unreasonable for consumers to expect great sound quality from the No. 5909 and it certainly doesn’t shy away from that ask. I did my listening using both the wireless and wired modes and while there are some differences between the two, the gap when using LDAC and aptX Adaptive was not as wide as you might expect. Vocals were pristine with near perfect timbral accuracy. Vocals were rendered with the clarity, detail, and the flat-out hair-raising purity that you’ll experience from a high-end loudspeaker. For example, Elaine Paige’s iconic rendition of “Memory,” from Cats, played through the No. 5909 was intimate, energetic, and intoxicating. When I noticed the signature sound of the 5909s was controlled or I’d even say reserved, (with no punchy bass or buzzing highs), I wanted a small ensemble that would help melodies flow with no instruments taking center stage. Anouar Brahem’s “Improbable Day” is a solitary flow of a melody, a mystery, played wonderfully by the Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana. I took the same attitude with “Praeludium”, Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier’s intriguing cello and piano.Determined to get the most out of the 5909s, I tested them with a musical genre that has a complex and treble frequency texture, the bluegrass sound. With vocals, pedal steel, and resonator guitars as well as violin, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s masterpiece Killing the Blues was paralyzingly good. Another album that made the cut with the 5909s was Johnny Griffin’s Live at Ronnie Scott’s from 2008; a marvellous session filled with dynamic and competing sounds coming from all over, featuring Roy Hargrove, Billy Cobham, bassist Reggie Johnson, and pianist David Newton. Such is not the case here. The No. 5909 is wildly coherent in every direction. And when everything meshes just right like this, the experience feels broad and engaging. It feels interesting, and you don’t focus on one part of it like you would the HD800, for example.