[polymathic]

Two questions:

(I) Are the left and right indicators coloured like the 5909 logo on the headband (grey) or not? On my pair the latter - they are engraved but not coloured.

(II) I notice a low, but audible clicking/cracking sound when inserting the supplied USB-C cables into the headphone. It's no big issue, but slightly disconcerting on such an expensive pair of headphones. Anyone else have this?

Thanks

On my Mac, USB-C to USB-C has some occasional clicking/cracking. Since I don't use it that way, I have not investigated further.

 

[Tenashus1]

I'm just talking about listening on bluetooth here. For me, the sound of the 5909 just outshines the Beoplay H95. The Beoplay is a truly intimate sounding set of phones, but the 5909 just sound more present and detailed to me. I'm impressed.

 

[Alkamei]

Apparently these and the HE-1 are the closest to harman target, ranking high in score...

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing

 

[polymathic]

I'm just talking about listening on bluetooth here. For me, the sound of the 5909 just outshines the Beoplay H95. The Beoplay is a truly intimate sounding set of phones, but the 5909 just sound more present and detailed to me. I'm impressed.

I moved from then H95 to the 5909. I do think the H95 are great headphones, but to my ear the 5909 are a step above. This said, after a year and a half favoring the 5909, I am now a bit smitten with Dali IO-12.

 

[Tenashus1]

I moved from then H95 to the 5909. I do think the H95 are great headphones, but to my ear the 5909 are a step above. This said, after a year and a half favoring the 5909, I am now a bit smitten with Dali IO-12.

That's great. Would love to try them. For me though, I've just put a lid on my purchases. This can get to be a very expensive hobby were I to just let it ride. I'm not a musician, but I happen to have a set of ears that have champagne taste. They are like musical gourmands that sit on each side of my head, and always strive for more perfect sound. I just can't keep up with them.

 

[polymathic]

That's great. Would love to try them. For me though, I've just put a lid on my purchases. This can get to be a very expensive hobby were I to just let it ride. I'm not a musician, but I happen to have a set of ears that have champagne taste. They are like musical gourmands that sit on each side of my head, and always strive for more perfect sound. I just can't keep up with them.

They are fantastic headphones, with exceptional detail retrieval and clarity. They also sound very good fully passive with a good Amp/DAC.

 

[BJPromo]

Long-time lurker here. Thank you to everyone who has commented on their experiences in this thread. It has taken me days to read but there is so much great info here and it helped me take the plunge with some confidence, in a country where I cannot try in advance. Should receive the ML 5909s in the next few weeks, hopefully not without a killer import tax.

I have one question which I only saw a partial answer to in this thread. Is a Bluetooth dongle an absolute must if playing these from a Windows laptop? I have a Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, running Windows 11, which I believe uses an Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E card. The card has 5.3 capability but the Book 3 seems to only utilise 5.1, which is of course what the ML 5909 uses.

I have not had the laptop long enough to test other BT headphones (Galaxy Buds 2 work fine), but previous PC laptops have given me shocking connections with Sony WF and WH range and also B&O Beoplay EQ.

It is not easy to import headphones where I live so I'd prefer to ship together with the BT dongle if I have to... though I'd prefer it even more if Microsoft have upped their game in recent years in terms of BT connectivity.

Tl;dr: Any first-hand experience of running the 5909s from Windows 11 much appreciated

 

[HennesVI]

With windows 10 I used the Sennheiser Bluetooth Dongle (BTD600), otherwise I would have severe lag (200ms) which was unbearable for movies/youtube. I just updated to windows 11 yesterday, I can try later today and let you know if there is any improvement and the dongle isnt needed anymore.

 

[BJPromo]

With windows 10 I used the Sennheiser Bluetooth Dongle (BTD600), otherwise I would have severe lag (200ms) which was unbearable for movies/youtube. I just updated to windows 11 yesterday, I can try later today and let you know if there is any improvement and the dongle isnt needed anymore.

Thanks so much for the reply. The lag isn't much of a problem for me as I'll only be using for music, but was your connection otherwise stable? And yes, any updates on W11 would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[HennesVI]

Thanks so much for the reply. The lag isn't much of a problem for me as I'll only be using for music, but was your connection otherwise stable? And yes, any updates on W11 would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Alright here are the results: The ML 5909 works with Windows 11 without the dongle, it pairs easily and has a stable connection. The 200ms latency is also gone, you can now watch movies/youtube without dongle. But at least on my device (Lenovo Legion Slim 5) I had a lot of pops and clicks, like some sort of static, and the quality via apple music desktop was not good. I dont know if windows is using some sort of internal EQ if it detects a headset or it is something Lenovo related. So on my part I will continue using the dongle. Hope this helps at least somewhat

 

[BJPromo]

Alright here are the results: The ML 5909 works with Windows 11 without the dongle, it pairs easily and has a stable connection. The 200ms latency is also gone, you can now watch movies/youtube without dongle. But at least on my device (Lenovo Legion Slim 5) I had a lot of pops and clicks, like some sort of static, and the quality via apple music desktop was not good. I dont know if windows is using some sort of internal EQ if it detects a headset or it is something Lenovo related. So on my part I will continue using the dongle. Hope this helps at least somewhat

You're the man for testing and replying, thank you - it helps a lot. Since I have a headphones socket in my laptop, and several in this thread have praised the 5909's passive capabilities, I think I'll gamble on the bluetooth. Backup will be wired with my new Mojo 2. Will post bluetooth results here for comparison, in case helpful for someone later. Thanks again.

 

[XTF1]

You're the man for testing and replying, thank you - it helps a lot. Since I have a headphones socket in my laptop, and several in this thread have praised the 5909's passive capabilities, I think I'll gamble on the bluetooth. Backup will be wired with my new Mojo 2. Will post bluetooth results here for comparison, in case helpful for someone later. Thanks again.

Nothing wrong with Mojo 2 as backup. But rather than using your laptop headphones out, I would recommend a USB “wired” connection instead. It should work on your laptop USB-C ports or USB-A ports with an USB-C adapter.

 

[BJPromo]

Nothing wrong with Mojo 2 as backup. But rather than using your laptop headphones out, I would recommend a USB “wired” connection instead. It should work on your laptop USB-C ports or USB-A ports with an USB-C adapter.

Thanks XTF, yes will try that too. The only disadvantage with that (if I've understood correctly) is it will engage the battery on the 5909s, whereas if I use it fully passive it will prolong the lifetime of the battery. Though of course in my case this means engaging the battery of the Mojo 2 instead. But yeah am looking forward to experimenting with different modes.

 

[XTF1]

Thanks XTF, yes will try that too. The only disadvantage with that (if I've understood correctly) is it will engage the battery on the 5909s, whereas if I use it fully passive it will prolong the lifetime of the battery. Though of course in my case this means engaging the battery of the Mojo 2 instead. But yeah am looking forward to experimenting with different modes.

No, it doesn’t use the 5909 battery but actually charge it from your laptop. That’s also why this USB-C mode may not work on a smartphone if it can’t provide enough current to charge the 5909 (a stupid missing setting in the ML app).

 

[BJPromo]

No, it doesn’t use the 5909 battery but actually charge it from your laptop. That’s also why this USB-C mode may not work on a smartphone if it can’t provide enough current to charge the 5909 (a stupid missing setting in the ML app).

OK thanks that's good to know. I thought I'd read other posters in this thread saying that they found these cans to be underpowered when running from the laptop with USB-C. Is that not your experience then? Sounds like my Mojo 2 may have been overkill, though a nice toy to have anyway I guess.