[C_Lindbergh]

Anyone know what dealers in the EU will have these in stock? The website didn't help much at all.

 

[MayaTlab]

Anyone know what dealers in the EU will have these in stock? The website didn't help much at all.

Here in France PPL Audio (https://www.pplaudio.com) will distribute it, I believe that a few retailers in Paris will then have demo units available, such as Audio Synthese : https://www.audio-synthese.fr
I am not aware of larger online shops (ex : Thomann) having plans to carry them so far.

 

[ulmer]

I received a pair of these today. I typically listen to my wired headphones EQ'ed through Roon to be very close to the Harman curve. If anything I tend to like my speakers and headphones just a touch on the bright side of neutral. Here are my non-scientific notes.

Connected to iPhone via bluetooth - tested with Tidal app and Apple Music. Both sound the same and are a bit too bright for me right off the bat. Sounds very detailed and but a bit fatiguing / sibilant. Bass was perfectly reasonable and fairly neutral. I kept them in the 'neutral' bass setting in their app. Sounded muddy with it at the 'enhanced' setting in their app. Bass was unchanged through the next tests.

Connected to MacBook Pro via Bluetooth - tested with Roon. Sounded basically the same. Added some mild EQ (-2.5 db shelf on treble) to try to confirm I'm not crazy. That small tweak helped quite a bit. About what I was hoping they'd sound like without correction.

Connected to Matrix Mini-i Pro 3 via USB-C to 3.5mm cable that was included - tested with Roon. With no EQ, sounded great! Added the same EQ I set up for the MacBook Pro test. That made them sound treble shy and a little dull. Interesting. They're still processing the incoming audio, but it's noticeably different.

Connected to Galaxy S21 (LDAC bluetooth) - Basically same as iPhone. Same brightness unfortunately.

So, my initial impression is that cabled, these are essentially what I was hoping for. Via bluetooth they're a couple dB boosted in the treble. Oh and I did test all ANC levels and ANC off. They sounded generally worse with ANC off and with ANC on, changing the ANC levels didn't have any real effect on sound quality I could discern.

It's a bummer I'll feel compelled to cable these. The convenience of the bluetooth having the same frequency response would have been great. I'm listening to them bluetooth now and I guess my brain is adjusting a bit. We'll see... I think they're a keeper. I've tried many of the usual suspects in wireless bluetooth over ear headphones (Sony XM4, Bose 700, AirPods Max, Sennheiser Momentum 3, Dali IO-6) and these are way better and really enjoyable if you can work around the treble bump.

 

[ulmer]

New post on headphones.com has measurement and notes a 10K peak.

I just added a single EQ filter in Roon: 11 kHz, -5 dB, Q = 3.2

This removes the most objectionable brightness / sibilance I was hearing. Still a little hot, but those measurements seem to track with what I'm hearing. Sounds really good to me. Maybe they'll fix this in firmware, or add an EQ to the app one day. I think I'll deal with it either way. IMO, really good except for this.

https://forum.headphones.com/t/mark-levinson-no5909-official-thread/16701

 

[Maukey]

New post on headphones.com has measurement and notes a 10K peak.

I just added a single EQ filter in Roon: 11 kHz, -5 dB, Q = 3.2

This removes the most objectionable brightness / sibilance I was hearing. Still a little hot, but those measurements seem to track with what I'm hearing. Sounds really good to me. Maybe they'll fix this in firmware, or add an EQ to the app one day. I think I'll deal with it either way. IMO, really good except for this.

https://forum.headphones.com/t/mark-levinson-no5909-official-thread/16701

Thanks for your impressions. How do you compare these to the sound of the Dali iO6?

 

[ulmer]

Thanks for your impressions. How do you compare these to the sound of the Dali iO6?

I think I have a preference for a bit bright. The Dali seemed less bright than these. Maybe closer to true neutral treble, with a bit less bass. Potentially quite good if that's your preference. And the ANC on them is not as good as Sony/Bose. I wasn't fond of the ear cup design/fit. Hit my ears wrong. All personal preference factors that added up to me not using them much around the house, or traveling. I have a pair for sale if you want a nice deal on some though. They're the only other wireless ANC headphone I've tried that comes close to sounding neutral/audiophile. Momentum 3 were my favorite for v shaped music listening.

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

How do they deal with metal?

 

[Maukey]

So, my initial impression is that cabled, these are essentially what I was hoping for. Via bluetooth they're a couple dB boosted in the treble. Oh and I did test all ANC levels and ANC off. They sounded generally worse with ANC off and with ANC on, changing the ANC levels didn't have any real effect on sound quality I could discern.

It's a bummer I'll feel compelled to cable these. The convenience of the bluetooth having the same frequency response would have been great. I'm listening to them bluetooth now and I guess my brain is adjusting a bit. We'll see... I think they're a keeper. I've tried many of the usual suspects in wireless bluetooth over ear headphones (Sony XM4, Bose 700, AirPods Max, Sennheiser Momentum 3, Dali IO-6) and these are way better and really enjoyable if you can work around the treble bump.

One more quick question. Have you compared the sound when listening cabled with power off (passive) vs. on? Is there a difference? Which is better?

 

[ulmer]

One more quick question. Have you compared the sound when listening cabled with power off (passive) vs. on? Is there a difference? Which is better?

I probably hadn't tested these powered off. When it did it before, I think they were already on when I plugged in the cable.

Here's what I just figured out. If you take the headphones that are turned off and plug in the cable, they will work immediately and the ANC button does nothing. I think they're truly staying off.

If you press the power button, they power up and the ANC button works. You can toggle through passive mode, awareness mode, and ANC mode. It seems like you can't turn them off again until you remove the cord. Strange.

So, now that I know how these two states operate:

Powered off + wired seems 2-3 dB louder than when powered on in wired "passive mode". It's hard to compare because the sound drops out twice when you power them on and you have to attempt to match levels. It's so close that it's hard to draw any conclusions. I want to say that powered off sounds less compressed and more dynamic. Tonal balance doesn't really seem to change.

 

[Maukey]

Finally got them. Been listening most of the day. Early impressions are quite good. Will provide more impressions after I get a little more time with them.

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

Finally got them. Been listening most of the day. Early impressions are quite good. Will provide more impressions after I get a little more time with them.

Congrats! Hope you'll provide a brief comparison with other top tier wireless cans. And maybe they worth to be compared with some wires ones?

 

[Chamade]

Can anyone here compare the ANC to the Sony XM series?

 

[oak3x]

Also curious how the call quality is... I would like to replace my Bose 700 for business travel and conference calls. Thx in advance!

 

[Maukey]

Also curious how the call quality is... I would like to replace my Bose 700 for business travel and conference calls. Thx in advance!

The call quality is very good. Better than the Sony 1000XM4. I would put it in the same tier as the AirPods Max, but not to the elite level of the Bose 700. I still rate the Bose 700 as the best business traveler headphones money can buy. It still has yet to be matched when it comes to silencing background noise while on a call. You literally can talk on the phone in a crowded bar and it'll sound like you're in a quiet office. While the 5909's mic quality is awesome, it doesn't have the same background noise silencing prowess. The 5909 are also REALLY big headphones. They're not my cup of tea for traveling and commuting, although they serve the purpose well. I prefer smaller, lighter, more compact headphones in this scenario. In short, I'd stick with your Bose 700 for travel and business purposes. For home or office use mainly, with maybe lighter to more moderate travel needs, I'd take the 5909 hands down simply for sound quality.

 

[Chamade]

I just got mine and can answer my own question about the ANC. It is decently effective for getting rid of very low frequencies, but not in the same league as the Sony XM series for attenuating the mid-higher freq range…and not even close to the Airpods Max. It seems a generic ANC implementation that’s behind the Sony/Apple stuff.

The sound has a lot of potential, but the hot/etchy upper treble reminds me of the Fostex Th900Mk2, except less detailed. We need a setting in the firmware to fix or control this. Don’t think I am keeping mine otherwise.