Mark Levinson wouldn’t be the first high-end brand to offer $1,000 wireless headphones, but we’re slightly puzzled by this new product announcement. The Mark Levinson No. 5909 Wireless Headphones are clearly aimed at the high-end customer who needs to own the “best” of everything but the market has clearly rejected that price point so far.
HiFiMAN tried that with the Ananda BT headphones ( I still own a pair that I purchased on sale) and it didn’t work out so well. The quality was definitely there but the market for high-end wireless headphones is below $500; Sony, Bose, HiFiMAN, PSB, Master & Dynamic, and Apple are engaged in some serious trench warfare and the market for a $999 wireless headphone is insanely small.
Mark Levinson is now owned by Samsung (which purchased the Harman Group) and it does have the engineering resources of AKG to help with its headphone development.
The Mark Levinson No. 5909 Headphones stay connected to entertainment for longer durations of time with up to 34 hours of playback time and 30 hours with Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation turned on.
That’s an interesting claim that we plan on verifying in Q1.
This award-winning design* was crafted with luxury comfort in mind, the headphone is constructed with premium materials including core aluminum components, a leather headband and replaceable leather ear cushions that ensure listening solace for years to come.
Each headphone comes equipped with an accompanying hard-shell carrying case that also discretely stores included cables and an airplane adaptor.
The No. 5909 delivers reference-quality sound via 40mm Beryllium coated drivers that have been expertly tuned to the HARMAN Curve and designed by the same world-class sound engineers behind Mark Levinson’s renowned amplifiers, turntables and streaming players.
In addition to high-fidelity audio, the headphone is packed with features that everyone can appreciate, including Bluetooth 5.1 technology with LDAC, AAC, and aptX™, a four-microphone array with Smart Wind Adaption for crystal clear phone calls, Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with three modes for premium sound isolation, and Ambient Aware for situational awareness in one’s surroundings.
“The № 5909 headphones are the first Mark Levinson product designed for the luxury, on-the-go lifestyle,” said Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, HARMAN Luxury Audio. “The combination of reference-quality sound, best-in-class features, beautiful design, luxury build and comfort raises the bar for the wireless headphones category.”
Features:
- Expertly tuned 40mm Beryllium coated drivers acoustically optimized to the HARMAN Curve
- Audio performance meets stringent standards for Hi-Res Audio certification, digital circuitry compatible with 24-bit/96kHz processing and acoustic response up to 40kHz.
- Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC, AAC and aptX™ Adaptive
- Audio performance meets the stringent standards for Hi-Res Audio,
- Adaptive technologies, a four-microphone array with Smart Wind Adaption for crystal clear phone calls
- Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with three modes for premium sound isolation
- Ambient Aware mode for situational awareness while on-the-go
- Premium leather headband and replaceable leather ear cushions
- Anodized aluminum frame and metallic painted ear cups
- Up to 34 hours battery life; 30 hours playtime with ANC
- Up to 6 hours playtime with 15-minute charge
- Android and iOS app control
- Hard-shell travel case with assortment of cables and accessories including
- 1.25m USB-C charging cable
- USB-C to USB-A adaptor
- 1.25m and 4m USB-C to 3.5mm audio cables
- 3.5mm to 6.3mm audio adaptor
- Airplane audio adaptor
- Microfiber polishing cloth.
Price & Availability
The Mark Levinson No. 5909 wireless noise cancelling headphones are available for pre-order now for $999 at Crutchfield in Pearl Black, Ice Pewter and Radiant Red. Although they’re not expected to ship until February 7, 2022.
*Mark Levinson № 5909 headphone received a 2021 Red Dot product design award The Red Dot Awards are an internationally recognized symbol of superior design, the Red Dot Awards celebrate excellence in the areas of product design, brands & communication design, and design concept.
For more information: www.marklevinson.com
Where to buy: $999 at Crutchfield
Mark Strong
January 6, 2022 at 7:37 pm
The Q is: How well do they reproduce a surround sound / home theatre environment? If (I assume they must?) provide a theatre-like sound experience, how many speakers are available – a 5.1 / 5.2 / 7.1 / 7.2 presentation? Assuming “one” – are the delay / sound levels to “position” and “adjust to personal preference” – as in a home setup – available?
Many have great surround setups but find that in many scenarios, the neighbors (or families) do not “appreciate” the same levels of playback. For an excellent solution in this regard, $1,000 is not an issue.
So? What’s the scoop? And as an BTW – such info should have been covered in the article/review.
Ian White
January 6, 2022 at 9:16 pm
Mark,
When we get our hands on a review pair, we’ll let you know.
Ian White
NWWOODS
January 6, 2022 at 9:46 pm
This was a preview, not a review.