[JRHIFI]

I recently had the opportunity to test the Mark Levinson 5909, Bathys, and T+A Solitaire T headphones. Initially, when comparing the Bathys with the Mark Levinson 5909, I noted that the Bathys resembled the sound of the Meze 109 Pro in wireless mode, but this similarity did not extend to wired mode. In my opinion, the 5909 stood out for its more vibrant and lively sound, nearly convincing me to choose it over the Bathys due to its superior audio quality.

However, my perspective shifted upon trying the Solitaire T. I found the 5909’s treble to be overly bright and sparkly, which I found challenging to enjoy over extended periods due to my sensitivity to treble brightness. In contrast, the Solitaire T offered a more agreeable treble presentation, especially in wireless mode. When used in wired mode, the Solitaire T elevated its performance even further, delivering a rich and vibrant sound reminiscent of the Meze Audio Elite’s saturated tonality, as noted in John Grandberg’s review on Darko Audio. The Solitaire T’s well-balanced sound and exceptional clarity further made the choice obvious for me.

Despite this, the Mark Levinson 5909 did impress me, particularly for its wireless performance. It’s remarkable to see such a diverse range of sound characteristics across the Bathys, 5909, and Solitaire T headphones, offering a variety of choices for audiophiles.

Additionally, I’m currently evaluating the IFI Xsds Gryphon, using it to stream Qobuz and Tidal on an iPhone 14 Pro Max and an AK SE 300, paired with the Solitaire. The combination, especially with the SE 300 as the streamer, has been notably impressive, enhancing my listening experience further.

 

[Paco Langjahr]

At the moment, I'm going through the process of the top of the line bluetooth headphone testing as most of you have done already. I've started with the Bathys - not my cup of tea, sonically and I also could not live with the coarse volume steps, as some others have also described.

Then came the Mark Levinson 5909. IMO almost the perfect headphones for me with two drawbacks: First of all, the app is not really useful as it requires a complete recoupling every time which is too annoying and most of the time not worth the functionality.
But the biggest drawback for me is that I can hear some crackling noises once in a while (I would say about once per minute on average). It's so subtle that I thought it might have been in the music at first. But then I realized it's not. And it's also not related to a bad bluetooth connection, as it's even worse when I connect the headphones via USB C Cable (DAC mode).
When I connect via analog cable, the noises do not occur, even in active mode, everything is totally fine (for me the most surprising part of the phenomenon)...
So my question to the 5909 owners out there: have you ever noticed anything like that? Or is the DAC of my unit broken somehow?
If every 5909 unit has this problem, I think my last option would be the Dali IO-12, but it has no LDAC and it might be one step too far into the "not mobile home equipment" territory for me...

 

[XTF1]

I can hear some crackling noises once in a while

I don't have that problem, but It has been reported multiple times. Turning off the head detection feature may help, but not in every case...

 

[Tenashus1]

No discernible crackling for me. I use the Creative BT W5 on my MBP with the 5909. Great aptX on the Mac.

 

[streetbeat]

No crackling noises here as well. AptX Adaptive via BT-W5, ANC off, wearing sensor disabled.

 

[J Mirra]

The crackling is when you have the headphone paired with more than one device.
Unpair form all but one device at a time to stop this.

 

[withy14]

Hi, I apologize if this is not the right place but I would like to share it anyway.

My journey began quite some ago with V-Moda M-200 ANC. These headphones were good but when I compared them to the previous ones I owned (Crossfade 2 Wireless Rose Gold edition) the jump was not that big to justify the price tag. After some time I started to see some wear and tear so I started to search for new headphones. When I compared them to the Sony WH-1000XM5 I was not convinced that I would like to go that path. Sony has superior ANC (even when compared to Mark Levinson) but when I compared them to the V-Moda I simply did not like the sound (dont take me wrong if someone would ask me if htey should buy V-Moda ANC ones or Sony I would say Sony just because of the ANC). I wanted just better sound.

Here comes this forum. I knew about Mark Levinson for quite a while but the price was bit higher than I was willing to accept. Due to some unfortunate events which yields into damaging V-Moda I was basically "forced" to buy new headphones. After almost half a year and quite a lot of thinking/reading I bought this headphones. I was thinking about Focal Bathys as well but I couldnt find store where I could listen to them (which was also important factor to me, I have no doubt that the Focal would sound better than V.Moda but without listening to them I cannot tell whether I would like them or not).

My impressions
Appearance - these hadphones are big, definitely bigger than V-Moda;
As for sound - the lows are not on the same level as for V-Moda, mids and highs are much better. It is still taking me some time to accomodate to their sound but honestly - I do not regret. The sound is much cleaner, the lows can be enhanced through app and with ANC they are almost on par witht the V-Moda (please note that it is only subjectevly speaking, everyone has different ears). My apology to the people here because I am not audiphile so I am not going (cannot) into technical details. I just like good sound. There are only two issues I spotted (also mentioned in this forum) - the lows with enabled ANC are much more present than without ANC, also the headphones do incorectly detect whether I have them on head or if they are down, so I cannot use on head detection).

Last but not least - huge thanks to everyone here (yes I read this forum over the last few months) to help me decide to buy these headphones.

 

[sprintgtvgus]

I’ve always prioritized my Hi Fi system and only been an occasional headphone user whilst on the go or in bed.

However, we now have a baby about to arrive so I really need to make sure I still get my music fix!

I use the Sony MX1000XM3 for podcasts and convenience and bought the Mark Levingson 5909 to use for music.

I have a Roon Server with several streaming end points across the house.

I’m an iphone user so have so far really only been using the ML 5909 connected to my iphone using either Roon or the Tidal app, using the AAC Bluetooth codec.

The sound is not bad, but I’ve now tried a couple of other routes.

Tried plugging the wired USB C into my Macbook and headphones and streaming using Roon, not overly impressed really, does this take the headphones out of active mode, which DAC is being used here?

Anyway, more successful was connecting to one of my Bluesound Powernodes (2022 version), here I was able to get Bluetooth APTX HD which did to me sound noticeably more full range and dynamic than AAC from my iphone. I’m not sure if that’s the codec or just that the Powernode is a better source full stop. The lower sub bass registers on some tracks that I could not previously hear via Iphone/AAC were there and there was a bit more detail and clarity.

Unfortunately the Bluetooth from the Powernode in the kitchen does not reach the bedroom where I will probably do most of my streaming (or baby screaming!)

So what would I buy that will work with roon and send the best quality Bluetooth audio to the ML Headphones?

Another Bluesound product, one of the Wiim streamers?

Also Looking at the Fiio R7 that does have LDAC….

Or is there a better way of doing this?

Wired might be ok if next to bed but probably want wireless given the baby mayhem that may be about to ensue.

 

[musingclouds]

At the moment, I'm going through the process of the top of the line bluetooth headphone testing as most of you have done already. I've started with the Bathys - not my cup of tea, sonically and I also could not live with the coarse volume steps, as some others have also described.

Then came the Mark Levinson 5909. IMO almost the perfect headphones for me with two drawbacks: First of all, the app is not really useful as it requires a complete recoupling every time which is too annoying and most of the time not worth the functionality.
But the biggest drawback for me is that I can hear some crackling noises once in a while (I would say about once per minute on average). It's so subtle that I thought it might have been in the music at first. But then I realized it's not. And it's also not related to a bad bluetooth connection, as it's even worse when I connect the headphones via USB C Cable (DAC mode).
When I connect via analog cable, the noises do not occur, even in active mode, everything is totally fine (for me the most surprising part of the phenomenon)...
So my question to the 5909 owners out there: have you ever noticed anything like that? Or is the DAC of my unit broken somehow?
If every 5909 unit has this problem, I think my last option would be the Dali IO-12, but it has no LDAC and it might be one step too far into the "not mobile home equipment" territory for me...

I've found the Dali's to be pretty mobile. Took them on my trip to Asia (Bangkok, Bali, Taiwan) and had no issues. I was also between the 5909s and the Dalis and went to the Dali's because of my experience with the 5909s Customer Service left a lot to be desired.

 

[BJPromo]

My "leather" headband separated along the seam, so the red stitching clearly is decorative. I used Scotch branded no-run super glue to hold the two sides of the headband in place and haven't had any issues since.

Could you explain exactly how you glued the cheap pleather headband back together after it peeled away? Mine has just come unstuck after 3 months of use, though thankfully I had read this thread and so was prepared for it, especially as I live in a country with 90% humidity at 33c heat.

I just don't want to botch it when I glue the leather back in, and be left with an ugly set. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[BJPromo]

Has anyone taken apart the headband for their 5909s? I can see from a spare part listing on ebay that it splits into two parts, as in the photo. The leather padding is attached to an inner plastic rim, which then seems to click into the outer hard plastic band. But I cannot seem to separate mine without it feeling like the plastic is about to snap, which I'd like to avoid. Any experience from anyone here?

 

[XTF1]

Has anyone taken apart the headband for their 5909s? I can see from a spare part listing on ebay that it splits into two parts, as in the photo. The leather padding is attached to an inner plastic rim, which then seems to click into the outer hard plastic band. But I cannot seem to separate mine without it feeling like the plastic is about to snap, which I'd like to avoid. Any experience from anyone here?

I have not disassemble the headband—no need so far—so can’t help.
But I got a set of replacement headband and earpads from AliExpress that look to be from the same vendor: same exact pictures.
They are utter garbage. Quality is absolutely terrible, the stitches are black instead of red and are not straight. The earpads are not even the correct size and are missing the small clips to install them. Totally unusable…

 

[BJPromo]

I have not disassemble the headband—no need so far—so can’t help.
But I got a set of replacement headband and earpads from AliExpress that look to be from the same vendor: same exact pictures.
They are utter garbage. Quality is absolutely terrible, the stitches are black instead of red and are not straight. The earpads are not even the correct size and are missing the small clips to install them. Totally unusable…

Sorry to hear you got stuck with these. What made you order them, out of interest? If you have had no need to disassemble the original headband?

 

[XTF1]

Sorry to hear you got stuck with these. What made you order them, out of interest? If you have had no need to disassemble the original headband?

I was mostly interested into the earpads as a possible inexpensive aftermarket replacement. The headband and earpads on my 5909 are still in great condition, so I haven't had to replace anything.

 

[NCUS]

Could you explain exactly how you glued the cheap pleather headband back together after it peeled away? Mine has just come unstuck after 3 months of use, though thankfully I had read this thread and so was prepared for it, especially as I live in a country with 90% humidity at 33c heat.

I just don't want to botch it when I glue the leather back in, and be left with an ugly set. Thank you for any help you can give.

I pulled out some of the cheap fake leather covering the foam side of the headband and placed glue on the pleather. Using a plastic hotel key card, I put the pleather back into the slot formed by a scarily cheap piece of plastic and the main headband structure. I then squeezed the headband for about 30 seconds to set everything in place. I used only a modest amount of glue because I feared the glue would run off onto a visible peace of pleather when I squeezed down.

This is only a stop gap solution. After about 6 months it came detached again, so I had to glue it a second time. Hopefully this time it holds for a bit longer.

Best of luck.