Review: Mark Levinson No. 5909 Noise Cancelling Headphones

Check out our review of the brand new Mark Levinson No. 5909 Noise Cancelling Headphones. These are high-fidelity headphones crafted from premium materials with the comfort, features, and performance to back up the premium price point.
Watch the video above and check out our latest blog post for more details on these headphones: bit.ly/35uudCS
Contents of Video:
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - Brand History
02:02 - No. 5909 Overview
03:03 - What's In The Box
05:02 - Design & Build
06:56 - Active Noise Cancellation
08:52 - The App
10:42 - How Do They Sound?
14:23 - Headphone Use Scenarios
14:50 - Bluetooth Mic Demo
16:39 - Final Thoughts
17:31 - Conclusion
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Brian's No. 5909 Demo Playlist on Qobuz: play.qobuz.com/playlist/8231823
Brian's No. 5909 Demo Playlist on Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/5K5...
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Buy the Mark Levinson No. 5909 Noise Cancelling Headphones: bit.ly/3H7is2V
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Shop more from Mark Levinson: bit.ly/3Ha0f4S
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World Wide Stereo is proud to be nationally recognized for our commitment to customer satisfaction. Our certified industry product specialists are here to provide you with one-on-one shopping assistance and expert advice to help you find what you need to make an informed buying decision and to get the best performance from your gear. We pride ourselves on offering the same great customer experience both online and in our retail stores.
As one of the nation's leaders in audio and video consumer electronics since 1979, we offer an award-winning residential technology integration firm, two premium retail showrooms in the Philadelphia area, and an online e-commerce experience at www.worldwidestereo.com with 60-day returns and free shipping on all orders.
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[@dtovissi1]

Thanks for the great review. One other thing worth mentioning about the No.5909 is that we designed them to allow for future performance upgrades to audio reproduction and ANC. This allows the headphones to keep improving like a great bottle of wine. The No.5909 can be updated as you stated through our Mark Levinson Headphone App.

[@RorRiiZzLE]

Even eventually upgrade to a newer level of Bluetooth??

[@Viewer13128]

do you guys replace the battery when it's dead?

[@RorRiiZzLE]

@@Viewer13128 Recharge.

[@Viewer13128]

@@RorRiiZzLE What about when the battery is at the end of its charge cycles? Will they service the headphone?

[@RorRiiZzLE]

@@Viewer13128 I’d imagine they would. It’s also usually not terribly difficult to change batteries in over ear headphones if your warranty is up also.

[@_cmoll]

Just got my pair from world wide stereo yesterday and I love them! The mic quality in Teams meetings today was great. Switching from streaming high quality Tidal music via my phone to taking virtual meetings on my laptop was completely seamless. Sound quality, build quality, and comfort are outstanding. I listen to Sennheiser HD800S headphones at home and these are the closest I've ever heard from a wireless solution. Cannot recommended enough! Yes there are decent options for 1/3 the price out there, but save yourself the trouble of buying 2-3 different pairs over time that have varying strengths and weaknesses and just get these with no compromises. You deserve them!

[@tamxo2451]

Would you recommend getting the Sennheiser 800S and this for when you need to travel etc?

[@_cmoll]

@@tamxo2451 It's an expensive option, so it may not be in your budget, but that's my setup. Hd800s at home on an RME ADI2 and the 5909s for work and travel.

[@tamxo2451]

@@_cmoll thank you!

[@WorldWideStereo]

Thanks for your inquiry. If trying to decide which pair our nod goes to the Sennheiser HD 800S. Sennheiser is a world leader in transducer engineering: professional studio microphones and headphones. The HD 800s has a level of clarity and detail not heard on other fine headphones like the Levinson 5909. But either model is worthy of your consideration.

[@Noypi54494]

Just got a pair of 5909s for the cost of a song. Just had to pay shipling and taxes since I put my cc points towards Crutchfield purchase. I feel young again listening to what I grew up on

[@jack32322]

Good review. Well presented👌

[@JesusGonzalez-ky8im]

What a great review. I just got my pair last week.

[@goombatommy]

How do you like them? I’m about to pull the trigger on these.

[@Viewer13128]

do you have any comparisons to other wired or wireless headphones you've tried?

[@SimonTroll]

Thanks Brian. Good review. Not sure it is like being at a live performance or having the artist in the room with you, but agree with most of what you said about them. AQ Red? Not a Cobalt? I guess it’s down to personal taste. I am home trialling these in UK at the moment and A/B testing against the Focal Bathys. Different beasts, the sound can be even more exciting on the Bathys and the soundstage is far wider IMO. 5909s on the other hand give a more consistent and more refined and subtle sound stage. Also come down in price from £1000 to £750 here in the UK.

[@Stiggy771]

What is the warranty for these awesome headphones? I'm planning to buy them this month

[@SimonTroll]

Thanks Brian. Good review. Although I don’t think it is like being at a live performance or having the artist in the room with you. I agree with most of what you said about them. AQ Red? Not a Cobalt? I guess it’s down to personal taste. I am home trialling these in UK at the moment and A/B testing against the Focal Bathys. Different beasts, the sound can be even more exciting on the Bathys and the soundstage is far wider IMO. 5909s on the other hand give a more consistent, refined and subtle sound stage in comparison. Also come down in price from £1000 to £750 here in the UK. Those French cans are really exciting, but I will be opting for the Mark Levinsons as these are the whole deal. LDAC for Android users, to me they feel smaller and lighter on the head and the ability to use them passively (Bathys doesn’t do any of those three things unfortunately).

[@jja7741]

Excellent Review

[@TheQuickyouknow]

I wish there was custom eq at this price point. I need the ability to drop treble on my headphones.

[@davidmichael3189]

Any issues with the ML5909 Headband? I heard it falls apart at the stitching. It may stop me buying. Thankyou

[@staray1282]

Hey great review. I am several months but any chance you could test to see if the USB connection still has major input lag? Thanks!

[@WorldWideStereo]

Thanks for your inquiry.. Please contact Mark Levinson for assistance on this one: bit.ly/3uad3DL

[@thepatrioarchy]

Mine will be delivered tomorrow!

[@WorldWideStereo]

Exciting! Let us know what you think of them.

[@thepatrioarchy]

@@WorldWideStereo So far so good! Very comfortable, I wore these for 8 straight hours and no ear fatigue! The bass and vocals are clean! I listened to the very first Maxwell album on Qobuz and I heard instruments I never heard before! These headphones are definitely worth the money!

[@michelleroy2585]

Thanks

[@petermekhail149]

the harmon sound signature same used by master and dynamic mw75, actually if you tried them both you won't be able to tell the difference

[@stefanbanovic]

@ World Wide Stereo TNX for the great review. In comparison with B&O H95 how they compare?

[@WorldWideStereo]

Thanks so much for your inquiry. As highly regarded as the B&O H95 are, we can’t provide a fair comparison of them as this is a product we haven’t heard and we don’t sell.

[@ras_al_ghul_x2055]

I had a lot of headphones inclused the H95.. headphones are always a matter of taste. I sold my H95 because my opnion is that these sounds a lot better in terms of critical listening.. I use them on an Shanling M8 l-dac cobus hi res files.. For daily use like KZbin etc just use Airpods or Sony’s.. The H95 is one of the best but the 5909 is slightly better.. for me its the best so far for wireless headphones

[@Viewer13128]

@@ras_al_ghul_x2055 have to tried the Focal Bathys? Regarding the N5909, are the mids recessed or vibrant?

[@ras_al_ghul_x2055]

@@Viewer13128 The mids are neural in my opinion. It is not forward but not recessed either. However it is detailed. Regarding the Bathys I maybe trying these this week. I spoke to people but opinions are mixed. Some like 5909 over Bathys and vice versa. My feelings says the Bathys will be more dynamic but the 5909 more detailed, but that’s what I think…

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

@@Viewer13128 Bathys is hollow sounding with treble that makes certain cymbals sound like they're made of paper. The midrange sounds "clean" but that's mostly because it's hollow. It's not as dynamic as the (excellent) wired Focals either. Sound, build quality, and looks all point in favor of 5909. In fairness, Bathys does have a smoother treble that has much less tendency to be harsh vs. 5909, a character that's beneficial for BT headphones.

[@gdemirjian]

Do the 5909 need to be powered on when listening to 3.5 to usb-c?

[@a.wunderland]

The № 5909 can be connected passively to any product that has an analog 3.5mm or 6.3mm (1/4") audio connetion using the included 1.25m or 4m to USB-C proprietary audio cables included. 1. Choose the appropriate length (1.25m or 4m) proprietary audio cable depending on distance from the source component. 2. Plug the USB-C connection end into the USB-C input on the Right ear cup. 3. Plug the 3.5mm stereo mini jack on the other end of the cable to your source component's headphone input. If needed, use the 6.3mm (1/4") adaptor for traditional audio components. NOTE: When connecting passively, none of the electronic or app functions are operational.

[@Viewer13128]

@@a.wunderland I heard some ppl say the No 5909's bass quality is a bit worse when ANC is turned off. Is this always the case when in passive mode, or is the bass quality dependent on the DAP when in passive mode? Did they hear a decrease in bass quality because they simply plugged it in a smartphone, or will ANC on always have better bass, even when using a good DAP?

[@a.wunderland]

@@Viewer13128 Good question, I use it almost exclusively with anc, I find it more comfortable. But according to the "Audio" test report, marginally more bass under anc. About 5db between 15-30hz. Without anc about 5db more between 60-80hz. So, your Info seems to be correct.

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

@@Viewer13128 I wouldn't call it bass "quality", it's just difference in quantity. In fact, in terms of bass quality, ANC On seems to make it a tiny bit worse. Some of that added bass with ANC could be an artifact of noise cancelling, too. ANC by nature has a tendency to produce some level of low-frequency hum no matter how good the headphones are. In fact, I find the ANC Off sounds better on the 5909 overall vs. ANC On. Same can be said with other ANC headphones, though. I'm not saying that ML did not intentionally EQ the bass for active mode. They most likely did, as with almost all BT headphones. It just happened that the 5909 has a good passive sound to begin with.

[@morespinach9832]

Will ANC work if used wired with passive audio?

[@a.wunderland]

Correct wired only passiv, Anc works, but Audio is complete passiv, so also the volume, Skip function is out of order

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

what's "passive audio"? I assume you mean analog, but still the headphones are "active" (powered). In that case, ANC will work as long as the headphones are powered on.

[@morespinach9832]

@@evilvirtuoso9408 no. I mean wired. I don’t want to use any “power” from batteries or recharging at all. Just wired. I think ANC doesn’t work then. Noise cancelling is only when I’m using up the batteries. Yes? If I buy this and want to use it wired at all times there will be no noise cancelling at all.

[@troensvitnesbyrd]

Can anyone compare these headphones to Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95?

[@morespinach9832]

That’s crap v shaped sound with over done bass and artificial treble. Horrible sound. It’s more a “lifestyle” product.

[@fazeapplestic9420]

@@morespinach9832 “horrible sound” 🤡

[@JesseGuthrieSF]

How come the USB C to USB C cannot be used to connect to my phone to listen?

[@a.wunderland]

On my samsung s22 ultra it works, also on my Laptop

[@JesseGuthrieSF]

@@a.wunderland I'm using an S22 Ultra as well. However, the issue was that the headphones were defective. It works on my replaced 5909s. There one catch, it works with USB Audio Pro perfectly, but not so good with streaming services that do not support external DACs (there's ticking sounds, and the volume is not as loud).

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

It's refreshing to see a BT ANC headphone that sounds good in passive mode. This is essentially an audiophile wired headphone with BT ANC circuitry added to it. That said, it also looks and feels like one. Sadly it's too big, heavy and ridiculous-looking to be worn outside. Makes it more of a niche product for those who like excellent sound and wireless convenience indoors. The price makes that point more obvious.

[@kjellhedberg7779]

Try them and found out that I keep my B&W px7 C edition. Not bad but Px7 is more musical.

[@briansowden-worldwidestereo]

I'd love to test the difference between them, too. I wonder what resolution the USB-C connection gets directly connected to a computer. I still have my wired P7s that I love, so I haven't jumped to the PX7s yet. Then again, I use them wired to a DAC.

[@ras_al_ghul_x2055]

Depends whats your source device?

[@kjellhedberg7779]

@@briansowden-worldwidestereo I I I had the Orginal PX like them more. Better resolution and more bite. But my go dead after 15 month. Got a new from the guarantee.

[@kjellhedberg7779]

@@ras_al_ghul_x2055 Of course. I use my own design with 300B and components like black gate and rubicon. Hard wiered 😃

[@ras_al_ghul_x2055]

@@kjellhedberg7779 ok Nice.. but arent there better headphones wired ones😂

[@willyvlyminck138]

Just a brand name as ML did sell his company to Harmann , he is 77 now

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

What does that have to do with the quality of this product though? In fact, the brand isn't known for making headphones either, so certainly the ML badge has nothing to do with this being a good headphone.

[@jack32322]

I ordered mine

[@jack32322]

I got it today. Listening this video again

[@WorldWideStereo]

@@jack32322 That's awesome! Thanks so much for watching. Which color did you go with?

[@jack32322]

@@WorldWideStereo you mean colour? Radiant Red.

[@jack32322]

11:42, here is my test. i connected 5909 and bose qc to my phone. i played taylor swifts song from youtube. Both have same volume setup. 5909 sound better. Winner: 5909. I played the same song from qobuz for both bose and 5909. Oh Man.. You should hear it in 5909 Winner: 5909. Agree that i cannot compare these two. But this is what i had.

[@WorldWideStereo]

@jack32322 great choice 👍

[@IvarMeijer]

I was appreciating this review until you tripped over your own feet mentioning Taylor Swift's song as a reference recording, after which things really took a turn for the worse by stating that although the Bluetooth connection is the lowest quality with a 4:1 conpression ratio, the quality is improved by the 24bit D/A converter... Oh my...

[@philippesandmeier3736]

Where the heck does the 5909 name come from??

[@dtovissi1]

Great question Phillipe. Since the 1980's all Mark Levinson products have had model numbers preceeded by the scientific number symbol. Each of the numbers represent something. The first number represents what series in our portfolio the product. For instance, the 5909 is in our 5000 series of products. The second number represent what type of product it is. If it was a source component like a turntable or SACD streamers, it would have a number 1, the number 2 is reserved for amplifiers, 3 for preamps, 8 for integrated amps and of course the number 9 for headphones. The last 2 digits also have relevance the performance characteristics of the product. I know it's an unusual way to name a product, but it is part of the heritage and legacy of the brand that we respect. As part of the team that set out to create the best wireless ANC headphones, we are honored by this review.

[@philippesandmeier3736]

@@dtovissi1 David, thanks for your kind, detailed and helpful reply. I can respect heritage/tradition, albeit if you're not part of the Mark Levinson family already, you can understand it's tough to understand. I look forward to trying the 5909s out hopefully sometime in the future.

[@WorldWideStereo]

@@dtovissi1 thanks for jumping in, David! We're so glad that you enjoyed our review and really appreciate the kind words - the No. 5909 headphones are an excellent product and we look forward to seeing what you and the team launch next.

[@Viewer13128]

@@dtovissi1 "The last 2 digits also have relevance the performance characteristics of the product" Does "09" mean that it's 9th in performance? D:

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

@@Viewer13128 It means its performance is 9 out of 100. LOL. (just kidding, of course)

[@willyvlyminck138]

They could never ask this money for a JBL product which is also a Harmann brand

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

They never make a JBL headphone that's designed as meticulously as this. And following your analogy, Samsung would never ask the same money for a Samsung loudspeaker as a Revel loudspeaker, although Samsung owns Harman who owns Revel.

[@Letechno]

I bought, excellent sound except that the product is full of faults: Crackling when no sound in bluetooth. Problem with sound cutting in aptx HD if the environment is not free of any interference. Headphone head detection function malfunctions, headphones close randomly.If you connect it to two Bluetooth devices, in my case they connect almost at the same time and when the music start, an unpleasant sound occurs and the headphones close. Finally, the headphones are heavy to wear over a long period of time. Customer and tecnical service is not very good. So invest your $1000 on another more successful product!!!!

[@LiLSCRIBE]

Thank you, appreciate your honest comment, this is worth gold. Question: What bluetooth headphone would you suggest buying? I am looking for accurate sound, comfort, not heating up, and possibility to switch off anc. Thank you and greetings

[@SimonTroll]

@@LiLSCRIBEHave you tried the Focal Bathys? They are an exciting listen and very detailed.

[@GEFELICITEERD45]

The Dali IO-12 sounds better

[@morespinach9832]

30 hours isn’t impressive. Technics a800 does 50 hours. Marshall does 80 hours.

[@a.wunderland]

Bluetooth 5.1,not 5.2, still no Bluetooth le. But does you use them above 34h?

[@morespinach9832]

@@a.wunderland all this is mumbo jumbo. A 5.2 Bluetooth with latest paper tech can sound kick worse than even a Bluetooth 5. More importantly wired the sound is spectacular and it’s nice to have that option. Rest is jazz.

[@evilvirtuoso9408]

I prefer headphones that I can use for 100 hours a day.

[@morespinach9832]

@@evilvirtuoso9408 doesn’t have to be 100 “a day” 😂🤣 - the idea that I need to charge every day is pretty silly

[@SimonTroll]

30 hours is impressive enough for me. Do the Technics and Marshalls sound as good and perform as well as the 5909s? Maybe but it’s all down to your needs and wants in a headphone.