[improwise]

Yes, I doing more tests and sometimes the bass with ANC is very, very high comparing with ANC off. I hoping that ML fixing this very soon. I using the 5909 95% wireless with ambient maybe 15%. For me ANC is only for travelling or if using vacuum cleaner.

Ye, agreed, currently it's like ANC is needed if you want the best bass (or at least most of it), even though you do not want nor need ANC. Mostly working from home these days, I rarely need ANC like pre pandemic times.

 

[BatBoyP]

I comparing the h95 with the 5909 for 2 days and the 5909 ALWAYS sounding better for me, with not a single doubt. But people that liking more bass (with ANC off) probably preferring h95 than 5909.

Thank you, angelom. It's very useful. I'm still in doubt between wireless headphones vs wired with an iFi Go Blue. Wireless is obviously more practical - it's also what I have with the Lagoon. Wired, there's more choice and it is potentially cheaper (e.g. DT 700 Pro X with Go Blu is half the 5909's price). But it doesn't travel well because the Beyer doesn't fold. And of course, there's not much choice in foldable wired and they're also not cheap...

 

[angelom]

Ye, agreed, currently it's like ANC is needed if you want the best bass (or at least most of it), even though you do not want nor need ANC. Mostly working from home these days, I rarely need ANC like pre pandemic times.

Maybe you don't understand my last post or I don't understand your last reply.

But for clarification, I'm not satisfied with the bass when ANC is on in the 5909, because in general is having a boost that I don't like very much and sometimes is sounding excessive. For me right now the best sound of the 5909 is with ANC off and bass "enhanced". This bass "enhanced" with ANC off is more correct in amplitude than with ANC on and bass "neutral" even if this seeming like contradiction.

My hope is that ML fixing the DSP tuning for ANC on and bringing the bass down.

 

[jthomp72]

Maybe you don't understand my last post or I don't understand your last reply.

But for clarification, I'm not satisfied with the bass when ANC is on in the 5909, because in general is having a boost that I don't like very much and sometimes is sounding excessive. For me right now the best sound of the 5909 is with ANC off and bass "enhanced". This bass "enhanced" with ANC off is more correct in amplitude than with ANC on and bass "neutral".

My hope is that ML fixing the DSP tuning for ANC on and bringing the bass down.

I’d say that is unlikely as you are one of the few people who I have heard say that they do not like how much bass there is

 

[angelom]

I’d say that is unlikely as you are one of the few people who I have heard say that they do not like how much bass there is

I don't like the quantity / amplitude of the bass ONLY when ANC is on.

 

[improwise]

Maybe you don't understand my last post or I don't understand your last reply.

But for clarification, I'm not satisfied with the bass when ANC is on in the 5909, because in general is having a boost that I don't like very much and sometimes is sounding excessive. For me right now the best sound of the 5909 is with ANC off and bass "enhanced". This bass "enhanced" with ANC off is more correct in amplitude than with ANC on and bass "neutral" even if this seeming like contradiction.

My hope is that ML fixing the DSP tuning for ANC on and bringing the bass down.

My point was that ANC on affects sound more than I feel is warranted for ANC reasons. Now, if the sound resulting of that is good or bad is up to everyone to decide themselves, but I feel that if you like it, you shouldn't really be forced to enable ANC to get it unless you really want ANC. Or the other way around, if you want ANC, you should be able to get it without a big difference in bass. I think we agree.

 

[caustic386]

So you’re the one that sent Amir the 5909. I’m curious how he will recommend these given they are designed with Sean Olive and tuned to Harman curve. That seems to be the standard ASR likes.


Scaling with better sources doesn’t necessarily mean more magical things happen the more expensive stuff you feed the headphone. Better sources doesn’t mean necessarily more money.

Running Stellia (utopia, stealth, empyrean, etc…) out of an apple dongle will force you to use the max power thus closer to clipping and distortion. Using it off your ampersand will keep you in the sweet spot for your amp.
In contrast, the 5909 don’t scale at all. If I plug them into the M0, they sound good. I plug them into WA8, they sound good with the bass bloom and harmonic distortion of tubes.

Yes sir, I am! I also submitted the LIRIC, although I didn't end up keeping it. Ever since I learned how much BS is in this hobby, I don't buy anything that doesn't have independent measurements available. To be clear: if I like it, I like it, measurements be damned. I just like the education aspect of it, it helps to be able to quantify my dis/likes, and lets me know what vendors can be trusted re: published specs.

For some time now I've been looking for an over ear that can act as both a sub-bass cannon and a vice grip on my ears such that it stays in place during workouts. Wireless would be fantastic, but not a dealbreaker. Currently I use IER-Z1R's, which are great, but twice now i've had to get some impacted wax removed as a result of IEM usage. If I could find a planar or AH-D9200 clone that clamps my head the way a brand new HD650 does, the circle would finally be complete.

It sounds like we're saying the same thing; probably I was confused by the terminology. Some of the claims I've seen around here are... dubious. so, I'm never sure if I'm dealing with someone who honestly believes optical ports need burn-in or we're simply getting lost in translation.

The MA8 looks kind of fun, but I'm a planar convert so 120mW @ 16ohm (guesstimate based on specs) is a deal breaker for me, plus my personal preference is if I hear anything at all that's not in the original recording I don't want that device. But, I do understand tubes can be pleasing in a different way. An MC275 'clipping' is actually kind of cool, but of course the price...

Re: the M0, though, what's the use case there? The 5909 have BT 5.1 I think, so I'd expect them to be superior in every way? Or, at least, any difference would be inaudible assuming a healthy BT signal.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Yes sir, I am! I also submitted the LIRIC, although I didn't end up keeping it. Ever since I learned how much BS is in this hobby, I don't buy anything that doesn't have independent measurements available. To be clear: if I like it, I like it, measurements be damned. I just like the education aspect of it, it helps to be able to quantify my dis/likes, and lets me know what vendors can be trusted re: published specs.

For some time now I've been looking for an over ear that can act as both a sub-bass cannon and a vice grip on my ears such that it stays in place during workouts. Wireless would be fantastic, but not a dealbreaker. Currently I use IER-Z1R's, which are great, but twice now i've had to get some impacted wax removed as a result of IEM usage. If I could find a planar or AH-D9200 clone that clamps my head the way a brand new HD650 does, the circle would finally be complete.

It sounds like we're saying the same thing; probably I was confused by the terminology. Some of the claims I've seen around here are... dubious. so, I'm never sure if I'm dealing with someone who honestly believes optical ports need burn-in or we're simply getting lost in translation.

The MA8 looks kind of fun, but I'm a planar convert so 120mW @ 16ohm (guesstimate based on specs) is a deal breaker for me, plus my personal preference is if I hear anything at all that's not in the original recording I don't want that device. But, I do understand tubes can be pleasing in a different way. An MC275 'clipping' is actually kind of cool, but of course the price...

Re: the M0, though, what's the use case there? The 5909 have BT 5.1 I think, so I'd expect them to be superior in every way? Or, at least, any difference would be inaudible assuming a healthy BT signal.

Key word: healthy signal

I only have two LDAC devices. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 and the M0. The S6 LDAC never sounded “correct”. Music was compressed and lifeless. I listen to a fair amount of orchestral music. You can tell LDAC by the absolute blurring of all detail in complex passages. I force the S6 to use the 990kb/s setting. The M0 implementation sounds better-ish. The problem is the effectIve range is only about 1 foot. I have to strap the M0 to the headphone. At that point, why not just plug the dang thing in. I bought it to use as an LDAC Bluetooth transmitter for my 2go/2yu. It didn’t work. Even though The M0 showed all was good, no sound ever transmitted. So now I have it as an ultra portable DAP with a 512gb microSD with most of my music. I‘m sure that well implemented LDAC is transparent, but my sources must not be. I bought the 5909 for the ANC, tuning, and Beryllium drivers anyway.

The WA8 is an interesting beast. With my Stellias and Liric, I’m not going above 3-4 out of 10 on the dial. I don’t have my LCD-2 anymore to test it out. It’s dead quiet with my iems even at full volume (with no music playing of course). I’d give it an audition if you can with your planars. You might be surprised. But $1800 for a niche transportable DAC/amp with only 3-4 hours of battery life on average is a tough recommendation. If you were a big tube amp lover, I‘d say go for it.

 

[BatBoyP]

Thank you, angelom. It's very useful. I'm still in doubt between wireless headphones vs wired with an iFi Go Blue. Wireless is obviously more practical - it's also what I have with the Lagoon. Wired, there's more choice and it is potentially cheaper (e.g. DT 700 Pro X with Go Blu is half the 5909's price). But it doesn't travel well because the Beyer doesn't fold. And of course, there's not much choice in foldable wired and they're also not cheap...

Sorry to reply to myself Has anybody compared the 5909 to the WP900? Combining the WP900 with an Ifi Go Blu would be a similar price (€900 vs 5909 at €1000). Obviously, the 5909 is more practical as it has BT and USB on board. I'm wondering about the pure sound quality. I'd be using the headset wired most of the time. Thanks!

 

[iFi audio]

Thank you, angelom. It's very useful. I'm still in doubt between wireless headphones vs wired with an iFi Go Blue. Wireless is obviously more practical - it's also what I have with the Lagoon. Wired, there's more choice and it is potentially cheaper (e.g. DT 700 Pro X with Go Blu is half the 5909's price). But it doesn't travel well because the Beyer doesn't fold. And of course, there's not much choice in foldable wired and they're also not cheap...

The choice depends on whether you already have wired headphones you'd like to turn into a wireless set. Some folks have been using their wired mobile cans with GO Blu strapped to them and connected via a super-short cable. That way one has a wireless receiver, DAC, amp and cans combined into one. Fun fact: many years ago there was a trend of doing that with a tiny Sansa Clip DAP with Koss Porta Pro

 

[WDitters]

I can't help but have strong suspicions that the new Master&Dynamic MW75 comes from of the same manufacturer/design team as the ML5909. Headband, app, câbles, 40mm Beryllium drivers, uncanny similarities...

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/master-and-dynamic-mw75-review/

 

[MayaTlab]

I can't help but have strong suspicions that the new Master&Dynamic MW75 comes from of the same manufacturer/design team as the ML5909. Headband, app, cables, uncanny similarities...

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/master-and-dynamic-mw75-review/

The MW75's FCC photos aren't available yet but the "label" files suggest indeed that a lot of the ML5909's design may have been recycled :

ML5909's "label" drawing in the FCC database :

https://fccid.io/APIMLNO5909/Label/Label-5540045

MW75's "label" drawing :

https://fccid.io/2AGA7MW75/Label/Label-5659955

The pads' attachment mechanism and their design is a little bit different though, and it seems to use an optical sensor for the wear detection (instead of a capacitance one ?), so sound may not be perfectly similar.

 

[jthomp72]

The MM75's FCC photos aren't available yet but the "label" files suggest indeed that a lot of the ML5909's design may have been recycled :

ML5909's "label" drawing in the FCC database :

https://fccid.io/APIMLNO5909/Label/Label-5540045

MM75's "label" drawing :

https://fccid.io/2AGA7MW75/Label/Label-5659955

The pads' attachment mechanism and their design is a little bit different though, and it seems to use an optical sensor for the wear detection (instead of a capacitance one ?), so sound may not be perfectly similar.

Sigh…I’ll let you guys know as soon as they come out. Headphone person I am, I’ve got my wallet ready to go the second I can order them.

 

[WDitters]

Sigh…I’ll let you guys know as soon as they come out. Headphone person I am, I’ve got my wallet ready to go the second I can order them.

I hear you.. But first the T&A Solitaire T

 

[jthomp72]

I hear you.. But first the T&A Solitaire T

Those don’t come out until later in the summer so I’m good there