Harman Introduces Nearly $1,000 High-End Headphones

Harman, a Samsung subsidiary, has launched the wireless No. 5909 headphones introduced. These headphones are designed to reproduce ‘high-resolution audio’ and will be available in the US on Tuesday for $999.

The headphones have ‘adaptive active noise canceling’ with three different modes and an ‘ambient aware’ function to determine how much ambient noise enters the headphones. The device’s 40mm drivers are coated with beryllium. It has an acoustic response of 40kHz and signal processing of 24bit and 96kHz. Furthermore, the No. 5909 support for Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC, AAC and aptX codecs. There are also four microphones on the headphones, but nothing is mentioned about the sound quality.

There is also no mention of, among other things, the frequency response or distortion. Harman does promise that the headphones meet the ‘strict standards’ of the Hi-Res Audio certification and deliver ‘impressive acoustic performance’. No specifications are given to back up those claims.

With active noise cancellation enabled, the headphones can last for 30 hours on a single charge; without noise reduction, the battery life is 34 hours. the no. 5909 supports fast charging, so the headphones should be charged enough within 15 minutes to last for six hours. In the US, the headphones will be available immediately for $999; converted and with VAT that is about 1035 euros. It is not known when the headphones will be available in the Benelux and for what price.