Inside of that box, is another actual product unit box that includes a hefty zipper case, a few portable travel connectors, one short USB-C to 3.5mm cable and a long extension cable, and some documents from the company. So, if you want more, you can get it through the app. If not, that’s fine too. Of course, it is available for Apple and Android users. Battery Life & Calls Mark Levinson No 5909 headphones are luxurious, lightweight and durable. The first headphones from Mark Levinson, the No 5909 have been made using Mark Levinson 50 years work of experience making hi-fi equipment. The good news is that this product offers the most affordable route into owning a piece of equipment from the revered Mark Levinson brand. The bad news is that it’s a pair of wireless headphones costing well in excess of what most people consider ‘premium’. I prefer musicality in tone to clinical on this headphone, but you can get more of either depending on your rig, so rig-pair carefully with your preferences.

My gripes concern the controls and app that are too basic for a wireless headphone at this price, and the ANC which cannot be used during phone conversations. If those two items can be fixed with a firmware update, this becomes a mandatory listen for anyone considering a high-end wireless headphone. The No. 5909 comes equipped with 40mm beryllium coated drivers, a metal mesh bass port, and Bluetooth 5.1 with Hi-Res Audio certification for aptX and LDAC streaming. Most of my time was spent listening to Spotify on mobile devices and my Apple Music library via MacBook Pro. In addition, I kept the No. 5909 set to its default EQ. I had perhaps hoped that it would be possible to play even louder and more powerful if the headphones were connected to an amplifier. Unfortunately, no. Because although the headphones accept an analogue audio signal through the USB input, the signal is sent through their DSP – which has a limit to how loud sound it can accept before it splits into nasty distortion. In other words, there’s no point in investing in an expensive headphone amplifier in the hope of getting even better or louder sound. Photo: Geir Gråbein Nordby Conclusion The most important aspect of the review is of course, how they sound. But let me make a brief point here because the 5909s are a dual threat. You won’t just enjoy their unique wireless sound, you’ll get to experience and upgrade their sound dynamics when you pair them wired. As I mentioned earlier, the Mark Levinson headphones have a USB-C port capable of both charging the headphones and for passive-mode hi-res audio. Do you like sports cars and expensive-looking audio products? Well, look no further because the Mark Levison No. 5909 looks like a Ferrari with earpads…and I love it.We’ll cover off whether I believe the 5909 itself has actual worth in the course of the review but the concept of why nobody has built such a device until now is an interesting one and one that I suspect has more to do with our perception of Bluetooth as it does anything else. My theory on Bluetooth audio (and that’s all it is, I have neither data nor much in the way of usable anecdotes to support it) is that it was made available to the public a generation too early. The technical idea was too appealing to wait but it meant that for many of us, our first experience of Bluetooth audio sounded pretty grim and wasn’t actually that stable into the bargain. Considering all the other features in this model and for this price, I would rate the fidelity factor for its low-end as very good for the performance involved. 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.

The earpads are leather and very soft, and due to the closed design, things do tend to get a little warm but that is to be expected and is totally normal for a design such as this. They also have a metal mesh material over the bass port.

Features

During my sound testing I found that the battery life of the No.5909 is also way above average. I had no trouble getting nearly 30 hours of play time even with ANC engaged when using a wired connection and flac files. Using Bluetooth and Tidal or Qobuz drops life to somewhere closer to 8 hours before needing a charge though.

The Levinson loved to play big and bold with orchestral works, such as Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, delivered the grand staging, transparency, detail, and dynamics that makes classical works shine. Controls: buttons of above average tactile quality. Only 16 volume steps (with iOs). A big negative, but the 3-4 usable (to me) steps are of reasonable volume yet I cannot usually dial in a 'perfect' listening volume. The No. 5909 is only 32Ω, so it will mesh with any source for power needs. You don’t really need an amp, but I have found the extra power in some portable amps will drive the wired connection even more smoothly than without.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. The small cup and their tendency to lose seal made fitting the headphone on measurement rig extremely difficult. That is, until I realized some of it is inherent to the design and is corrected in digital input mode! Here is analog: The 5909 headphones have been engineered to provide you with optimal sound for an over-ear headphone. Its sound profile has been expertly tuned to an acoustic response curve that achieved the highest subjective scoring across listening tests. Experience reference-quality sound, the culmination of decades of research into listening preferences and the science of acoustics. I then connected them, and this was a game changer for me. My listening experience with the Mark Levinson 5909 headphones was that of high-end wired headphones like the Hifiman Arya or the Focal Clear. Yes, with a different sound signature, but the high-end response and audiophile sound I am accustomed to with very expensive wired headphones was present. What surprised me was the detail and silk-like mids-wired headphones present like the Arya and Focal Clear. The 5909s didn’t beat the Focal Clear soundstage or the Arya’s full and crisp sound, but it doesn’t need to, it has the advantage of being in the same ballpark, plus they’re wireless and noise-cancelling. The noise-cancelling itself is configurable in the Mark Levinson Headphones app (for iOS and Android). It’s switchable between ‘off’, ‘on’ and ‘awareness’, with sub-categories for ‘on’ (‘high’, ‘low’ or ‘adaptive’) and ‘awareness’ (‘voice pass’ and ‘ambient’) - once you’ve decided on your preferences, there’s a button on the left earcup that lets you toggle between ‘ANC’ and ‘awareness’.

Another app feature is the “Ambient Aware Mode” for situational awareness (same as other ANC cans like the already mentioned Sony). You can choose to listen to the ambient around you or shut it off completely. The 5909s also have a “four-microphone voice array with Smart Wind Adaption”. For Noise-Canceling they have three modes: High, Adaptive, and Low, which you can control through the app but also on the left ear cup (power On/Off in the left ear cup as well, while the right ear cup is for the up-down volume and pauses feature). The ANC functions on the 5909s are fantastic, I tried phone calls on busy streets and coffee shops, and they did put up a good fight against the best on the market, the Sony flagship wireless WH1000-XM-5. I had no issues with this feature throughout my listening. It feels weird to have a USB-C entry cable and a 3.5mm source end cable, but I am fine with it. It is a relatively new thing these days, so I am happy to see something fresh come around like this. The headphones have a clarity of sound that few have, and the bass quality is among the best we’ve heard. If you need more fullness, it’s also possible to pull up a bit here. Conversely, the bass can be muted in case the recordings have too much of a good thing. The bass is some of the cleanest I’ve heard from wireless headphones. Admittedly not as rich as with the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and especially the Sony WH-1000XM5, but definitely cleaner. And much faster! Mark Levinson simply has better bass. Flat pop productions unfortunately sound a bit tame, but then you can turn up the bass in the app. Photo. Mark Levinson Energetic midrange There is one bad peak which we are going to correct anyway. It is bad enough that it is contributing to extra output at that frequency.The mid bass is very linear and clean sounding with more than enough detail and texture; there was no bleed at all into the upper bass or lower midrange. One can use the app to engage the “bass boost” feature and while that does add more impact and emphasis to the bass in the mix, it also comes at the expense of some clarity.