[YtseJamer]

  @Emerpus @Khragon @pfillion
 
We're getting this question a lot about the Walnut Silver model. These are just estimations but they should reach you (and everybody else who chose this model) in late March, early April. 
 
But worry not, as soon as we get any more information we'll post it here for everybody to see. 

 
Thanks for the update.

 

[HiFiChris]

 Does someone know when the walnut silver version will be available ?

 Still waiting for my Walnut Silver ...

 We're getting this question a lot about the Walnut Silver model.

 
Am I the only one who actually prefers the Walnut/Gold version? 

 
 

 

[B9Scrambler]

Am I the only one who actually prefers the [COLOR=8B4513]Walnut[/COLOR]/[COLOR=FFD700]Gold[/COLOR] version? 

I'm with you 100%. I think they look fantastic in the walnut/gold combo.

 

[BloodyPenguin]

   
Am I the only one who actually prefers the Walnut/Gold version? 

 

 

I'm with you 100%. I think they look fantastic in the walnut/gold combo.

 
If I could make my "Dream" 99 Classics.  It would have Black Wood, Silver Alloy, Black Headband, Silver Velour Earpads and Black/Silver Cable.  

 
--

 

[elnero]

   
 
If I could make my "Dream" 99 Classics.  It would have Black Wood, Silver Alloy, Black Headband, Silver Velour Earpads and Black/Silver Cable.  

 
--

Mine would be walnut with black accents as opposed to gold, and larger cups with slightly deeper and softer pads.

 

[dweaver]

I like gold color myself

 

[alokjuyal]

Got my Meze 99 Classics 2 days ago. Put them on and the "earpads too small" concern came back. Played music and concern disappeared because (1) they seal so well that you don't feel like the ear pads are an issue (2) the pads are soft and comfy so with music on you don't "feel" them. Unlike my EL-8C I don't find myself reaching up to adjust the seal of the cups. They sound great out of the box but with 10 hrs on them I can tell that burn-in does help with sound stage opening up. So far love the sound and the comfort. The bass impact is impressive. I have read some place about recessed mids but I dont see it that way - mids sounded great much like my se846, Roxanne and EL-8C. There is a lot of attention to detail on the hardware that I appreciate. Will update once I have had more time with them. For now I am ordering a pair as a gift for a Romanian friend who couldn't believe that somewhere in the North of her country Meze make such awesome headphones

 

[alokjuyal]

  Do you already have any retailer/partners in Singapore? I really want to try a demo of this before buying.

In case you have not already got an audition, you can try out my pair. Its 2 days old. Send me a PM 

 

[freitz]

Got my Meze 99 Classics 2 days ago. Put them on and the "earpads too small" concern came back. Played music and concern disappeared because (1) they seal so well that you don't feel like the ear pads are an issue (2) the pads are soft and comfy so with music on you don't "feel" them. Unlike my EL-8C I don't find myself reaching up to adjust the seal of the cups. They sound great out of the box but with 10 hrs on them I can tell that burn-in does help with sound stage opening up. So far love the sound and the comfort. The bass impact is impressive. I have read some place about recessed mids but I dont see it that way - mids sounded great much like my se846, Roxanne and EL-8C. There is a lot of attention to detail on the hardware that I appreciate. Will update once I have had more time with them. For now I am ordering a pair as a gift for a Romanian friend who couldn't believe that somewhere in the North of her country Meze make such awesome headphones

Would be interested to see how these compare to the planar EL-8closed back.

 

[YtseJamer]

Would be interested to see how these compare to the planar EL-8closed back.

 
From what I have heard so far, the new Audeze SINE seems to be better than the EL-8C 

 

[KopaZ]

First, and the final impression from me.
(sorry, it was delayed because I couldn't find a quiet place for a week, until now)
 
Build:
Very well made. Solid-polished wood housing, combined with spring steel.
 
Potential value: with no glue used on headphones, the 99's can be highly customized by users (excluding the wood housing, unless you like to carve new housing by yourself)
 
Note: meze *COULD* sell extended, bigger wood housing for users so they can have larger size cups (and earpad) for better comfort.
 
very street friendly $wag, compared to other m50x/70x/t70p's more of "industrial design".
 
Agree with fun sounding signature, but users could potentially customize the sound signature by removing dampener inside the housing, or by using different dampener.
 
Lots of accessories, for $309 headphones, with classy packaging design.
 
 
 
Overall, I think this headphone can gain immense popularity using the classy design, with more advertising to public, with well-rounded edges on design, sound and build.
Only problem: bigger earcup for some users, which can be solved by making bigger ear cups, which can be done by meze and sell it as extra.

 

[sabloke]

Imagine some 3D printed cups, or even better, carbon fibre ones...

 

[dweaver]

Imagine some 3D printed cups, or even better, carbon fibre ones...

NO!

 

[alokjuyal]

Would be interested to see how these compare to the planar EL-8closed back.

 
Sorry, only just found time to pull my el-8c out and plug both cans into the Hugo and do some comparing I am glad you asked, because it made me take another good look & listen with the el-8s and realize they are better than what I had remembered them to be, sounds weird I guess.
 
Build quality - both headphones are top notch (remember that the 99s are less than half the price of the el-8s) and that's saying something. I consider the el-8s among the best looking headphones I have crossed paths with. The ear pads on the Audezes are a tad better than those on the 99s.
 
Comfort - the 99s are by far more comfortable than the el-8c. They sit lighter on the head while the el-8 press down at the top somewhat. While the earcups on the 99s are small and this bothers some people, I just don't feel this once the music plays - they sort of get out of the way. However I have used both cans maybe an hour at a stretch tops. The isolation on the 99s is also better than the el8 despite the latter being truly over ear with large sized cups.
 
Driving the cans - the 99s are far easier to drive than the el-8s which is unsurprising I guess. On the Hugo I never get past green on the volume level with the 99s while I start at blue with the el-8. While listening to 192 files of good recordings I found myself occasionally dialing up to purple (yikes) for the el-8 while the 99s still sounded good at green.
 
Sound - I tried out various music played out of my ip6+ via Hugo and using the Onkyo HF player and Spotify. Diana Krall, Amber Rubarth, Massive Attack, Beck, Ane Brun, Robin Schulz The short of it is that the el-8 has bigger sound stage and instrument separation and a more neutral tonality than the 99. This difference is stark with good recordings more than the usual compressed stuff. The 99s on the other hand are warm sounding, slightly cramped sound stage BUT play low frequency notes with authority that the el8s lack. Don't get me wrong, the el-8s do bass too.. but the slam is missing on the el-8s while on the 99s its there. When trying out low freq test tones the 99s showed more authority than the el-8s especially 300hz and below.
 
Hope this helps    

 

[freitz]

   
Sorry, only just found time to pull my el-8c out and plus both cans into the Hugo and do some comparing I am glad you asked, because it made take another good look at the el-8s and realize they are better than what I had remembered them to be, sounds weird I guess.
 
Build quality - both headphones are top notch (remember that the 99s are less than half the price of the el-8s) and that's saying something. I consider the el-8s among the best looking headphones I have crossed paths with. The ear pads on the Audezes are a tad better than those on the 99s.
 
Comfort - the 99s are by far more comfortable than the el-8c. They sit lighter on the head while the el-8 press down at the top somewhat. While the earcups on the 99s are small and this bothers some people, I just don't feel this once the music plays - they sort of get out of the way. However I have used both cans maybe an hour at a stretch tops. The isolation on the 99s is also better than the el8 despite the latter being truly over ear with large sized cups.
 
Driving the cans - the 99s are far easier to drive than the el-8s which is unsurprising I guess. On the Hugo I never get past green on the volume level with the 99s while I start at blue with the el-8. While listening to 192 files of good recordings I found myself occasionally dialing up to purple (yikes) for the el-8 while the 99s still sounded good at green.
 
Sound - I tried out various music played out of my ip6+ via Hugo and using the Onkyo HF player and Spotify. Diana Krall, Amber Rubarth, Massive Attack, Beck, Ane Brun, Robin Schulz The short of it is that the el-8 has bigger sound stage and instrument separation and a more neutral tonality than the 99. This difference is stark with good recordings more than the usual compressed stuff. The 99s on the other hand are warm sounding, slightly cramped sound stage BUT play low frequency notes with authority that the el8s lack. Don't get me wrong, the el-8s do bass too.. but the slam is missing on the el-8s while on the 99s its there. When trying out low freq test tones the 99s showed more authority than the el-8s especially 300hz and below.
 
Hope this helps    

So as a conclusion which sounds "better" ?