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/
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"]
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.