Products
Mark Levinson Nº 5909
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Aug 12, 2025 07:50 PM
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Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Aug 27, 2025 05:26 PM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Emphasized (3 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Bright
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
WirelessNo
TransducerPlanar Magnetic
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
MicNo
Sound Signature
Balanced
Our Verdict
Mark Levinson Nº 5909
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire
The Mark Levinson Nº 5909 and the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire are both premium, closed-back offerings from high-end audio companies. The most obvious difference between the two is the Mark Levinson's wireless connectivity and ANC system, which immediately give them more versatility for travel and office use. Their more comfortable fit and built-in microphone help with this too, making them a good choice for long trips and long calls. Audiophiles will note that both headphones are tuned to the Harman curve, with emphasized bass and treble ranges, though the Dan Clark have a slightly bassier tuning. The Dan Clark feature better matched drivers, though, and come with tuning pads to subtly alter the sound.
Variants
- Nº 5909 (Ice Pewter)
- Nº 5909 (Pearl Black)
- Nº 5909 (Radiant Red)
- AEON 2 Noire (Black)
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Ice Pewter
Nº 5909
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Black
AEON 2 Noire
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Pearl Black
Nº 5909
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Black
AEON 2 Noire
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Radiant Red
Nº 5909
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Black
AEON 2 Noire
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Black
AEON 2 Noire
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Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
6.9
5.3
Bluetooth Connection
7.8
0.0
Stability
6.5
5.5
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
700 Hz
850 Hz
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
Treble Amount
Emphasized (3 dB)
Balanced (0 dB)
Sound Signature
Bright
Balanced
Frequency Response Consistency
8.2
5.0
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.79 dB
1.80 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.7
9.4
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.2 dB
2.4 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
0.7 dB
1.63 dB
Mid Bass
0.67 dB
3.67 dB
High Bass
0.09 dB
0.45 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.0
9.6
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.42 dB
0.71 dB
Low Mid
-0.91 dB
-0.16 dB
Mid-Mid
0.47 dB
0.48 dB
High Mid
1.74 dB
-0.67 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
8.1
8.9
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.2 dB
2.56 dB
Low Treble
1.68 dB
-1.61 dB
Mid Treble
4.12 dB
1.85 dB
High Treble
0.82 dB
1.54 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.5
6.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.43 dB
2.05 dB
Dips
1.64 dB
2.41 dB
Stereo Mismatch
6.8
7.5
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.86 dB
0.36 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
0.78 dB
1.43 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.6°
2.6°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
3.8
4.6
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.63 dB
4.72 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
5.08 dB
2.74 dB
PRTF Distance
2.26 dB
8.42 dB
Harmonic Distortion
8.5
8.8
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.12%
0.09%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.47%
0.29%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
112.0 dB SPL
101.2 dB SPL
Bluetooth Max SPL
102.5 dB
N/A
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No
Test Settings
Firmware
V1.5.0.8
No Firmware
Power
On
Passive
Connection
Bluetooth
Wired
Codec
aptX HD, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Neutral
No EQ
ANC
High
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
No Microphone
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Planar Magnetic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.79 lbs
0.76 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
1.2 lbs
Controls
8.0
0.0
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
No Controls
No Controls
Ease Of Use
Great
No Controls
Feedback
Great
No Controls
Call/Music Control
Yes
No
Volume Control
Yes
No
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
No
Talk-Through
On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
No
Portability
5.7
5.8
Portability Picture
L
8.4" (21.5 cm)
5.2" (13.2 cm)
W
8.2" (20.7 cm)
6.5" (16.4 cm)
H
2.2" (5.6 cm)
3.7" (9.5 cm)
Volume
151.45 in³ (2,481.78 cm³)
125.50 in³ (2,056.56 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
8.9" (22.7 cm)
6.0" (15.3 cm)
W
8.5" (21.7 cm)
7.4" (18.8 cm)
H
2.9" (7.3 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)
Volume
219.42 in³ (3,595.62 cm³)
179.04 in³ (2,933.90 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
5.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
8.4
5.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Overall Attenuation
-22.16 dB
-13.42 dB
Bass
-15.79 dB
-0.20 dB
Mid
-21.26 dB
-13.40 dB
Treble
-30.89 dB
-29.50 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
8.7
4.9
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-20.42 dB
-11.39 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-19.18 dB
-11.55 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-22.67 dB
-13.05 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
7.5
6.0
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
36.34 dB
44.86 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
No
Recording Quality
6.3
0.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
562 Hz
N/A
FR Std. Dev.
2.82 dB
N/A
HFE
7,240.77 Hz
N/A
Weighted THD
0.903
N/A
Gain
-0.19 dB
N/A
Noise Handling
7.7
0.0
SpNR
SpNR
15.25 dB
N/A
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
N/A
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
N/A
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Active Features
Battery
8.9
0.0
Battery Type
Rechargable
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
18.6 hrs
N/A
Additional Charges
0.0
N/A
Total Battery Life
18.6 hrs
N/A
Charge Time
1.7 hrs
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
Yes
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
USB-C
None
App Support
6.5
0.0
App Picture
App Name
Mark Levinson
No App
iOS
Yes
No
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Presets
No
ANC Control
Presets
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
8.9
9.9
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB-C
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
13.12 ft (4.00 m)
6.56 ft (2.00 m)
Connector
USB-C
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
37.9 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
7.8
0.0
Bluetooth Version
5.1
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
No
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
N/A
Latency - SBC
372 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX
365 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
258 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
52 ms
N/A
Latency - LDAC
246 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
Yes
No
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
Audio Only
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
Audio Only
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
Audio Only
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Ice Pewter
Nº 5909
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Black
AEON 2 Noire
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Pearl Black
Nº 5909
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Black
AEON 2 Noire
SEARCH
B&H
Radiant Red
Nº 5909
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Black
AEON 2 Noire
SEARCH
BestBuy.com
Black
AEON 2 Noire
SEARCH
Walmart.com
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Mark Levinson Nº 5909
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Mark Levinson Nº 5909 vs Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire: Main Discussion
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