[improwise]

Of course the taste for every person is different, and for me the bass with ANC off and bass setting in "neutral" position is very satisfactory. This is how I listening 80% of the time my 5909 (the other 20% is mix of ambient or ANC on with bass in "neutral" position always).

For curiosity, after reading your post, I test the 10 bands EQ from iTunes (Apple Music now) in my MacBook Pro and is working perfectly with the 5909, this meaning that I can changing the sound if necessary, but I never use this EQ.

As mentioned above, I can also EQ the sound, just not accessing that extra bass that ANC seem to be able to generate. Not saying that max bass is always preferred, and of course what is "good sound" is highly personal

 

[angelom]

As mentioned above, I can also EQ the sound, just not accessing that extra bass that ANC seem to be able to generate. Not saying that max bass is always preferred, and of course what is "good sound" is highly personal

Wow! With the iTunes EQ in my MBP the 5909 can sounding very, very bassy (not nice for me at all). Maybe the 5909 isn't for you.

 

[improwise]

Wow! With the iTunes EQ in my MBP the 5909 can sounding very, very bassy (not nice for me at all). Maybe the 5909 isn't for you.

The question isn't really about what is "optimal bass" but rather why I can't seem to access as much unless ANC is enabled. Obviously the driver can create the amount of bass, so either I am doing something wrong (but not sure what it could be as I can EQ the sound) or something is "blocking access" to some of the capabilities.

Do you have them connected via USB-C or passive? I've mostly tried with USB-C.

 

[AlwaysForward]

The question isn't really about what is "optimal bass" but rather why I can't seem to access as much unless ANC is enabled. Obviously the driver can create the amount of bass, so either I am doing something wrong (but not sure what it could be as I can EQ the sound) or something is "blocking access" to some of the capabilities.

Do you have them connected via USB-C or passive? I've mostly tried with USB-C.

ANC almost always increases bass prominence. I’ve noticed it in the B&W PX, Bose 35 & Sony M3, too.

You can search google for “ANC more bass” and find a treasure trove of similar stories.

 

[improwise]

ANC almost always increases bass prominence. I’ve noticed it in the B&W PX, Bose 35 & Sony M3, too.

You can search google for “ANC more bass” and find a treasure trove of similar stories.

I understand that ANC can affect the sound and that the same track might sound different with and without ANC. What I don't get is why I can't seem to access that even with EQ as the capabilities of the drivers should be the same. But perhaps that is a discussion better suited elsewhere as it doesn't seem specific to the 5909.

 

[improwise]

Has anyone had a chance to test if there is a noticeable difference between USB-C and passive mode, assuming of course the source is of good enough quality? My iFi AMP/DAC is kind of broken so have not had a chance to test myself besides plugging into the 3.5 mm on the front of the desktop and that probably isn't a good reference.

 

[angelom]

I must apologising to improwise. I explaining why now.

I don't know if the the sound in different profiles in the 5909 is changing with the first and only firmware update happening sometime ago. With this new firmware I must admitting that the best sound for me with ANC off is with bass "enhanced"; with the bass in "neutral" position sometimes the bass isn't sufficiently good/correct. When I posting my recent comments I'm listening more orchestral classical music and rock of the 1970s that benefitting usually from headphones with less emphasis in the bass or linear bass in the frequency curve.

After I testing for 3 days many music of different genres and from different decades, my conclusion is that with last firmware update the 5909 is sounding the best with ANC off and the bass in "enhanced" position. When ANC is on the bass must be in "neutral" position, and even in this setting the sound is little more bassy than with ANC off with "enhanced" bass.

So, for me ANC off and "enhanced" bass is giving the more correct sound of all the settings because all the music genres are sounding still excellent/very correct. (this is always in wireless mode)

 

[improwise]

I must apologising to improwise. I explaining why now.

I don't know if the the sound in different profiles in the 5909 is changing with the first and only firmware update happening sometime ago. With this new firmware I must admitting that the best sound for me with ANC off is with bass "enhanced"; with the bass in "neutral" position sometimes the bass isn't sufficiently good/correct. When I posting my recent comments I'm listening more orchestral classical music and rock of the 1970s that benefitting usually from headphones with less emphasis in the bass or linear bass in the frequency curve.

After I testing for 3 days many music of different genres and from different decades, my conclusion is that with last firmware update the 5909 is sounding the best with ANC off and the bass in "enhanced" position. When ANC is on the bass must be in "neutral" position, and even in this setting the sound is little more bassy than with ANC off with "enhanced" bass.

So, for me ANC off and "enhanced" bass is giving the more correct sound of all the settings because all the music genres are sounding still excellent/very correct. (this is always in wireless mode)

I think we are saying the same thing here now, although with somewhat different words, that there seem to be much more bass available with ANC on and it does not seem to be able to reach that without ANC, even when using EQ. Also, there seems to be a noticable difference between ANC low and high. Now, if extra bass is a good or bad thing is probably more of a personal preference but I still think it is strange that ANC seems to be required to reach it regardless.

Having compared the 5909 to some other headphones, albeit more expensive ones, I still think that the 5909 seems a bit harsh/constrained in the sound sometimes and doesn't really bloom. Almost like listening to a heavily compressed low bit signal, kind of when you by mistake choose headset instead of headphone for headphones like the Steelseries Wireless pro. When I switch between wireless (LDAC) and wired, I don't really notice much difference. Should be said that I am not really an audiophile with a trained ear, so this is more my personal observations and that I can't really put into better more detailed words.

 

[angelom]

I think we are saying the same thing here now, although with somewhat different words, that there seem to be much more bass available with ANC on and it does not seem to be able to reach that without ANC, even when using EQ. Now, if extra bass is a good or bad thing is probably more of a personal preference but I still think it is strange that ANC seems to be required to reach it regardless.

Having compared the 5909 to some other headphones, albeit more expensive ones, I still think that the 5909 seems a bit harsh/constrained in the sound sometimes and doesn't really bloom. Almost like listening to a heavily compressed low bit signal, kind of when you by mistake choose headset instead of headphone for headphones like the Steelseries Wireless pro. When I switch between wireless (LDAC) and wired, I don't really notice much difference. Should be said that I am not really an audiophile with a trained ear, so this is more my personal observations and that I can't really put into better more detailed words.

I don't know if EQ is necessary, I using the 5909 almost all the time in wireless mode and the iTunes EQ changing the sound a lot if necessary, but I don't trying replicating the ANC sound, but probably I can if is necessary.

About the the sound of the 5909 feeling "heavily compressed" I must saying that I'm not agree here completely. In wireless mode and comparing with passive mode too, if I'm hearing one thing comparing with other wireless headphones is precisely that the sound isn't sounding compressed or digitised at all, and this one reason I think the sound of the 5909 is really excellent, like not other headphone in this category. 2 or 3 months ago I comparing the 5909 in wireless mode ("neutral" setting) with my wired Sennheiser hd600 (open back cabled headphone) and the sound is very similar. This is very good because the hd600 is a classic headphone with very good sound and excellent reputation.

 

[improwise]

I think we are saying the same thing here now, although with somewhat different words, that there seem to be much more bass available with ANC on and it does not seem to be able to reach that without ANC, even when using EQ. Also, there seems to be a noticable difference between ANC low and high. Now, if extra bass is a good or bad thing is probably more of a personal preference but I still think it is strange that ANC seems to be required to reach it regardless.

Having compared the 5909 to some other headphones, albeit more expensive ones, I still think that the 5909 seems a bit harsh/constrained in the sound sometimes and doesn't really bloom. Almost like listening to a heavily compressed low bit signal, kind of when you by mistake choose headset instead of headphone for headphones like the Steelseries Wireless pro. When I switch between wireless (LDAC) and wired, I don't really notice much difference. Should be said that I am not really an audiophile with a trained ear, so this is more my personal observations and that I can't really put into better more detailed words.

It's actually weird but I recall that they used to sound better than I think they do today. It's almost like some settings or firmware changed it, and based on other observations, perhaps there is something to it. Having used multiple sources, I don't think that is the problem, and they are obviously not broken. Not sure if there is some way to make a hard reset or something?

 

[jthomp72]

The newest firmware seems to have improved the anc to some degree and degraded the sound quality to a degree as well.

 

[BatBoyP]

The newest firmware seems to have improved the anc to some degree and degraded the sound quality to a degree as well.

In wireless only, or also in wired mode? And if it's in wired - 3,5mm or also usb-c?

 

[jthomp72]

In wireless only, or also in wired mode? And if it's in wired - 3,5mm or also usb-c?

I only listen to them wirelessly. Just my preference.

 

[improwise]

I only listen to them wirelessly. Just my preference.

I would imagine that most customers of this probably use it mostly in wireless. The price in itself probably means that you need to have some what of an active interest in sound quality, and if you do many probably also have other headphones that perhaps are even better, although wired. That's not to say these don't stand up as wired headphones though.

 

[jthomp72]

I would imagine that most customers of this probably use it mostly in wireless. The price in itself probably means that you need to have some what of an active interest in sound quality, and if you do many probably also have other headphones that perhaps are even better, although wired. That's not to say these don't stand up as wired headphones though.

I will say in an interesting development I won a pair of the new Sony XM5’s At work the other day and I’ve been switching between the two pairs for the last week or so. While the Mark Levinson has let’s say 10% better sound quality roughly, the Sony blows it away in terms of noise canceling and general features so it’s an interesting comparison