I would be very careful about with regards to the Meze 99 Classics/Neo - if you can try it first that would be ideal. I have the Neo's and saying that the bass is laughably bloated is, er, an understatement. It's to the point where they are damaging to your ears at any reasonable volume, without immediate EQ. Also, if you EQ you'll need to know what you're doing - the recommended EQ by Metal571 does - where he suggests flooring 300 makes the 99's sound anemic IMO. There's also some issues with the treble - it could be my ears - as I may be sensitive in a peaked region, but they cause my tinnitus to flair up and my ears to ring. Aside from that though, the treble is grainy in direct comparison to the MDR-1A (first gen). I find the tuning of the MDR-1A to be much, much better. As is the comfort.
Back to the subject - I'll throw some thoughts on the MDR-1A. I'll put them in this thread as the phones are so similar to the M2 and this thread is active.
- the pad swap with the Meze pads is not necessarily an improvement. I found that the sound changes for the worse. Firstly, the mids are pushed back and the precision of the treble tuning is changed. Additionally, the midbass is altered, but the midbass was never a dislike for me, so the alteration is not my cup of tea. The comfort is not improved IMO either. The Sony pads are softer, but depending on the size of your ear, yes, your lobe my be on the pad, but with the clamp force and the plushness of the pad, it only should become an issue after several hours of use. The Meze pads work for bigger ears, they are more firm and they change the sound enough that they present a completely different sound altogether. Whether you like it or not will depend on you and your ears of course. I didn't, but, I am not trying to discount anyone's findings. Anyways pad swapping is fun.
- I also just wanted to mention that using extra fine graphite lubricant is the only solution for a creaky MDR-1A or M2 for that matter. Someone mentioned this in one of these threads sometime ago and it's an awesome (but messy be careful!) fix.