I would like to thank Meze for kindly allowing me to listen to a review sample of their 99 Classics model. I will freely admit to being a little bit of a review whore lately. I have become curious to hear what is going on outside of my normal headphone stomping grounds. I am a Grado modder and an earbuds enthusiast. I turn my own wooden cups on a lathe in my workshop, and am always trying new drivers, new shapes, new headbands, etc, etc. I am also a very devoted follower of the new earbuds being put out by Venture Electronics. The Zen V1 and V2 are like nothing I have heard in such a tiny package.
 
I listen to a wide variety of music, but focus mainly on Jazz and the Blues. I believe firmly that there is “good” music and “bad” music in this world, the differentiator being the intent and sincerity of the artist in their delivery. This means any genre or era can tickle my fancy, but not just any artist or band in those genres. The truth is always conveyed in their work…
 
I was not provided with any monetary compensation for listening to the 99 Classics, and spent 7 days with them before mailing them on to the next tour participant. During that time I took them to my office, and as is my habit spent my working hours listening as I worked….I usually use a Pono player or a Rockboxed Sansa Clip +. I also plug directly into my Macbook Air and listen to Bandcamp a lot.
 
The Meze 99 Classics arrived in a very pretty box, that contained a very pretty carrying case, and in said case, the headphones themselves….which were very pretty. They are almost self-conscious in their beauty, with handsome wooden cups made from Walnut, black leather for their headband and pads, and a nice, matte black springsteel headband. They also have gold metal trim around the cable entry-points on the cups and on the suspension points for the headband pad.
 
They come with two cables. A long one, with no microphone/buttons, and a short one, with the aforementioned doohickys. These are in a nice little soft pouchy-type thingy with an airplane seat adaptor. The pouchy-type thingy sits comfortably in the carrying case. I found the cables a little microphonic and noisy. The headband made a bit of a racket when I touched it with the cans on my head as well for some reason. Interestingly enough, the cups (which are flawlessly finished) aren’t labeled for left and right, but the cables are. I assume this means the cups can function as left and right, no problem, it’s just the connection on the cable that determines which side sits on which side of your head. This makes sense I guess….never thought of it, but if the cups are exactly alike (as they seem to be) then it doesn’t matter.
 
The cups were a little smaller than I expected for some reason. From the pictures I thought they would be bigger and encompass my ears more easily. This was not the case, and I did start to hurt after a little while, and get hot ears using them. I am a taller person, with a bigger head and ears. Their connection to the headband was questionable. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on it for fear of breaking something. I am sure Meze stress-tested these though, and there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
 
How did they sound? Very, very relaxed. Almost Sennheiser-esque. This isn’t my usual sound preference. I look for just south of neutral with good extension on both ends. I am not going to lie though, you could listen to these things for days without any fatigue if they fit you well. They also sounded best out of my Macbook Air.  Overall I enjoyed my experience with them…but I couldn’t help but feel my colleagues at the office thought they were just a little too ostentatious. I got several comments to the tune of “fancy-schmancy headphones buddy…”. This was my primary dislike about them (and if you’re a manufacturer this is the least of your worries I think).
 
They were almost over-designed. They look like something you would buy if you deliberately wanted people to think you spent a lot of money on them. Some people want this, others don’t. I fall into the latter school, not the former. This is personal preference though, and admittedly a silly one at that.
 
Meze has done a sterling job of releasing a headphone that, if they fit you comfortably, will provide endless hours of sexy-looking, fatigue-free listening via your sexy-looking iDevice at the coffee shop while you sip espressos and shop for fancy leather brogues, mustache wax and expensive cologne online before joining your friends that evening at your local gastropub to drink microbrews and fancy whisky while discussing the Coachella lineup for this year and what you will wear while you’re there.

Specifications
Transducer size: 40mm, Dynamic
Frequency response: 15Hz~25KHz
Sensitivity: 103dB @ 1KHz, 1mW
Impedance: 32 Ohm
Rated input power: 30mW
Maximum input power: 50mW
Detachable Kevlar OFC cable
Plug: 3.5mm gold plated
Weight: 260 g. (9.2 ounces), without cables
Ear-cups: Walnut wood

Price: U$309.

Official 99 Classics info

Credits go to the Meze team for lending the 99 Classics unit. Had for more than a month before posting the full review. Thank you!


The 99 Classics headphones arrive inside a hard EVA case with no cables attached. In the middle of the case, there is a small round pouch holding the two cables and a pair of adapters (6.3mm and airplane).


Build Quality & Design

The Meze 99 Classics are closed-back headphones with a very unique design and excellent build quality. There is a mix of high quality materials that consists of metal (zinc and steel), wood and pu synthetic leather with no signs of cheap plastic components or glue used to attach any of the parts. The walnut wooden cups are made by CNC machine and well polished for completely smooth finish, and as any wood product they are not 100% identical to each other adding a classier look to them.


The upper headband is made of spring steel, very solid and looks durable enough, holding the whole headphones' structure in a fixed shape. The lower headband is the part that actually sits over the head, made of an elastic material completely covered by a wide synthetic leather piece with the 99 Classics at the upper side. The design is quite interesting, as the headband naturally adjust to the user's head size.


The walnut wooded cups are also very light. They are well attached to the metal band and feature a simple yet effective swing mechanism that allows them to adjust to the best angle for easier fit. The pads here are the new ones that were introduced on the 99 Neo version, made of soft and elastic pu leather and very soft memory foam inside.


In terms of fit and comfort, with the combination of the self adjust headband and swing feature on the cups, the 99 Classics headphones are very easy to use with no need of readjusting them from time to time. Moreover, despite the 260g weight, in practice they sit very comfortable and less noticed than even a bit lighter headsets. However, the cushions size won't fit everyone the same way; for me they are like over-ear full size headphones, covering entirely the whole ears, but for others they could fit as a large on-ear set. There is also practically no clamping force (again, thanks to over-ear like fit), tough the pads aren't too deep. The seal is good but not always best, probably due the too soft memory foam material, which seems to have some effect on the sound (usually on the treble area). The level of isolation good for a closed headphone design and there is no sound leakage.


The headphones feature a detachable dual cable design. The package includes 2 cable options, one of standard 1.2m length with in-line remote single button (play, pause, call answer), and a much longer 3m cable with single 3.5mm plug. There are no right and left sides on the headphones part just the on the cables. The lower cable part is thick and well covered by Kevlar sleeve. The y-split has a mix of rubber coating and small metal part with Meze logo on it; there is no cable slider, tough. The upper cable right and left sides are covered by a rubbery coating and a bit stiffer than the cloth part on the lower half, but the whole cable doesn't carry any noise when moving around.


Sound Quality

The 99 Classics headphones rate normal impedance and enough sensitivity for a portable closed set and in practice are very efficient with any portable source. They can get loud enough at moderate volume levels without asking for high gain or extra amplification. Even out of ultra portable DAPs like the Shanling M0 and Lotoo Pico, or even the pocket friendly Fiio M3K, the 99 Classics sounded good enough. However, most of the listening was trough the iBasso DX120 as a main source for best results, Aune M1s as a second option, as Dragonfly Red as DAC. Pairing the headphones with either a warmer or more neutral source was more a matter of taste, but they definitely benefit from a good sounding player with good overall control.


The Meze 99 Classics signature is mostly balanced from lows, mids to highs, but not in a neutral, reference type of tuning. Considering the wood material one would expect a colored, warm and very rich presentation, however, with the 99 Classics there is very little coloration to the sound that avoids being too thick or overly warm. Instead, it brings a more musical and engaging presentation that occasionally may sound even bit of lively v-shaped depending on the paired source, but mostly full on the bass region, slightly forward on the midrange with well weighted notes.

The bass is enhanced and full with more than enough power. Not a heavy bass type, but definitely more than just north of neutral. The emphasis is mainly presented on the thicker mid-bass region and drops a bit when going higher to the upper bass, leaving a cleaner lower midrange. It does bring a very enjoyable sense of warmth that plays well with many music genres, rich in texture and with good level of dynamics. The layering is good and so is the speed, though overall bass is a bit loose on more complex or faster tracks. Sub-bass is softer in impact, extended with enough rumble just less body than the mid-bass part.

The midrange is probably the most favorable characteristic on the 99 Classics, rich and a bit forward with some coloration thanks the warmer bass response. The separation is quite good and there is some extra touch of sweetness for vocals. Timbre, while not best, is very natural; not tuned for critical reference listening, rather for a more enjoyable, relaxed presentation. There is a touch of sibilance that can be heard on the upper midrange, though may be because the lack of seal with the stock pads; not very annoying, but can be noticed with more neutral sounding DAPs. Overall, the mids are clear, dynamic and very musical.

Highs have some accentuation but wouldn't classify as bright sounding. It's more about giving a better balance through the whole frequency. There is a small dip on the lower treble resulting in a less aggressive or 'hot' sound. A good thing for the 99 Classics as the sound results less tiring, smoother and still very detailed. It avoids the usual treble peaks and there is still more than enough energy and sparkle, though will missing the extra bite and crunchy texture for string or upper brass instruments at this region.

For a closed design headphone the soundstage is surprisingly good, with a wider effect and fair height and depth. The slight midrange forwardness limits the dimensions, but it sounds coherent and very airy.

First off this headphone will arouse you to enjoy the music in anyway possible and not critical listening is what i have found with these headphones.

Despite the hype and excitement i just want to get to the point.

They are not titan killers when i say that things like flagship headphones like hd800 etc, but i am rather confident that can stand against headphones costing twice the price of these.

Secondly they are a fun listen in a natural way that does not sound artificial and good sound or great sound varying on the recording etc, but not the best but however for the price range they are one of the best and i am confident about that as also being a nice all rounder type sound but the sound is exceptional very exceptional when i mean when they sound great.

As for the price and being one of the best, for some people who is after sound quality highs mids and lows presented in a beautiful way then i would recommend them this headphone then at this price range and would be the very best for them as these would be hard to beat at this price range and also forgive me but i am not aware of any headphone sounding like these that i personally know of, but the 1 more triple driver headphones (European model) sound something like these for sure as i have them in my audio inventory and maybe the denon mh 400.

Since i am a audio newbie i have these paired with the pro-ject head box s2 digital which is recommended on the meze audio website and i would definitely recommend this amp/dac for audio newbies like myself.

So what do they sound like, Silky smooth for a start...as well as being lively and engaging sound never sounding emotionless for me anyways and the bass oh do i love sub bass, it is sub bass with a skirt which suits all bass types as best as possible whilst it is presented like that and yeah i am confident to say these do have ample bass to satisfy you also they have a spacious sound also more importantly they sound sweet also they have a surround sound type to the sound of these headphones anyhow they have a velvet sound to them which is perfect for jazz music when i say velvet sound, the music track you listen to either brings out the velvet sound or it doesn't and all in all these have lovely energy to them.

The reason why i gave these 4 stars was because my expectations for this headphone well put it this way, not a flagship killer for a start and people have to get real about this headphone when comparing this to flagship headphones when i mean that well this is hard to explain because these are very good value and i do think they do come close to a flagship but not bested or the same regarding their strengths and weakness and also i say that these really is worthy of being listened too for sure but i have the desire to hear more and more and more of the sound these baby's give you, so yea i reckon these really are worthy to be tested by anyone if that is possible because they do sing and for me this is impressive.

All in all since i own way to many headphones like 15-20, these hold a bright spot among them because of my music taste.

The build quality i might add is very good.

Well that is all i have to say.

If you have any opinions or criticism let me know because i know i have contradict my self when writing this review anyways i have never listen to a flagship headphone like the hd800 so i can't judge really but i have 15-20 headphones costing around about the same as these like hd 650 and the like and these really blow all of them out of the water with the great sound which is impressive and sensational for me anyways.

Headphones like dt 880, dt 990, dt 48, hd 650, k701, q 701, t50rp, ultrasone pro 900 and the list goes on and on and on and for me well nope.

Basically most of the the mid fi headphones promoted on this website and still nope.

These are a yes for me, and for people who is after music pleasure these have to be among the best for musical performance.

My 2 cents,

p.s. You will melt in the music.

If you was to introduce someone to the world of audio for me i would certainly tell them to go with this headphone for an epic start to the journey along with the head box s2 digital amp dac and the 99 series 2.5 balanced upgrade cable on meze audio website.

This headphone well i am addicted to it so yea with the right recording it will give you a big wow factor when i mean a big wow factor some recordings barely scratch the surface others are better like 3d sound and then the full potential which will i think make your jaw drop with the big wow factor, it sounds out of this world and out of my headphone collection they do not sound like these regarding out of this world sound which is what i find really impressing.

So yeah i for one am hooked on this headphone, i can spend hours and hours listening to music with these to no end.

Dan.

Good resolution and sound stage.
Produces more detail, more "V-shaped" (bass hits harder, more sparkle, more brightness), at the same time less forgiving to non-professional recordings.
At low-to-moderate sound levels, they sound quite nice and one could "forget" that they're listening to music and could focus on the stuff they're doing, so the headphone doesn't get in the way, and is not "in your face".
At the same time, the headphones do quickly become fatiguing and "in your face" at high volume levels due to the V-shapedness (that highly depends on the individual properties of a listener's ear though).
The cups look like they could use some extra space, and the ear does touch the speaker side, so comfort is not ideal, and my ears already feel "crumbed" ("stiff", "numb", what's the word) after 15 minutes of wearing them.
The looks're cool.
Overall, a nice good-looking portable pre-mid-tier headphone, if it fits your ears.

A lot has been said about these headphones so I will try not to focus on how awesome they are, revealing some aspects a potential customer should take into account before spending his or her hard earned money.

Construction: These babies are built to last. The wood is prone to scratching of course but other than they will not break so easily. And don't forget you can always replace almost every single part in case it breaks. 5 stars.

Design and fit: Best for casual or classic style. I would not recommend taking these headphones for a hike or in the gym. The band tends to stretch on every abrupt move and you'll get quite a lot of microphonics. Especially from the metal parts. Also the pads will get hot over time so you'll need to literally cool your head once in a while. The clamping force is very well managed and you can even wear glasses with the headphones (which is big plus in my case). Even so, a few minutes of rest every hour or two would be welcome for your ears and jaw muscles. 4 stars for comfort.

Sound:

• Bass: coming from an open back DT-880 Vintage (where the bass is like a whisper), I was literally blown away by M99C. The bass is punchy, well defined and controlled. It feels too much at times, especially in quiet environments but that is normal for a closed back. 4.5 stars.
• Mids: The main reason why I bought these and I was right. A very natural reproduction of piano and guitar sound. Vocals are a bit forward, "in front of the orchestra", you can hear every whisper, every drop of saliva in the mouth of the vocalist. That is truly something. 5 stars.
• Highs: I'm a spoiled child here. I own a pair of Sony XBA-H3 and their armature drivers create a tremble that is hard to beat. Meze's dinamic driver is simply not in the same league. Highs are played accurately and only on very complicated compositions a slight loss of detail can be observed. Still, they are not sparkling like on XBA. If you are into jazz or trap, Meze may not be for you. 4 stars.
• Soundstage: It is OK. No praise, no complains here. The average soundstage of a closed back. The separation is good, though and that is enough. 4.5 stars
• Overall: a mature sound signature, very natural and pleasant, with an engulfing bass and forward mids. I don't think these headphones have a "warm " sound. That is an epitet reserved for Senns. That makes M99C your best bet for live music, rock and classical music. In fact, Meze are quite omnivore and I am almost sure that every genre could be enjoyed with these cans. 4.5 stars

Requirements to source:
They work well straight from my iPod touch but will scale significantly with a good DAC (I use them with a Pegasus II HP). 5 stars

Acknowledgment    

Thank you Meze Headphones for allowing me to participate in your European tour in exchange for my honest opinion of the Meze Headphones 99 Classics.

Introduction

Meze Headphones is a relatively new headphone manufacturer. The 99 Classics were funded through a Kickstarter campaign and are now out trying to conquer our ears with lush mid-range overtones. When I write reviews for items that I didn't buy, I use the lower price of Amazon.com or list price. The conquest proceeds after the break, but first here's a little bit-o-junk about me. There is no such thing as an impartial observer, so I suggest you know where reviewers you invest your trust in are coming from.
 

 

Manufacturer Specifications

I’ve decided after a bit of reading around that @Brooko is right, if a manufacturer provides specs, we should list them. I’m not convinced that specs are always accurate, or that specs even matter on many headphones. Plenty of headphones don’t sound like their measurements, for better or worse.
 
Here are the specs for the Meze Headphones 99 Classics from Meze Headphones' website:
 
 
Meze Headphones also provided a frequency chart for the 99 classics:
 


I found that what Meze Headphones represented their headphones as was fairly accurate. Using test-tones from Audiocheck.net I ran through some frequency checks. You need a sampling rate of at least double the frequency to test any given frequency, so I use 16/48 tones. At 16Khz there was plenty of bass still there. At 10Khz, the sound bass was still audible, but very faint. These are definitely high performers on bass extension. I don’t think much of anybody hears up to 25Khz, but I did test these at 23Khz and the tone was still audible. I’ve never heard tones above 23Khz, and most people won’t hear that, so I don’t bother trying. Using my SPL meter, I found that roll-off on treble starts at about 16Khz. The dip before and then peak at 5Khz is audible on some tracks—we’ll return to that later.

 

Form & Function

The Meze 99 Classics come with a smorgasbord of goodness when it comes to form and function. They are dead sexy looking, and come with two cables in separate lengths (a shorter cable with microphone, and a longer one without), an airline adaptor, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm jack adaptor, a high quality hard-case (with a zipper pouch for carrying accessories), and all of the parts or 100% user serviceable. Meze Audio also used the increasingly popular 3.5mm dual mono connectors for their headphone cable (HiFiMan headphones from 2015 onward, Sennheiser HD700, Oppo PM2, Oppo PM1). This should allow cheap and easy custom cable acquisition for playing these in balanced mode. Pretty dang sweet. I didn’t get to try balanced mode during my demo, but it is an exciting prospect. If I receive the pair after the tour, I’ll update this review with impressions in balanced mode.
 
The Meze Headphones 99 Classics are likely the most aesthetically beautiful headphones in their price bracket. The dark walnut wood and gold highlights ooze luxury and quality, and you don’t have to be a model on Meze Headphones’ website—there is more make-up in those photos than at a MAC counter—to immediately look more fashionable for wearing them. I hope Sex Bob-omb—
 

 
 
—headphones like these make certain B-words now owned and marketed by rounded corner rectangle slinging fruit merchants rapidly go out of fashion. I want to puke every time I see those cheap plastic crap cannons on anyone’s ears.  Please never get sponsorship from them, Head-Fi.
 
The pads are made of artificial leather that feels and looks nice enough, but they have a small cup size and are too thin. Now I don’t discriminate on cup size normally, but if something says circumaural in its description, its perimeter better make it around my ears. I think these could go around my 8-month old daughter’s ears, but my 8 year old nephew might have some problems. My average size 34 year-old ears make the 99 Classics fall strictly in the supra-aural category. I found that the headphones built pressure on my ears over time, with the soreness most notable after removing them, especially on the lower ears for me. It took about two to three hours for this effect to happen. I think the clamping pressure could probably be relieved somewhat by relaxing the metal band tension a bit, but I didn’t want to stretch out headphones on loan to me.  I know it doesn't look as stylish, but I'll take comfort over style—give me bigger earholes and deeper pads.
 
Isolation is pretty meager with these. Walking next to light traffic there is almost no isolation. They performed well in a quiet office, neither allowing me to hear much sound outside of the music I wanted to listen to and not allowing my neighbours to hear me blasting ‘a little silhouette of a man’ into their consciousness for all time. There was no Wayne’s World head-banging in my 1976 AMC Pacer of an office. My office-mates are not worthy, apparently.
 



Now for some audiophile content rated M (the headphones are inappropriately sexy):
 
Yeah, I know, those were good, but the lede was misleading. Here are the pictures you actually wanted to see:

 

Testbed

The equipment used for technical testing was as follows:

1. Wensa SPL Meter
2. iFi Micro iDAC2
3. iFi Micro iUSB3.0
4. iFi iPurifier2
5. 2 LH Labs Lightspeed 2G cables
6. Meze Audio 99 Classics Headphones
7. Sennheiser HD600 (panty-hose mod, increases soundstage, removes ‘veil’)

 

Audio quality

For most of my impressions I was listening out of the iFi iDAC2 with the iPurifier2 (reviews here and here), but I also did some listening with my LH Labs Geek Out 1000 paired with the iPurifier2. There was never any point where the 99 Classics were under-powered, it only took about 20% volume to power these to loud with the GO 1000. They are remarkably easy to drive. They may be too easy to drive as I think a little bit higher impedance would make some tracks have less distortion on the low end.
 
These do an excellent job separating out vocal layers. On Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (West German Target pressing) this is especially apparent in the chorus. Each of the three vocalists is distinctly identifiable in space. Well done, Meze Audio, this isn't usually the case. I think these do a little better than the HD600 on this song.
 
On Eagles - Hotel California (DCC Gold), the jet pan is a little lost in the mix. I think it is due to some emphasis on other parts and the relatively limited soundstage depth. Imaging is generally good, but there isn't very much air around most instruments. There is an average sound stage. Bass sounds a touch warm and thick.
 
Listening to the new jazz album from Jenny Maybee and Nick Phillips, Haiku, I'm caught off guard in a couple tracks by some dagger sharp piano. I think this may have to do with the 5Khz peak on the frequency response chart. One thing that is interesting about listening to headphones that push some frequencies to extremes, is that you notice peaky parts of recordings you hadn't noticed otherwise. When I switched to the 64Audio ADEL X2 (2 BA ADEL model), the sharp piano was still there, but it was less emphasized and not painful. The same was true with the HD600.
San Francisco Orchestra - Mahler Symphony Number 8, Part I, IV. Gloria Patri Domino (DSD64) is a great track for looking at vocal extremes and separation. These headphones are very suited to choral work. Absolutely fantastic! The soprano sounds dynamic and vibrant and the other singers are nicely placed and layered. Similarly, Trondheim Solistene - Magnificat, Et Misericordia (24/352.8) has great vocal separation. You can't pick out individual voices in entirety, but the flourishes of individual vocalists pull away from the choir nicely.
 
On Why - Strawberries the bass is a bit bloomy. It still sounds good and has decent extension (still shows up at 25hz, but doesn't drop as low as this track can go with any authority). The percussion is good but not among the best of headphones I own. It feels a touch slow on transient response. I get more out of my Trinity Audio Atlas IEMs and Echobox Finder X1 IEMs on transient speed and note decay. The slow decay gives a bit of a romantic character to the sound, but I tend to prefer incisive lighter tones.
 
In another story of revealing characteristics of the headphones, the quality of Regina Spektor's track, Fidelity, is exposed a bit at the beginning when the bass is dropping. There is a little bit of noise in the track that I hadn't really noticed that the Meze 99 Classics amplify a bit. I confirmed it with the HD600 and one of my favourite in ears the 64Audio ADEL X2; it's definitely there. Similar listening on 2Pac – God Bless the Dead, a track I throw in because of its heavy bass and poor mastering that I happen to love, shows that the Meze 99 Classics amplify poorly mastered bass. There is a lot of that going around, especially if you listen to metal music. Not all headphones make that poorly mastered bass as apparent. I think that higher impedance would probably remove some of the amplification of bad bass noise, but I didn’t have an adapter to test that during the time I had them. If I get them again, I’ll test the effect of higher impedance. Proceed with care.

 

[size=24.57px]Conclusions[/size]

These have stunning vocals, beautiful design, premium feel, great accessories; some treble fatigue, unforgiving of noise in the low end of recordings, bass thick but not very textured, overall thickness to sound from bass, cup size not big enough (that's right I said it), and can cause ear soreness due to small pad size and clamping. I think that these compete well with the OPPO PM3 for best work headphone, but I find the OPPOs a little cleaner on sound and more comfortable on the ears. Both headphones have amazing mids, and warm bass.
 
I had thought these would be easy to get a balanced cable, but I was mistaken, 2.5mm mono jacks are common on headphones, but not 3.5mm. The best route for Meze would be to manufacture their own balanced cables, but reterminating the stock cable is another option. Since it comes with two cables, this shouldn't be too much difficulty.
One potential advantage that I haven't got to hear on these is the ease of getting a balanced cable. These have the now ubiquitous mono 3.5mm dual jacks (HiFiMan HE1000, HiFiMan HE-X, HiFiMan 400i and 400s circa 2016, Sennheiser HD700, Oppo PM1, Oppo PM2) so balanced cables are easily available. If I owned any of those headphones, I would have been able to do a balanced shoot-out between the HD600 and the Meze 99 Classics using the LH Labs Geek Pulse X-Infinity. It would have been exciting. Maybe if I win these at the end of the tour I can update my review.

I got to listen to these for a couple weeks as part of the USA tour, with the requirement that I write a review and pay to ship them to the next participant. I am not affiliated with, and was not compensated by Meze in any other way.
 

Design

The physical design is probably the best part about these headphones. Not to say that the sound is bad (we'll get to that later, but in short, it isn't), but the design and build quality is the standout feature of these. Everything is put together very well, the real wood looks quite classy, nothing creaks, and it's all very pleasant to the touch. The auto-adjusting mechanism works well, and I had no real difficulty in getting a good, comfortable fit.
 
While the overall physical design is excellent, there are a few things I feel are worth talking about. First is that the cloth-covered cables (two are included, one with and one without inline controls), while very nice and durable seeming, are fairly microphonic.
 
The second point may just be me, but as far as I was able to tell, there are no Left / Right markings on the headphones themselves. The ends of the detachable cable are clearly marked L and R, but the cans themselves are not. I suppose that means that they are symmetrical front-to-back and it doesn't matter which direction you have them facing, but it still seems like an odd omission.
 
Third, and probably most important, is the size of the earcups, which are fairly small. They do go around my ears, but my ears are then touching the inside of the cups. One thing I was surprised about was how comfortable they are even with the smaller cups. Having my ears touch would typically bother me, but I found that I was able to wear these all day at work with little discomfort. I'm actually not entirely sure why, as the earpads are not super thick or anything, but they are nicely padded. So, in short, the earcups and pads are fairly small, but I found it bothered me a lot less than it usually does, and I actually found them surprisingly comfortable.
 

Sound

I am not a basshead, but to me these sound like what I would want a bass-heavy set of cans to sound like. If you're a hardcore basshead I can't make any guarantees that these will satisfy your craving for bass, but for me they had a tastefully-elevated amount of bass and impact that made these quite fun to listen to without completely drowning out the other frequencies. Vocals are a little overshadowed by the bass, but overall the 99 Classics still have a good amount of clarity and I don't feel like I'm sacrificing any real amount of detail to get the enhanced bass. If anything it's just fairly obvious that vocals are at a lower level than the bass that precedes them.
 
When listening to some piano recordings, I do think that this (and acoustic music in general) are a slight weakness. I do want to emphasize slight though, as if I hadn't been switching between my various headphones at the time I doubt I would have had any real issue with the 99 Classics and piano. But compared to my other cans, piano sounds a bit boxed in and artificial, as in it's easier to tell that you're listening to a recording of a piano on closed cans, and it'd be unlikely to fool you into thinking that you were in a room with a piano. The 99 Classics seem to be missing the very leading edge of notes; I wouldn't necessarily call it slow-sounding, but the very leading percussive edge of piano notes or percussion just isn't as sharp and immediate as I've heard on other cans.
 
Soundstage is also a relative weakness, they certainly sound like closed cans.
 

Comparison

I primarily listen to open cans, and have for the most part managed to keep myself to a single pair of closed cans at any one time. My current preferred reasonably-priced set of closed cans is the Shure SRH-840, which I've owned for years at this point. Certainly not the best I've heard, but with how infrequently I listen to closed cans, they've been a good price/performance tradeoff.
 
Compared to the 99 Classics, the Shures have clearer and better highs, resulting in them sounding more open than the Meze cans. The 99 Classics, however, do low bass much better, and are what I'd consider a more "fun" set of cans. The Classics are also much better built, and are the obvious choice if you're looking for something portable. Since I personally only use my closed cans at home if I need sound isolation (rare), the Shures still make the most sense for my use case.
 

Conclusion

The Meze 99 Classics are a very well-built handsome set of cans that delivery a very pleasant, bass-elevated sound that is easy to listen to and non-fatiguing. It comes with a nice hard case and multiple cables, and would make an excellent portable headphone for anyone looking for their sound signature. They are also very sensitive, working well out of cell phones and portable players.
 
Soundstage and treble are both (minor) weaknesses, but for on-the-go listening, I believe they have clearly focused on what matters the most for their intended audience.

Hi, below you can find my detailed video review of the Meze 99 Classics

Overall, I think it is a beautiful headphone to have in the collection especially for rock & metal music.



Below, you can find the written review:

Very emotional vocals. Interestingly, RESONATING string instruments such as guitars, very pronounced. Natural sounding cymbals. Good imaging. Hefty bass response. Very suitable for classic rock, metal bands, OPETH for example as sitting between the two. Watching supernatural, or some blues. You don’t want to listen so complex elements such as an orchestral song most probably. The layering is not done with ease. You can tell them an all around headphone after listening it for 5 minutes but mark my words here.

Basic, classic tunes. Vintage albums with guitars, vocals and drums sound soo emotional and right.

It is very forgiving. You don’t regret to listen poorer recordings on the 99 Classics. It reminds me my beloved Klispch Heresy 4 speakers if you can believe it. I mean, i really think so. Very emotional vocals, very pronounced guitars and cymbals, very musical and energetic. With that, smooth highs and big & bold bass. I mean, heresy 4 in a very small room. Becaouse the bass here can be a bit boomy on some tracks. It’s not tight or very fast with controll such as you’re listening a very high-end speaker with a good damping amplifier. No, its like you’re at a live concert. With big woofers attached. But they are faaar from controlled nor tight.

Technicalities are no suprise. You won’t get impressed. There is no super high resolution or very good micro detailing. No sir. Very average layering. Good imaging though. Sountage depth is good. Also quite open and wide for a closed back that has this amount of bass.If you know what you are doing while choosing this headphone though, this only benefits the fun factor. You can listen old albums with poorer recording quality with no after regrets on the 99 Classics.

Initially i did some eq. 3 arrangements basically. I lowered the bass shelf especially around the midbass. I lowered the 2k-4k area. Especially 2k is so pronounced on these headphones. Btw thats what makes the vocals so emotional, along with the timbre of the wooden cabinet i believe. And i raised the upper treble just a touch.

Then i realised, this tune, this exact tonal balance is what makes 99 classics a, i mean, classic.

Guitars are really interesting on these headphones, they resonate somehow in between the cabinet. So pronounced and produced with weight, a sensible body. You can definetly feel the strings. Not just hear. Stringed insturements on the 99 classics reacts kinda like bass frequencies. You feel em. They resonate through this cabinet. Very hard to find experience.

Musical, emotional and in that sense, a natural sound. Not even close to a neutral sound. Different things.

The astetichs, looks: i mean what can i say. Beautiful. Timeless design. Feels Premium between every inch. Real wood, metal headband. Only plastic part is the little expansion mechanism in the headband. In order to be flexible, soft and light i suppose.

The headband and the earpads are not geniune leather.

They are comfortable though. 99 Classics is suprisingly light. Its just 260 grams. I would just wish them to be a touch bigger and deeper on the cups but it’s not uncomfortable by any means. I can give them 4 stars by comfort with ease.

The unboxing experience is beyond 300$ price range. The case is beautiful.

In the hardcase, you get a pouce. There are two different cables in the pouch. 1 is 3 meters long, unbalanced, 3.5mm cable and the other one is 1.2 meters long, again unbalanced cable with a microphone attached. How nice. You can stand out with this unique looks on the cafe talking to your love. I mean i will.

You can drive them through a balanced cable. Meze also offers their own balanced cable for the 99 series. Available to purchase with 2.5mm and 4.4 outputs. A little not cheap though looking very Premium.

I can also suggest lavri cables for pure silver options for his headphone. This is a sound that can really benefit from a silver cable.

You can drive them thtough almost anything but i gotta say, more power, more bass controll and maintained, preserved energy on the mid to high frequencies. Yeah you can plug them in to your macbook but something like this makes it more live.

Overall, the Meze 99 Classics deliver a timeless aesthetic and a captivating sound signature suited for music enthusiasts looking for a dynamic and emotive listening experience. While not without flaws, their unique character and musicality make them a worthy choice, particularly for fans of rock and blues music in my opinion.

Summary
The Meze 99 classics is an interesting headphone. So often I hear people characterize a headphone as fun, and I usually object to that characterization. After all, shouldn't all headphones be fun to listen to? But in this case I believe 'fun' is a perfect word to describe the Meze 99. Whether you like them or not is going to depend on your expectation. If you are looking for a neutral audiophile headphone with perfect tonal balance and absolute clarity, then look elsewhere. These headphones will not provide an 'audiophile' experience. But before I go more into the sound lets touch on some other points.
 
Boxing and Packaging
The box is not overly fancy but it is easy to access everything you need and easy to open and close. Within the box is the headphone case. At first, I thought the shape to be a bit odd. But it holds the headphones secure and comfortably, as well as the cables and other accessories. I think the packaging, therefore, strikes the proper balance of form and function. More extravagant and the price would probably start to rise.
 
Ergonomics and general appearance.
I'm a fan of wood headphones. I own many. It's really a matter of taste. The look of the headphone is good enough, but not quite my taste. That said, the quality of the build appears to be very good. The headphone I tried had no creeks, the wood appears to be real, and the fit and finish is excellent.
 
I do like my headphone cups to swivel just a bit and the design of the Meze does not allow for that, though there is enough flex in the metal support portion of the headband to allow for a snug fit, without exhorting too much clamping pressure.
 
When I place the headphone over my head I must pull the cups downward slightly each time for proper coverage over my ears. There is no memory with this design. One other comment. The headphone does not have a left and right channel per se. It is symmetric so the way you connect the cable will determine left and right channels. I do not see that as a positive or negative, I'm just attempting to be thorough in my description. What I do perceive in a slightly negative way is the pad size. As many have pointed out, the pads are not really over the ear. I consider my ears pretty average in size and while the headphone is not uncomfortable, the opening in the pads does not surround my ears. The headphone sits over top part of my ear lobes.
 
The Sound
I would characterize the overall sound to be bottom up ...that is, more focused on the mid to lower frequencies. The midrange is open sounding and the overall balance of frequencies feel pretty cohesive in the way they blend.
 
Bass
The bass is not neutral in quantity. There is a bass emphasis. I would describe the bass as full sounding, if not a slight bit plump. It is extremely punchy and of good quality. It also goes pretty deep, but certainly not the deepest I've heard. I feel the mid-bass is reasonably tight and tuneful, and I don't necessarily feel that it bleeds into the mid-range, though I could see where some may disagree.  I do feel, however, that depending on the music, the bass/mid-bass can overpower the other frequencies a bit. For example, on Godsmack (pretty much any album of theirs) where you have deep drum hits in combination with bass guitar and other lower frequencies the midbass appears to be too much and can rob the headphone of some clarity. I am no basshead, but I must admit the punchiness of the bass/mid-bass is something to behold and respect.
 
Midrange
The midrange is neither dark or bright (certainly not shouty). But I do feel there is an emphasis in the midrange. If you like a somewhat forward sound and you like fully fleshed out vocals, you will be pleased with the midrange of the Meze. It does vocals pretty well, though if you are sensitive to coloration you may be slightly less pleased. I myself like fully fleshed out vocals and enjoyed that aspect of the Meze. Because of the quantity and character of the midbass I feel the headphone is on the warm side.  But the midrange is open and possesses slightly forward vocals.  This provides a nice degree of clarity ….that is until the midbass becomes overbearing. Of course, many songs don't have lots of midbass and when that's the case the midbass is not prevalent so the midbass does not always overpower the midrange. It really depends on the music. While I cannot exactly put my finger on it, I would say that the upper mids start to fade into a treble that is less pronounced than the other frequencies. More on the treble in a minute.
 
Clarity
This headphone is reasonably clear sounding in all frequencies. But, in absolute terms, I certainly would not describe the headphone as crystal clear. In fact, I think from a driver technology standpoint, I suspect the driver is not the clearest or cleanest. There are probably many headphones, even at this pricepoint, that could compete in detail retrieval and clarity. The forward more intimate and fleshed out vocals help to paint the illusion of clarity. But other frequencies may be partially masked by this subtle coloration. I don't want to leave folks with the impression that the headphone is not clear. It is satisfyingly clear, but it certainly does not rival the best in this regard. Incidentally, in addition to vocals, I believe the Meze does piano pretty good.
 
My Comparisons
While I am it, I should have mentioned something. I'm an audiophile. I appreciate many different perspectives. I like warmer headphones, brighter ones, neutral ones, and others that might be defined as euphonic, but my preference is for a natural sound that is full-bodied, rich, impactful, and clear. I probably prefer a slightly brighter upper midrange and I do not like “V” shaped sound. I prefer neutrality overall, and possibly a slightly forward midrange with a slight sparkle in the treble. Tonal balance and cohesiveness through out the frequency spectrum is important to me. Furthermore, I do not like a 'dry' sound. When I do a compare headphones, I disregard price. So as I am comparing the Meze, please realize that I am comparing it to my standards and to the absolute best headphones I have heard. I have heard many of the flagships and I am not taking price into consideration when I comment on the Meze.
 
Ok, on to a discussion of treble...
 
The treble does not call attention to itself. I don't necessarily feel the treble lacking in quantity or rolling off but I don't hear that sparkle either. I believe between the mids and the treble, the headphone lacks a bit of 'air'. That said, I find the treble to be easy to listen to and of reasonably good quality. It's just not as forward as the other frequencies.
 
Texture and Timbre
Not exceptional, but not bad either. I was pleased, though I wasn't necessarily as musically engaged listening to the headphone as some others. I find sometimes I feel like that when the headphones lacks life-like realism. So while I enjoyed the punchiness (some of the punchiest midbass I've heard) and the open and forward mids, I think the slight lack of resolving power and slightly unnatural tonal balance, for me, detracted from the enjoyment just a bit. But again, I feel compelled to point out that my preferences are my own and others looking for different traits may be very pleased. In a nutshell, I think texture and timbre of voices and instruments is very good, and enjoyable but not quite as good as the best 'audiophile' headphones I've heard.
 
Soundstage / Imaging
The soundstage is a reasonable size. It did not leave me wanting. It's not the smallest or largest I've heard. If anything it added to the enjoyment rather than being a negative. Imaging was also fairly precise and I have no complaints in this area.
 
 
Disclaimer, Music and Equipment
I saved this for last, but if you are interested and still reading I thought I'd share a little bit. I listen to all kinds of music. I listen to dance, jazz, easy listening, rock, classic rock, and orchestral. My experience for this review is based on a loaner I received. I do not own the Meze headphones and have been guaranteed nothing, except the opportunity to hear them in an exchange for my honest review. So my listening time has been limited to about a week, or slightly less. I did listen to all kinds of music during this time. I enjoyed all types through the Meze but I do not feel I listened sufficiently to provide credible in-depth analysis of what genres work best for the headphone. I think it's fair to say that my opinions were present, regardless of genre.
 
For the headphone amps, I used Grado Labs, JDS Labs, the Cavalli Liquid Carbon, a Behringer DAC/headphone output, a Denon DCD 1290 CD player and an Emotiva CD player. I used both balance and single ended as the source. I cannot recall with certainty, but I believe I also used my MicroZotl 2 tube amplifier. As you can tell, I did not take studious notes while listening. I do not log the songs and minutes and seconds as I know some do. I try to enjoy myself while listening and so my impressions are based on my overall listening experience to the headphones.
 
Would I buy these?
I think these headphones are an excellent value. I did enjoy listening to them, but at this point my preferences are such that they wouldn't be on the top of my list of headphones to purchase. That said, they have distinct qualities that would make a great addition to my stable of headphones and I would not hesitate to recommend this headphone to others so long as they understand going into the purchase that this is not an 'audiophile' $1000+ headphone. If you like midbass punch, strong midbass, an open midrange with good clarity, and fully fleshed out vocals and a forward midrange, then I have no doubt this headphone will be just what you are looking for and should bring years of satisfying listening pleasure.
 
My rating and experience with other headphones
I mentioned that when rating headphones I am basing my criteria in absolute terms. I would say these Meze Classics deliver great value. But in absolute terms I would rate them 3.5 stars. I would reserve 4 stars for the more audiophile phones (not necessarily correlating to cost) that deliver neutrality and excel on most all attributes I find important. Most all headphones are imperfect so very few would receive anything above 4.5 stars from me. I reserve the 5 star rating for those headphones that provide a near perfect match to my tastes.

Caveat: This is my first review. Meze has been so kind as to provide me with this headphone. I'm not professional, I'm not an audiophile, just an enthusiastic hobbyist who likes to listen to (mostly instrumental electronic) music. I'm also not an English native speaker. Sorry!
 
Well, with over 20 reviews, what is there to add? Not much, I'm afraid. By now, most of what's important about this headphone has been said and it's more a matter of underlining certain already well-covered aspects from my personal angle and experience.
 
First of all, I have headphones in my possession that are many times as expensive as the Meze 99 Classics which retail for $309,- at the moment (my Pioneer SE-Master 1 costs almost eight times as much), and I have to shamefully admit that, currently, I reach for the Meze more often than not, which is mainly due to two reasons:
 

• This can rocks! Head-noddingly, foot-tappingly rocks! I found that after the first couple of minutes they just got out of the way and let me enjoy the music, probably more so than other, more scrutinizing 'phones which sometimes tempt me to listen to the headphone rather than the music. I happen to think that this is a great character trait for a listening device. Are they very neutral? Are they analytical? Not, rather veeeery smooth and therefore
   
• I can listen to them hours and hours … and hours and hours … on end without experiencing any fatigue whatsoever, which is more than I can say for certain "flagship" phones (yes, I'm looking at you, Fostex TH-900!).

 
 
Sound
 
I found that the Meze 99 Classics strike just the right balance between warmth and detail. While the aforementioned headphones and others that I've heard like the infamous Sennheiser HD 800 indubitably offer better resolution and microdetail, they tend to achieve that effect at the cost of a certain warmth or smoothness, resulting in a sound that, broadly speaking, can at times be perceived as harsh. Not so the Meze: Its highs are smooth as peanut butter (well, the smooth kind, not the crunchy kind). If you, like me, are sensitive to high frequencies or even happen some kind of tinnitus which is aggravated by those, this can be a godsend!
The mids are just there (which I mean as compliment; there is nothing that bothers me in that section, nothing at all – neither do they feel overly recessed nor are they too present; just nothing off here), and the bass …
Mmm, that bass! It's very warm, almost cozy, like you can wrap yourself in it as you would in a soft, cuddly blanket. While I guess there is a slight mid-bass hump, they amount of bass (for me at least, and I like me some bass) is just right, and it never sounds aggressive or too muchn in-your-face. Now, it may not be as clean as that of the Fostex TH-900, for example, but again, that headphone costs five times as much and is renowned for its bass qualities, so you would expect some differences. I just mention it because I have it readily available. With the Meze, the texture can be a tad soft here and there, a little less sharply contoured and precise; it's almost as if the manufacturer's emphasis lay on a warm enveloping sound signature. Funnily enough, this does not disturbe me in the leat, but I guess it is something to be aware of. This headphone is certainly south of neutral, with a warm yet punchy sound sig. It's probably closer to mid-fi than to summit-fi, and if you're looking for absolute fidelity, well, I guess you'll have to keep looking, but to my ears, they sound agreeably warm and smooth with a very nice, solid bass foundation that fits my preferred music genre like a glove.
Also, don't get me wrong: The resolution the 99 Classics offer may not compete with some flagships out there, but even if it is not world class, it is certainly no less than great great among its price class:
 
 
(Very) Brief comparison
 
To compare it to two headphones in its own league, I like it better than the Ultrasone Pro 900 which, though having prodigious bass, can sound much more bright to the point of being annoying. Some swear by the Pro 900's soundstage, others not so much; I think this is due to Ultrasone's S-Logic technic working better for some listeners than for others. All in all, this aspect of the Pro 900 feels more finicky, while the 99 Classics are more relying and will just deliver in this regard.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is the Audioquest Nighthawk, which retails for as much as $599,- or thereabouts and also has a warm sound signature, but to the point of sounding closed-in, constricted, mushy, bloated and veiled to my ears, all of which the Meze just does not. So if you have been eyeing the Nighthawk, give the 99 Classics a try first, and you might be able to save some money and get a superior headphone with a similar signature that will not polarize as much. It's just great value for money.
 
 
Cons
 
Those have been tackled extensively as well: Yes, the cups are a little small, which does not bother me, however, since my ears fit in them without a problem and they're nonetheless comfortable enough for longterm use (and this is where I see them in my repertoire: as a great headphone for long sessions that just won't get uncomfortable, neither comfort-wise nor sound-wise).
My biggest issue by far are the cables. What's the problem? Well, let me put it this way: One comes with a microphone, both come with microphonics. I know this has been mentioned before, but even having read the previous reviews, I have to say that I was somewhat surprised by the degree to which this annoyed me. While I initially thought that this might be a great can to use on the go, I'm not so sure anymore, since even sitting down I'm somewhat bothered by the sounds the cable makes during quiet music passages when I turn my head and it chafes on my sweater, for example. This will happen alle the more easily since the connectors are not angled but directed in a way that they're pointing straight down so that contact with one's body/clothes is almost inevitable. Also, tapping on the headband while wearing the headphone will make it resonate very audibly. While this is something that is less likely to happen IRL, the cable microphonics are really bothersome and an alternative solution should be found. It's quite a shame really, since the Meze's sound is so very enjoyable otherwise.
All in all, I have to take these issues in consideration when judging the build quality of this headphone and say that while I am impressed by the sound, I'm not with the overall quality. There are also some minor chips in the wood, but since I haven't reveived the 99 Classics fresh out of the box, I cannot judge on how they have been treated before being relaeses into my care and how easily this will happen.
 
 
Summary
 
All in all, this is a very enjoyable, very comfortable headphone with great sound -- relaxed, warm, not in the least fatiguing, yet detailed --, great value for money and unfortunately less than stellar build quality, but still very decent for what you pay. If you don't plan to take it outside, I'd wholeheartedly recommend that you take a listen to this fine creation by Meze.
 
*This being my first review, I'd be very open to and grateful for any suggestions and criticism. Thanks, everybody!*

Meze 99 Classics is a very surprising headset !
When I received it a few days ago and I opened the box I was surprised by what he managed to do Meze especially knowing the selling price of this headset
The box was fantastic, the hard case, the little box with a pair of cable and some jacks, very very good
The 99 is not so little headset, and yes a portable headset but is one that is not possible to bend like many others on the market, the headband is a really surprise, the elastic control system for the head is very good, the wood pads are very well, a little small in my opinion and this is also because with the use I noticed that quite warm the ears
The headset is still very light and easy to carry
A very plus is the detachable cable, so you can take or use other cable and the other good news it’s that the cable uses a mini-jack to the pads
Here perhaps I preferred assets in the accessories also provided with a standard jack cable
We come to the sound , we say that is a headset that requires the famous burn in before playing them in a serious way. The sound after burn in changes significantly and becomes much more natural
This headset has a warm sound very amazing warm sound, but at the same time has a shade of high sound beautiful and detail, the mids are warm and natural , a wide sound stage for a closed headphone
For me it was a real surprise as sound for headphones in this category, sure can’t be a LCD-X category headset, but in his class of price is a really BEST !
The bass is not so deep like a LCD-X but is the best part of this headset, and It’s not so present as to overpower the rest of the sound and the division of the instruments is fairly clear-cut
All so positive ?
No, the perfect headset does not yet unfortunately , and this 99 I noticed that with the increase of the volume (Burson Virtuoso) lost a little in the presence of the sound, with increasing volume high frequencies take, for my taste, too much the upper hand and against the low frequencies tend to flatten slightly by losing body to the sound
The sound continues to be great anyway for that little baby, but still loses something
In conclusion, we say it is a headset built in great way, with a packaging and accessories supplied above average and that if used to listen to moderate / low volume will give you great satisfaction
GOOD work Meze !

Meze 99 Classic
This is my first review. I was part of the review tour. I want to thank Meze for doing this. 

Background
I'm a lifelong musician, live and studio sound engineer, always with heavy duty earplugs. Often the only one in my band wearing them, but then, I've retained my unusually sensitive hearing because of it. I've tried too many headphones and in ears to list. I'll refer to what I've tried where it's relevant in the review, to keep it simple. I've got some I'm happy with now, but I'm never tired of trying new things, so that brought me to these.

What I Look For
I prefer warmer headphones, full lower mids, flat mids, reduced high mids. More than a moderate mid bass bump bothers me, and sub bass rarely extends low enough in most quality cans I'll try. I'll say "quality" since there are plenty that are explosive down there, but often at the expense of everything else. Some have said you can't have all frequencies well represented, but enough come close to this, so I know this can be done.

Common Issues
Fit has had me reject 80% of what I've tried. I much prefer over-ear. It's hard enough to get over-ear to go over everyone's ears (Senn. Momentum 1 for example, Momentum 2 isn't much better). My ears fairly flat and proportional to being 6'5". My head is also, with Triple X hat size (few of those fit either). Most companies could fit larger heads, with an inch more band extension, but only some seem to take that into consideration.

Design and Comfort
These arrived well package and designed. Nice solid case and aesthetics. Very light yet sturdy. The wood is a nice touch but as long as headphones don't look ridiculous, I'm more into the sound aspect (and the fit, naturally). The band auto-fits easily, though like many with this design on me, they tend to contract a bit when worn and have to be pulled back down sometimes. The design seems to allow some flex to fit you better.

Still there was no way I would attempt radically bending these. Fully extended they just reached my ears but they exert pressure on the top part of the cup likely due to the width of my head, so I can not keep them on long. The pads are soft, not quite deep enough, and could be a bit longer top to bottom to fit my above average ears. This could reduce the bass a little more, but that could be addressed, in voicing the driver itself.

Sound Quality and Ideas
As commonly happens, I find them brighter than what I read in reviews, but not at all harsh. They do clarity very well, without sibilance or hype. This early in the game, they tamed one of the most difficult areas. There seems to be a mid-fi quality to them. A notch above Creative Aurvana Live! 2, but below the Sony MDR-Z7 / Sennheiser HD650. It's hard to quantify, but often (not always) cans can sound more or less "expensive".

The high mids are just right, blending with the highs perfectly. Another big win. The true mids (roughly 500 hz to 2 khz) are flat, which to my ears is a bit more than I'd like. Particularly in the 1 khz area. Some have put dips there (Audio Quest Nighthawk V1 (should a V2 be in the works) that are too much, and some are worse there (some AKG). This isn't very bothersome, it's just slightly north of what I'd like, in these headphones.

The lower mids seem a bit recessed. I'd call them just south of flat. Not as lacking as you think for two reasons. One, many like it just north of flat to warm it up. Two, the mids I talk about, and a slightly north of flat mid bass make these seem to be less than they really are. So these are actually close to just right. 1 db more, carefully done to avoid resonant "hollow" "ringy" sound some (as the ATH-M50 for example) can suffer from. 

The mid bass is perfect. Just the right amount of boost. Not an overbearing "boop" in the kick drums that bother me in the higher end Fostex, not scooped like the Sennheiser HD380. The fun starts to end under 40 hz where it rolls off. This is common. Just slightly below where a Sennheiser HD650 rolls off. Extending slightly farther than the HD650, but leaving me wishing for more extension, with less roll off, to complete things.

How They Make This Better
They look like high grade home use in pictures. Out of the box - they're smaller and lighter than you expect, with mid grade sound. The above sonic ideas would help. What bugs me about attempts at portable is this. If they don't fold, and foldability depends on thin cups, make the cups thicker. Companies should try on the cans, and when normal ears barely fit / touch the driver, make thicker & longer pads. This may impact bass.

Thus they should implement sonic changes to allow that. You can have longer, deeper pads with more sub bass (the Sony MDR-Z7 for example). The larger area around the ears should improve the spatial depth as that is another area lacking, as it does on most cans that barely get around your ears (ie. Momentum 2, Beats Studio, etc.). They could even look at angled drivers, some have that to add more natural spaciousness.

Given this is my first review, I hope I was still able to convey my ideas. These headphones don't hype things, and have potential small acoustic area and tuning changes that could bring big results. I could mostly trust mixing on these if I had to (though I prefer to mix with studio monitors and a properly set up sub in a properly set up room). I can't say that about many headphones. Keep up the good work Meze and keep us posted.

I tried out the 99 Classics, and wrote up my opinions on the sound. My opinions were not positive. I've had a bunch of comments and messages that the pair I tried were probably defective. If this is the case, then I can't use the pair I tried as an honest standard to judge these headphones. So I am going to seek out another pair to test, and if they sound good, well, I'm going to rewrite my review. If they sound the same, well...

Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/

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I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:

5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.

4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.

3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]

2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]

1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]

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Meze 99 Classics


Source:

Personal unit. (I won them as part of a gear bundle in a competition.)


Miscellaneous

Come with a sturdy hard case (headphones fit in even when the cable is attached) that looks good and is very protective.
Two cables are included – a short one with microphone/remote unit, and a longer one. Both have got a 3.5 mm plug. Last but not least, a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter, airplane adapter and zipped bag (for the spare cable) are included as well.

There are no side indicators on the headphones (Meze dedicated that job to the cable).
Build quality and design are good, however ultimately the headphones don’t appear as premium. Still very good.
I really like the wood grain. Beautiful.

Self-adjusting height adjustment mechanism (somewhat comparable to that of my AKG K701). Likes to pull my hair out, though (at least as badly as my Koss Porta Pro, probably even worse).
Headband bracket made of metal; very unpleasantly microphonic and ringing when touched, which is a big factor of annoyance.

I don't like the cable. It's fabric-coated everywhere, even above the y-splitter. Quite microphonic as well. Will show signs of wear fairly quickly due to that fabric, as it will fray over time (mine already does a little in some places).
3.5 mm mono plugs on the cable’s headphone-facing side.

Fairly small and shallow ear pads. Still manage to seal well, though. Good noise isolation.




Sound:

Tonality:

Big, bassy, smooth, natural, dark.

Really strong bass elevation with only moderate roll-off towards the sub-bass. Lots of impact and punch.

Warm fundamental range transition into the upper fundamentals; therefore warm, lush lower mids without becoming overly muddy or muffled sounding.

Treble generally evenly in the background, even already in the lower treble. Therefore on the darker side but relaxed and smooth instead of lacking. Natural kind of relaxed. Not fatiguing.
Pleasantly lacking any noticeable dips or peaks.

Resolution:

Good midrange and treble resolution; nothing to criticise here.

Unfortunately the bass doesn't really blend in with the rest. Appears somewhat dull and also a bit loose, lacks some differentiation; doesn't have the details of the mids and highs. Also shows some already slightly audible distortion even at quiet listening levels.
While not very bad, I expect better bass quality for the price. What the 99 Classics deliver is the bass performance I'd expect from a set of 150$ headphones. That said, I'd rate my Sennheiser Amperiors’, Shure SEH440s’, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros’ (250 Ohm) and the 1More Mk801s’ bass quality above that of the 99 Classics. Solely the Mee audio Air-Fi Matrix² (wired use) and Brainwavz HM2 are about comparable to the Meze in terms of bass quality, but both headphones cost much less.

Soundstage:

Average for closed-back headphone in terms of dimensions.

Not too much width but fairly good localisation and decent layering. Instrument separation could be a little better, just like the separation (it's not foggy but not spot-on sharp and exact either).

Still fairly decent imaging overall.


Conclusion:

Beautiful wood. Unfortunately highly microphonic headband arch (rings when touched). The headband really likes to pull hair out. Small ear pads.
Bassy. Smooth and natural, warm-dark midrange and treble tuning; even response that lacks peaks/dips. Decent midrange and treble resolution. Underwhelming bass quality and low-range details, though.