Meze 99 Classics Walnut Silver Headphones (Silver & Black)

Product Information

Warm fundamental range transition into the upper fundamentals; therefore warm, lush lower mids without becoming overly muddy or muffled sounding. Comfort: I only own a handful of IEM/headphones, but these are the by far the most comfortable headphone. its very light weight, and the headband very nicely distributes the weight on your skull. Its earpads and very soft and it has very low clamping force even straight out of the box. If you are wearing in a hot environment then it will obviously get warm, but other than that its pretty comfortable. The earcups are soft and cushiony and when I put them on, my ears dont the insideof the headphone. But I have to say when you are listening to songs and if your hand or anything hits the metal headband or the earcups then the sound is amplified, but its not really that much of a problem. Look and Feel - This is an understated, but premium, headphone. Aesthetics are not as striking as the Empyrean, bringing a bit of a "boxy" vibe, but they maintain attractiveness for the form factor, with the bronze trim adding an elegant touch. Build quality is robust, with the headphone emanating quality while in the hand. Meze, however, felt to be a more sleazy attempt at capitalizing on the growing trend of people willing to spend ever larger amounts of their hard-earned cash on headphones. I found the two included cables perplexing. They look to be the same cable, just different lengths. How many people would be using a 3m cable for portable use? Considering the price point, I would have liked to see a more robust 3m cable with a 6.3mm end for home use instead.

Meze 99 Neo Review: Over Ear Headphones — Audiophile ON Meze 99 Neo Review: Over Ear Headphones — Audiophile ON

I would say one can hear that they come from the same house. This shall not lead to the conclusion that they have the same frequency characteristics though. There is, however, slight evidence of the wood lacquer being worn on the bottom edge of the ear cups by the end of our time testing them – something you should perhaps expect to happen over time if they’re constantly placed on a desk. Power 83 out of 120 - what? As good as Kann OG? Not after direct comparision. Mids are missing a bit. But still, impressive. I called them out, something I hadn't done since I ripped apart my expensive Hisound Audio Studio Anniversary player. The wooden cups are a small circumaural or maybe a big supra-aural depending on your ear size. Certainly, for me, they are a small circumaural meaning there is some adjusting to do.

Cable & Accessories

Simply more enjoyable than headphones usually sound. A gem of a pair.” ‘Hi-Fi Choice – 5-stars – Group Test Winner’. IER-Z1R IEM: more bass slam and digs deep, lyric is cleaner in the mids. Om highs they are about the same, larger sound stage on the IER-Z1R with better separation. The midrange is highly impressive and certainly the star of the show. The vocals sound incredible in these headphones and oh so natural. I feel like the AWAS is more balanced through the midrange. The tonality of the AWAS often grabs my attention with how “right” a particular instrument will sound. This is where I struggle a bit describing what I hear. I don’t want to give the impression that I thought the tonality of the Liric was off, it wasn’t, it’s just that, in the time I spent with them, they never had that goosebump inducing quality that the AWAS can have for me. Inside the case, as mentioned, you get the 99 Neo and then a small pouch full of the accessories, which you attach to the inside of the case with a velcro pad.

Meze Audio 99 Classics - Reviews - Head-Fi.org Meze Audio 99 Classics - Reviews - Head-Fi.org

So I added the filter settings from AutoEQ and WOW these made the vocals on the Liric outstanding (that I really call "veil removed"!), also the Empyrean has this to some extend without EQ, but not as obvious as on the Liric. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 2nd November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) I have tried Meze 99 classics with Pixel 3aXL, Asus ROG laptop and it was paired with IFI HIP DAC.I have listened to spotify premium and apple lossless. This review will be divided into my experience with Headphone Zone, accessories, build quality, comfort and sound. The treble distinguishes the compared headphones the most. It’s nearly impossible to find a source that will make the highs of HE-R9 unpleasant but definitely when comparing them in terms of reproduced details Liric is far ahead in front of HiFiMan headphones.When you open the box up, you will be greeted not by the headphones but by the attractive and valuable hard-shell carry case; the headphones are lurking inside. I like the case; it’s good quality and molded to precisely fit the 99 Neo rather than just being an off-the-shelf offering. I tend to be a one headphone guy or I guess I should say one headphone per purpose. One for home, one for portable. I’ve tried having multiple home headphones, but every time I had something other than the AWAS on my head, I found myself eyeing up the AWAS, wishing I was listening to them instead. I finally gave in and decided to put together my setup with one purpose in mind, to maximize the potential of the ATH-AWAS as best I could within my budget. It’s still an evolving process but as of the time I had the Liric here it consisted of: The driver from the Liric is a planar Magnetic dual Array system dubbed the Rinaro/MEZ4 system, which is easy to drive at 30-Ohms and capable of 20Hz to 92kHz frequency response. In my experkence they are fairly easy to drive nut if you want to feel the rumbly bass vibes you must use a powerfuk source. It’s a great modern take on a classic design and has enough sleek touches to make the 99 look elegant and classy. The company offers a few different color options, but the walnut and gold were the most eye-catching to us. Good soundstage but smaller as on the DMP.Z1, bass a bit weak on moving air but still great, great clarity

Meze 99 Classics Review - Over Ear Headphones - Audiophile ON Meze 99 Classics Review - Over Ear Headphones - Audiophile ON

Right now Meze is offering two distinct types of wood for the cup, Walnut and Maple adorned with either an accented gold or silver finish on the external metals. The Walnut silver is the latest version to hit the market and the one I am reviewing right now. I need to begin by saying that I did my best to keep the volume as closely matched as possible, and that I did my best to keep the test as reliable as possible. I have taken part in multiple tests in Romania, including double-blind tests, where the results were quite clear, that cables, each have their own specific sound. This can be attributed to many phenomena in electronics, including even mismatching impedances (which is a much more serious effect than might seem), but regardless, I will not talk about why each cable sounds that way, but about how each of them tends to sound, to provide a reliable review where I can. Silver is an excellent material to make your cables from, it tends to have a specific sound, which is usually brighter and more detailed, and while I am not exactly an engineer able to speak books about it, there are articles that explain why the changes in the cable’s core components and structure will lead to changes in sound.Build quality is top notch. The headphones feel solid and the simple, all-mechanic build (no glue is used) make them appear sturdy and resistant. Meze nailed it when it comes to materials and there’s no part of the 99 Classics that feel cheap, flimsy or inadequate. Under the headphone in a cutout area is the well apportioned manual, complete with imagery in glossy color. There is not a hint of crappy plastics on these cans as far as I can see and looking into their design information and this does seem to be confirmed.