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Mark Levinson, as a Harman company, has access to the minds – and ears – that created the Harman curve, which is a representation of the sort of sound supposedly preferred by most of the people most of the time. Usually this sort of marketing-speak suggests nothing more than endless focus groups and a result that’s inherently compromised; but in this instance, the goal is to reach an ideal. The vocal experience is broad and wide feeling; however, I would not call it a headphone geared toward midrange or forward presentations. Mark Levinson has been one of the leading brands in high-end audio for almost 50 years and its transition under the stewardship of Harman International has been rather interesting to watch. Harman is now owned by Samsung and part of a much larger group of companies that includes Harman Kardon, JBL, Lexicon, Infinity, Revel, and AKG. The growth of wireless headphones and the connection to Samsung and AKG is not a coincidence in regard to the Mark Levinson No. 5909 Wireless Headphones. There are three distinct wired modes, which is a unique feature of the No. 5909. The first is active analog audio mode, which works with the USB-C-to-3.5mm cable. It processes the audio signal through the No. 5909’s internal EQ and allows you to cycle through ANC and transparency modes. The headphones must be powered up before you plug in the cable to enable this mode. Yes, there is certainly an audible difference between BT mode and wired mode, but at this point, I am not caring too much these days about that when I am not in critical reviewing week.
Multipoint technology is available to pair the No. 5909 with two devices simultaneously, but it is a mess. Several times, the headphones crashed, producing this unbearably loud static noise, and powering off when attempting to pair them with a secondary device. When the feature did work, lag was present on my secondary device, or nothing would play at all. Mark Levinson No. 5909 review: Verdict I tried a second filter at 12 kHz and was not sure if I liked it better. It seemed to be more "accurate" but made the sound more closed. Speaking of which, that is a major problem with this headphone. It has almost no spatial effects. With the small drivers, the sound is coupled claustrophobically inside your head. I switched to my DC Stealth headphone and what a revelation that was in this front. The Mark Levinson No. 5909 is not an imaging champion, but it doesn’t let me down at all. This entire headphone is hand-tuned and not just random parts put together. They had an idea for how it should sound and they invoked the parts needed to make it that specific way. Driving for massive staging can sometimes ruin the density factor of the entire headphone and make it sound thin and stretched. The No. 5909 is quite dense and hefty for a dynamic driver. It pains me to not recommend a headphone that hits the magical tonality curve but here we are. I want the headphone experience to do things that even good speakers can't. And we simply are not there with Mark Levinson No 5909 headphone.
The headphone is very smooth and easy to listen to. If you want a lower end, you can achieve it with the dedicated Mark Levinson App. If you want a more neutral tone, seek out a very neutral source and you can alter the tone a bit to lean that way instead of being highly musical and warmer than usual.
The additional degree of impact is certainly noticeable but each listener will have a different preference in that regard and it can be turned on/off without any other issues. Well, that’s all going to have to wait for another day. Because while the level of ‘value for money’ the Mark Levinson No. 5909 headphones represent remains a live question, what’s not up for debate is their level of performance. These are properly talented headphones of the sort that will steal your time away. The Mark Levinson headphones have 40mm Beryllium (strong and lightweight) coated drivers and are acoustically tuned to the Harman Curve (famous among headphone enthusiasts because it provides a desired acoustic response that achieved the highest subjective scoring in tests done some years ago). Let’s just say the Harman Curve is the more pleasing tuned speaker/drivers curve for many. Grab a neutral amp if you want a neutral tone, or a very warm one if you are like me and want a lot of warmth for your enjoyment time.Who are these cans for? People with a thousand dollars who know what they want in an audio component, focus on sound and attention to detail and perhaps don’t fear what they desire. It’s in the midrange, though, that the No. 5909 shine brightest. They communicate to an almost indecent degree, giving singers of every type and every ability the platform on which to fully express themselves. Few are the singers that can communicate with the immediacy or the directness of Billie Holiday - and when she’s heard via a pair of these headphones, her peerless virtuosity is apparent. And, consequently, thrilling. ANC works very well and is on par with Sony and Bose for noise reduction and extremely good when it comes to not changing the sonic signature when engaged. Like most models, it works more effectively with lower pitched droning noises and I found that the low or adaptive settings were quite sufficient for most listening environments. Mark Levinson No. 5909 are very exclusive headphones, which elevate wireless sound to completely new heights. The noise reduction itself is good, but still not among the best. The sound, however, is top notch. I started listening before I measured the headphone and it immediately produced that familiar tonality I expect from neutral headphones. Post measurements, I started listening in digital mode that I thought it was a bit cleaner. Same nice tonality although with a hint of brightness. So I pulled out the EQ:
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