It can handle truly enormous levels of outside noise (my customary standing on a footpath under the M1 elicits the same response from fellow pedestrians as it always does but it’s a hell of a test) and you can listen to the delicate Interlude 1 by Sarah Jarosz while you do so. The application offers ANC/Awareness controls, bass contouring, an auto-off timer, and on-head detection settings.

You can’t tweak the 5909 to the same extent and it won’t play forest or waterfall sounds at you but the manner with which it handles external noise is imperious.As a result, the Mark Levinson companion app has a Spartan feature set compared to some of its competitors. Harman is now owned by Samsung and part of a much larger group of companies that includes Harman Kardon, JBL, Lexicon, Infinity, Revel, and AKG. If you need to hear a phone ring, the ambient mode is the better option but does pass more background noise into the mix as well. There’s no sliding level of noise cancelling, just the preset positions or voice passthrough and you can’t have ambient forest noises either (I’m not saying you want ambient forest noises but there’s no option for such a thing).

I had a lot of fun testing these headphones—I don’t remember using headphones for this amount of time without needing to go to another set of cans. Listening to the original Dead Can Dance album by the band of the same name, the 5909 captures the intensity and emotion of the album exceptionally well. The treble won’t please those looking for a flat response, but it won’t offend anyone by being too bright or fatiguing either. It barely ever worked, and when it did, there was serious lag (3 seconds) before auto-pausing or resuming playback. The 5909s didn’t beat the Focal Clear soundstage or the Arya’s full and crisp sound, but it doesn’t need to, it has the advantage of being in the same ballpark, plus they’re wireless and noise-cancelling.Four beam-steering microphones with Smart Wind Adaption prevent your voice from being muddled by outside noise. Luckily, the earpad and headband padding feel gentle, providing enough comfort to enjoy an in-flight movie before giving your skull a breather. The manner in which this has been done is, and you’ll forgive the brief moment of national stereotyping here, unusually subtle for an American brand. it’s clear that to earn a recommendation from us they need to be significantly better than the cheaper competition. You won’t be head-banging to any tune with the 5909s because that’s not what I believe these cans are for.

A few years back, I wrote a review of the Mark Levinson № 5105 Turntable, and after seeing and listening to it, I decided to keep it. The No 5909 headphones come with adaptive ANC that reduces background noise and they give you audiophile quality sound using 40mm beryllium-coated drivers and high-resolution Bluetooth 5.At the opposite end, they demonstrate extremely well-judged bite and shine – there’s no rolling off at the top end in the name of ‘good taste’. We don’t feel compelled to activate ANC on relatively noisy public transport but are pleased it’s there when a quieter classical piece comes on and that extra isolation from the outdoors and focus on the music is beneficial. Another album that made the cut with the 5909s was Johnny Griffin’s Live at Ronnie Scott’s from 2008; a marvellous session filled with dynamic and competing sounds coming from all over, featuring Roy Hargrove, Billy Cobham, bassist Reggie Johnson, and pianist David Newton.