Meze 99 Classic

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by JewBear, Feb 27, 2016.

  1. LauriCular

    LauriCular Acquaintance

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    I recently got to try these and found them sounding better coming straight out of my phone than with a Chord Hugo, perhaps this is some reverse expectation bias but I found myself dancing nonetheless! I found the low bass a bit off-putting but am hopeful that this will sort itself out, as has been reported.

    The cables are a bit stiff and annoying, but that's a small thing.
     
  2. MikeMercer

    MikeMercer Friend

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    Let us know how they're breakin' in!!
     
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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  4. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    My new portable setup

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Azteca

    Azteca Friend

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    I've got the loaner and about 10 minutes in I am really digging them. Super luxuriously comfortable, look very sharp. There is a notable treble spike somewhere that I'm hearing with tambourine and certain cymbals. But no big sibilance. (EDIT: some female sibilance and certain pitched up/sample based or synth percussion really hit this range) So not sure exactly what freq it is. But very enjoyable aside from that prominent bit of treble. Still not getting in my way, would probably just lead to fatigue for me at medium-high volume after a while. I'm listening to HQ Spotify out of the headphone output from a Grace m903 with a random 1/4" adapter I found in my office. Bass is pleasantly boosted but indistinct in pitch, not very precise. Doesn't seem to be a big deal for "natural" bass but I'm listening to a tune with some very clean and strong sub-bass and it is making it bloomy.
    EDIT: Hans' measurements show a spike around 7K. That seems right.

    Next up is the iPhone test, and then the wife test. She really liked the looks of these so I'm going to see if I can make her like them >:)

    iPhone is sounding good but not as good as the Grace. The cable with remote is very nice with its wrap and is miraculously the perfect length to reach my pocket and leave me room to move all about without needing to wrap or tuck excess cable into my pocket. I am 6'5" so its enough for anyone.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  6. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    Just got the new bigger pads...holy cow better comfort, better isolation and the bass has more impact.

    In my opinion, the Meze are now the best closed headphones under $400 on the market. (Yes better than the THX00, Oppo PM-3 and Audeze Sine)
     
  7. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I don't know how much unit-to-unit variation there is, but a second pair I tried with the larger pads had more of a bass-to-mids suckout and a brighter tone...kind of kept rising from the lower-mids. The first pair with smaller pads sounded more even and balanced tonally to me, less fatiguing.
     
  8. Azteca

    Azteca Friend

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    You heard the Focal Spirit Pro?
     
  9. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    Weird? I don't have any issues with my pair. The only difference that I can hear with the bigger pads is that the bass has more impact. The rest of the frequency seems to be intact. (Emotiva DC-1 --> Vali 2 --> Meze 99)
     
  10. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    No I never tried the Focal Spirit Pro.

    I will try to compare them with the new Focal Listen this weekend.
     
  11. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    The Focal Spirit has better bass and a cooler tone - dynamics punch are better. Meze better tonality and fluiidity. Also more comfortable.
     
  12. tomtan

    tomtan New

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    I bought the Meze Classics 99 following Tyll's recommendation

    They are currently my goto closed headphones in any situation where I want to avoid sound leakage (I also have the DT770 but don't really enjoy them). I find them to be very comfortable (I have the larger pads, I tried them before with smaller pads and had more issues with comfort). Sound quality is great, I do agree with Hands that they are at times a bit too bassy but it's not by much and it does work well with some songs I like.

    Overall, I'm glad I made the purchase
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2016
  13. cityshlacker

    cityshlacker New

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    I was looking at closed portable headphones to use for travel, and in that category I found that the Meze 99 Classics and the Oppo PM-3 were the most visible contenders.
    I already own the Focal Spirit Classic and I think they're very disappointing, nothing excites me when I listen to them and they are pain incarnate on my head.
    I decided to go for the Mezes in lieu of the Oppos due to my recent misadventures in Playnarland.

    First of all they're very comfortable, I can wear these for days, and they isolate extremely well.
    No one can hear the weird shit I listen to for once.

    I read that the PM-3s are great with hip-hop, and I want to confirm that the 99 Classics sound INCREDIBLE with some of my favourite rap records (Midnight Marauders for example) and the other genres (like Jazz) I dabble in.
    They're fun as hell and they definitely have more bass than what I'm used to, certainly more than the bass-shy (according to some) Utopia.

    I always universally recommend the Sennheiser HD650 to my friends asking me about decent headphones (depending on their circumstances) and I feel like the Mezes now take that same spot for closed and easier to drive recommendations.

    I also don't mind too much looking like a wooden 70s robot on the train.
     
  14. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    The classics are great headphones for sure.
     
  15. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    Just got these in from @gbeast. They're the Walnut Silver model, which IIRC shipped with the XL pads by default. No comfort issues here, but I have a small noggin.

    First impressions:

    - The 99 Classics are very bassy in terms of quantity, but they lack sub-bass extension and a balance / delineation between mid and sub-bass, which leaves the bass feeling flabby and one-dimensional as a whole. I actually prefer listening to bass-light music with these; in bass-heavy tracks, that lack of dimensionality coupled with the overwhelming quantity tires me out.

    - The midrange, when not obscured by bass, is quite well balanced and the treble sounds energetic without being sibilant.

    - Imaging and soundstage are excellent for a headphone of this class* (* more on that below.)

    - In the All Purpose Advice Thread, I asked whether it was worth replacing the HD650 with these. The answer's no, not by a long shot. The 99 Classics have some good qualities, but they're still steps down from the HD650 in overall resolution and cohesive tonality. Additionally, the former still exhibits some of the listening-through-a-tin-can hollowness that's typical of closed-back headphones in the $200-300 range. If you have $300 to spend and the luxury of choosing between open and closed-backs, skip these and get the HD650.

    - In my experience, the $200-300 closed-back category is a bit of a no man's land in that 50+% of your purchase price often goes towards a fashion tax (B&O H6, B&W P5/P7, Momentums, V-Moda, Master & Dynamic, etc). The Mezes fall in that category too, but I think they're the most enjoyable headphones I've tried out of this group. They aren't reference-grade accurate by any stretch, but they're a fun, V-shaped listen, and sometimes that's all you're looking for in a mid-level closed-back headphone like this.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2017
  16. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    The "hollowness" are because of the bigger pads. The smaller pads was quite a bit better in that regard and also tamed that bass to a certain extend for a more balanced sound overall.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2017
  17. superuser1

    superuser1 New

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    Has anyone with a 99c tried any after market pads and would like to give their impression?
     
  18. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    New Meze Empyrean headphones

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Ohhh.. shiny. Uses big words. Rinaro.

    It's like a Chanel No 5 commercial for headphones.

    Queue Fabio riding a horse on a beach...


    I won't lie, I am curious how they sound.
     
  20. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    I hope the cups are a bit bigger.

    What the hell do they even mean by isodynamic hybrid array? Is this something I should know already?

    Looks pretty, anyway.
     

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