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

Product Information

Not strictly vital to the operation of the 5909 but fun nonetheless is that the noises it makes on startup and shutdown are absolutely brilliant; the shutdown noise in particular has an excellent “we’ve lost all power captain!

On the left, meanwhile, you can choose between your ANC and your ‘awareness’ settings – and there’s also access to a ‘power on/off/Bluetooth pairing’ control. 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. Instead, they’re as bright and crunchy as the music demands, but never threaten to become coarse or hard, even at volume. Simon Lucas is a senior editorial professional with deep experience of print/digital publishing and the consumer electronics landscape.

If those two items can be fixed with a firmware update, this becomes a mandatory listen for anyone considering a high-end wireless headphone. Mark Levinson quotes an upper frequency response of 40kHz but doesn’t give a low frequency roll off. Several times, the headphones crashed, producing this unbearably loud static noise, and powering off when attempting to pair them with a secondary device.

There is nothing I have ever tested that keeps delivering a performance that warrants the term ‘Hi-Fi’ in the conditions that the Mark Levinson can. The ergonomics of the buttons are near perfect and conform to the natural orientation of your thumb on the ear cup. Niche details like the headphone name on the side of the yokes and red accents surrounding the laser-etched logo on the front add to their appeal. Crucially, this is modern high end; the experience of peerless audio reproduction but without the weird hair shirt minimalism that used to come with it. You can set your preferred ANC and Awareness settings in the accompanying Mark Levinson app, and they are then the two modes that, alongside ‘off’, you can cycle through using the right earcup’s dedicated ANC button.

The ear pads snap on and off easily when needed and unlike most brands there is a secondary pad that fits between the drivers and the cups. as a properly premium item, and has been keeping its powder dry ready to unleash a volley of invective regarding ‘value for money’ and ‘credulous lottery-winners’. headphones represent remains a live question, what’s not up for debate is their level of performance. needs a few minor fixes, but it is the only premium wireless headphone right now that delivers strong performance in every area that matters. Perceived value may not get top marks, but sonic value certainly does – and that’s really what matters here.

However, Mark Levinson’s real sales pitch is to offer a hybrid hi-fi model that rivals the market’s top circum-aural, closed-back headphones.If you’re not that serious about professional sound, then the Sony WH-1000XM4 can fill your sonic gauge and provide better ANC and features for a third of the No. What makes this headphone special isn’t necessarily its pedigree, premium materials, onboard tech, or noise-cancelling performance (though it has all of those, too). A few years back, I wrote a review of the Mark Levinson № 5105 Turntable, and after seeing and listening to it, I decided to keep it.

Sound is served up by a couple of 40mm beryllium-coated full-range drivers, and they’re said to adhere more closely to the Harman curve than any alternative. There’s also an auto-off timer to power down the headphones when no content is detected (‘never’, ‘30mins’, ‘60mins’ or ‘180mins’) and an ‘on/off’ switch for on-head detection (it’s on an absolute hair-trigger when switched on, so ‘off’ is deeply preferable). Using Bluetooth and Tidal or Qobuz drops life to somewhere closer to 8 hours before needing a charge though.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. 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. No matter your preferred streaming source, the Levinson will ensure you’ll get the optimum connection for the best possible sound.