Barring some occasional sales from a handful of retailers, the price tag on countless headphones only seems to be getting higher. Nevertheless, some manage to outdo the rest, and Mark Levinson is looking to get in on the headphone wars. Through years of manufacturing quality amplifiers and bolstering Lexus vehicles, the Harman International subsidiary has developed its very first pair of over-ears in the № 5909 headphones, and they’re pretty spectacular.
Boasting beryllium-coated 40mm dynamic drivers, it’s no question that the Connecticut-based audiophiles‘ first wireless headphones are top of the line, featuring a plethora of other features that invite users to take a long-term sonic plunge. While they live up to the new-age standard of active noise canceling, the luxe cans are also equipped with an Ambient mode akin to Apple’s Transparency mode, so listeners can take in the world around them all while getting the most out of their listening experience. Composed around a sleek, lightweight, anodized aluminum frame, these are a simple carry that offers a wildly impressive Bluetooth range of 65 feet. Equally noteworthy, however, are the headphones’ 30 hours of use while using noise cancelation, as well as the fact that a quick 15-minute charge can juice these sweet new over-ears up for 6 extra hours of listening. To top it all off, as a branch of the Harman company tree, the headphones are tuned to “the Harman curve,” an acoustic response curve that has earned a subjectively superior score in blind listening tests.
Currently on sale through select retailers, Mark Levinson’s No. 5909 headphones are available in three different colors for an industry-rattling $999.
