Get the best of my Meze 99 classics
Jul 27, 2020 at 12:36 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21
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yamaryl

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Hello,

I used a Boze QC 35 II for 9 months. My colleagues promised me a great sound and top notch ANC. I agree with the ANC, but was disappointed by the sound. I later discovered those things called "codecs", and that the Bose had not the best codecs available. I then encountered the word "audiophile", and discovered the world of expensive wired headphones. "That's it", I thought! I'm an audiophile that needs to spend at least 300 euros on a pair of wired headphones. Ho I'm aware that's not a lot of money for an audiophile. But my budget wouldn't have allowed me to spend more than 500 euros, after I bought a Roland digital piano 2 weeks ago. I stumbled upon the Meze 99 Classics, it was sexy, available in my region (Belgium) and only priced at 309 euros (363 USD) !

I received it 6 hours ago, and I don't know what to think. It does pack a bit more punch in the bass (is this the expression?) than my Bose, but apart from that, is it really better? Ok, so the problem is maybe that I don't hook it to the right gears. I listen to itunes, I tried it on my laptop, which was ok, but not a revelation. Then I figured, let's try to hook it to the Logitech Z906 I have with my desktop PC, maybe there are stuff in this piece of hardware that will make my experience better. Well, not. Actually I was only able to get a sound in the left ear. I plugged the Bose and got the same result. I searched the web to no avail, and finally remembered that I had a front panel on my PC where I could plug my jack cable. And now I'm listening to itunes wondering whether it's itunes not delivering the quality I want, or my sound card (I have a Realtek ALC S1200A on my motherboard), or the headset, or my ears not hearing properly.

So my question is: how to get the best of my Meze, is it possible to improve my experience without buying multiple expensive pieces of hardware? Another sound card? One of these things called a "DAC Headphone Amp"? I'm new to all this and really confused.

Any help entering this world would be much appreciated.
 
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Jul 27, 2020 at 1:52 PM Post #2 of 21
The Meze 99C indeed a boomy bass but it will improve over some time so you need to be patience.

I had the Fiio E10K as an amp and it's better than motherboard's onboard audio. Around two weeks ago I upgraded to Fiio K5 Pro and wow, this is a huge improvement!
It comes down what you need/want and for what do you need.

According to the onwers in the Meze 99C topic, the smaller pads will improve the details and fixes the boomy bass but I'm not sure on that.
 
Jul 27, 2020 at 2:41 PM Post #3 of 21
I was just going to say a FiiO e10k or K3 or K5 PRO could come in handy, so that the conversion to Analog Sound is better, in short, the DAC is better than that of your computer or smartphone. I could change iTunes to TIDAL, the music is in better quality in FLAC.
And you can't give a verdict instantly because you have a lot of time with a headset, you have to start listening to the new one and discover its details.
 
Jul 28, 2020 at 4:17 AM Post #4 of 21
Thank you for your answers.

The e10k is the cheapest on Amazon. Then comes the K5 Pro. Then the K3 is the most expensive. How comes one whose name is K5 Pro is less expensive than a K3?
Can I expect a real difference with something as cheap as the e10K (only 88 euros, I can still justify that expense to my wife after the piano and the Meze)?
 
Jul 28, 2020 at 4:50 AM Post #5 of 21
Ok, so I found a K3 from the UK on eBay, allegedly completely new (according to the "top seller"), for 102,00 GBP (112 euros or 131 usd) comprising delivery. I just bought the last item. It was over 200 euros on Amazon. I hope I didn't make a mistake.
 
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Jul 28, 2020 at 4:54 AM Post #6 of 21
Definitely order the smaller pads from Meze. You will get a more balanced tuning compared to the stock Classic pads. Also, these scale with better gear, to a point. They are very easy to drive, but sound better with decent power and higher quality sources. This is good, which means you don't have to go overboard in price. Something like the ES100, BTR5, or UP4 if you want to go with bluetooth. Or even the Hip DAC should work for a portable desktop combo. The 99 Classics take to EQ pretty well, so another thing to look for in a source is a decent EQ implementation if you're looking to get every bit of performance out of them.
 
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Jul 28, 2020 at 9:06 AM Post #7 of 21
yamaryl said:
Ok, so I found a K3 from the UK on eBay, allegedly completely new (according to the "top seller"), for 102,00 GBP (112 euros or 131 usd) comprising delivery. I just bought the last item. It was over 200 euros on Amazon. I hope I didn't make a mistake.
Click to expand...
There are different Amazon like Amazon.de. I bought my K5 Pro for €159 and shipped to Netherlands. Which Amazon was it that was over €200?
 
Jul 29, 2020 at 2:03 PM Post #9 of 21
Jul 29, 2020 at 10:49 PM Post #10 of 21
CTR640 said:
I am confused. The K3 on Amazon FR is...almost €236? That is double the price.

https://www.amazon.de/FiiO-Digital-Wandler-Kopfhörerverstärker-Kopfhörerausgang/dp/B07KR3RF4H/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_nl_NL=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=fiio+k3&qid=1596045733&sr=8-1

If possible, get the K5 Pro if you plan on using it for long term usage.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, but now I already bought the K3 on eBay. And wow indeed. Amazon.fr is a rip off! I didn't get such a good deal for the k3 on eBay either then...
 
Jul 29, 2020 at 11:28 PM Post #11 of 21
CTR640 said:
The Meze 99C indeed a boomy bass but it will improve over some time so you need to be patience.

I had the Fiio E10K as an amp and it's better than motherboard's onboard audio. Around two weeks ago I upgraded to Fiio K5 Pro and wow, this is a huge improvement!
It comes down what you need/want and for what do you need.

According to the onwers in the Meze 99C topic, the smaller pads will improve the details and fixes the boomy bass but I'm not sure on that.
Click to expand...
It's true indeed
 
Jul 30, 2020 at 9:03 AM Post #12 of 21
yamaryl said:
Thanks for the advice, but now I already bought the K3 on eBay. And wow indeed. Amazon.fr is a rip off! I didn't get such a good deal for the k3 on eBay either then...
Click to expand...
Belgium second language is French? But damn, €236 is insane and a ripoff! You could buy the K5 Pro AND E10K both.

But the K3 is better than the E10K so a good choice.
 
Jul 30, 2020 at 9:54 AM Post #13 of 21
CTR640 said:
Belgium second language is French? But damn, €236 is insane and a ripoff! You could buy the K5 Pro AND E10K both.

But the K3 is better than the E10K so a good choice.
Click to expand...

That's right, the north of the country speaks Dutch, the south (my part) speaks French, and we also have a small community of German speakers. So we have three official languages, it's a crazy country.
 
Jul 30, 2020 at 10:15 AM Post #15 of 21
yamaryl said:
Full disclosure, I had originally placed an order on these: https://drop.com/buy/emu-wood-series-headphones

But, I cancelled when then they told me they wouldn't deliver before September. On top of that I would have had to pay more than a 100 euros extra for the customs.
Click to expand...
Buying from Drop is what I didn't do and also because of customs. I was recommend some dac/amps from Drop but yeah, didn't order it from there too.
Paying more than €100 for the customs is pretty insane.
 
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