[TheOnetoWin]

Hey guys, I just purchased these from Crutchfield using their installment plan option. They should be arriving tomorrow, so I'll set them up after I come from work and then take them out for a full day's use on Wednesday (fingers crossed)!

 

[NCUS]

Oh, I've been following this thread for months. I owned a Mojo 2 for a few days but multiple reports of white noise caused me considerable concern so I returned it and began focusing more on the ML #5909. However, due to sight loss I am locked into the Apple ecosystem and switching to Android will pose another chalenge with regards to accessibility as I would have to learn the gestures for TalkBack.

I could just buy the headphones and use them with my iPhone though I'll be constantly wondering how they sound with LDAC.

My experience with LDAC is it's a codec Sony put out due to their ego. The letters were obviously closely chosen so that L implies it's lossless, which is clearly is not the case. LDAC has a high bit rate, but when you are running at the high bit rate, the range is horrendous, basically arms length only which means it really not much more convenient that using a cable. The audio lag also is terrible with LDAC. It's almost like a Sony engineer came up with something they never tested in the real world. If you put aside specs, the 5909s actually sound quite good even with Apple's strangely low bit rate.

 

[polymathic]

I could just buy the headphones and use them with my iPhone though I'll be constantly wondering how they sound with LDAC.

I can barely tell the difference between ML 5909 on an iPhone 13 Pro via AAC BT and wired to my Violectric Chronos DAC streaming Qobuz at 192khz.

 

[Benesyed]

Wow just got wavelet. This is so dope!

 

[Daniel Johnston]

I can barely tell the difference between ML 5909 on an iPhone 13 Pro via AAC BT and wired to my Violectric Chronos DAC streaming Qobuz at 192khz.

For me, it is genre dependent. I can't tell much difference wired or wireless to the 5909 with anything except classical tracks that I use to critically listen. I can tell the compression pretty easily on a well recorded piano track.

The problem I have with LDAC is dropouts. Unless I'm literally on top of the transmitting DAP, I get dropouts. I can be at the other end of the house and have no issues with AAC.

 

[jthomp72]

For me, it is genre dependent. I can't tell much difference wired or wireless to the 5909 with anything except classical tracks that I use to critically listen. I can tell the compression pretty easily on a well recorded piano track.

The problem I have with LDAC is dropouts. Unless I'm literally on top of the transmitting DAP, I get dropouts. I can be at the other end of the house and have no issues with AAC.

You hit the proverbial nail on the head though. “Well recorded” I wish everything was well recorded but the naked truth is that uh…a lottttttt of stuff just isn’t. For example, I love orchestrated versions of some of my favorite video game music… Those are either really well done or absolutely horribly recorded and I really don’t have a choice but to deal with it.

 

[Daryun1]

Wow just got wavelet. This is so dope!

Does it have special EQ for the 5909s?

 

[Benesyed]

Does it have special EQ for the 5909s?

No but you can apply EQ to them through it. The results are pretty good

 

[hudhawk]

So for those who have them, would these be ridiculous to try and commute in? Are the large to the point of being cumbersome? Trying to decide between these, the Bathys, the PX8, and the MW75. Would be mostly for daily subway commute, listening at work, and several flights per year.

 

[TheOnetoWin]

So for those who have them, would these be ridiculous to try and commute in? Are the large to the point of being cumbersome? Trying to decide between these, the Bathys, the PX8, and the MW75. Would be mostly for daily subway commute, listening at work, and several flights per year.

I can let you know tomorrow or Wednesday once I have them in hand, but I don't why they would be. I think the carrying case is the same size as the xm5's, px8's, etc. so they'll fit easily into a bookbag.

 

[Daryun1]

So for those who have them, would these be ridiculous to try and commute in? Are the large to the point of being cumbersome? Trying to decide between these, the Bathys, the PX8, and the MW75. Would be mostly for daily subway commute, listening at work, and several flights per year.

I can say that they are very comfortable. Absolutely no problem to commute with them

 

[WDitters]

So for those who have them, would these be ridiculous to try and commute in? Are the large to the point of being cumbersome? Trying to decide between these, the Bathys, the PX8, and the MW75. Would be mostly for daily subway commute, listening at work, and several flights per year.

I agree with @Daryun1 ... They're comfortable and definitely not too big. Bathys are more cumbersome in that respect ... Only the ML case is a tad unwieldy and could have been slimmer ...

 

[Morphology77]

Does it have special EQ for the 5909s?

No but you can apply EQ to them through it. The results are pretty good

The reason I provided the EQ for 5909 earlier is that there is no ready preset yet in wavelet.
I digitised 0dB´s (Korean reviewer with industry standard measuring rig GRAS 45CA-10) 5909 measurements and imported them to REW.
Then I calculated filters using Harman OE 2018 target curve. Naturally I test listened them too.

It is not useful to just blindly play with equaliser without any understanding of psychoacoustics, signal processing and standardised measurements

 

[Benesyed]

The reason I provided the EQ for 5909 earlier is that there is no ready preset yet in wavelet.
I digitised 0dB´s (Korean reviewer with industry standard measuring rig GRAS 45CA-10) 5909 measurements and imported them to REW.
Then I calculated filters using Harman OE 2018 target curve. Naturally I test listened them too.

It is not useful to just blindly play with equaliser without any understanding of psychoacoustics, signal processing and standardised measurements

I disagree with this a little. You can understand what frequencies you are hearing I need to have just a little bit of an understanding of what an equalizer can do but you can certainly use that basic information to make minor adjustments and see if there's any audible improvement.

Also there are presets that adjust the frequency response of whatever headphone you're using to try and mimic others which while not perfect is still interesting from a curiosity perspective.

And certainly the more theoretical knowledge you have the better you can implement the changes you want to hear

 

[Morphology77]

I disagree with this a little. You can understand what frequencies you are hearing I need to have just a little bit of an understanding of what an equalizer can do but you can certainly use that basic information to make minor adjustments and see if there's any audible improvement.

Also there are presets that adjust the frequency response of whatever headphone you're using to try and mimic others which while not perfect is still interesting from a curiosity perspective.

And certainly the more theoretical knowledge you have the better you can implement the changes you want to hear

I see your point and some benefits can be had the way you described. Especially if one is trained listener and has his personal audiogram at hand.

I approach this more from engineering and scientific point of view. If you don't have some generally agreed reference and there are nuisance factors involved it is like shooting in the dark.

With the EQ preset I provided, 5909 follows Harman Target even more closely. After that one can fine tune low end and treble brilliance with shelving filters to taste.

These things can get very technical and overwhelming for some and that's where the community shines - I have high appreciation towards all the contributions made for better sound!