Wow, I am not sure if I am more floored by the fact that almost 2 months have past since my last post, or that 30 new pages have been added in that time! Didn't mean to be absent for so long but ya know, life coupled with new notifications NOT being forwarded to my e-mail, still... out of sight out of mind... however my larger ear-pads have arrived, along with my replacement 12 Classics (sticky driver) so I guess you can say I got a friendly reminder that I should probably make a post (and catch up on a whole lot of reading)!
So it has been 1 week since the large pads arrived, and I think I have spent enough time with them to give an accurate critique. First impression: Wow these are soooooooo comfy! Seriously, the large pads are like 2 leatherette pillows sitting against my head! My ears are swimming in the added space... nice! Ever since I got new glasses, wearing the 99 Classics with the standard pads was simply not possible. Let's just say they really knew how to " bring the pain ", and fast. With the new pads and new glasses it feels like I am wearing the HD598... nice! Best of all, I can wear the 99 Classics for an extended period of time before I need to re-adjust due to heat and/or sweat... nice!
As nice as the added comfort was, it's all about the sound baby! Keep in mind that YMMV, these are my small elf ears I am talking about. My ears barely touch the backing of the original pads and don't touch the rim at all (sans my lobes). While I can not remember what song I first played, I can tell you the first thing I heard was the familiar sound signature of the 99 Classics, but something was off. I literally murmured to myself " Whaaat the.... hmm... no... oh... yes... yes... oh yeah... oh hellz yeah! " Double pun alert folks, but the larger pads add so much 'air' and 'breathing room'! Let's just say the larger pads really kick up the depth and focus to 11! The best analogy I can give would be a teacher trying to take a group picture and telling the children to spread out with their arms extended to the point that they don't touch one another's. Everyone is still in a group, but now more of themselves individually can be seen... nice! I never found the 99 Classics with the standard pads to sound congested, but in all honesty depth and focus was their weak-point. I clamoured for more front/back depth and felt that if there was just a touch more, focus (and black space) would be increased, and I was right. With greater breathing room resulting in greater focus, the whole sound spectrum gets the knob turned up a notch or two... nice!
Bass: With swapping pads, having more air can have an adverse reaction to the bass such as muddiness, bloominess (I created a word folks!), weakening, or greater intensity; The larger pads for the 99 Classics do nothing but enhance! I am not too sure what black magic is in play here, but the mid-bass actually tightens up! Yes, the intensity of the mid-bass does go down a bit per say, but it's in perception. Any perceived loss in intensity simply comes from the fact that there is greater focus and less looseness, maybe more solid and less elastic, more nimble even, but it's still all there in all of it's Meze glory! Sub-bass too benefits from more air. I am not sure if I want to say it extends a touch deeper, or there is more weight, regardless, there is something nice going on! On my test tracks that specifically targets the 30Hz and lower frequencies, under a fixed volume, I clearly hear and feel a more weighted reverberation, or rubble if you will. I am not claiming anything like a "bass-boost" effect such as eq'ing or switch on an amp, it's not much, but it is noticable.
Mids: Mids oh mids, what has happened to the mids? A fresh coat of polish, that's what!! It matters not if the pads "fit", if they are not made for the specific headphones they WILL change the sound. The one thing I fear the most about any larger pads (Lord knows I have done enough swapping, construction, and Jerry-rigging) is that the mids become more distant, usually due to the fact that they give almost any headphone a V-shaped boost. Not so here folks! With the larger pads the whole midrange becomes even more smooth! Instrument separation is increased quite a bit, giving a slightly less textured but more focused sound with a better sense of black space in-between. Vocals sound even more amazing. Again, sorcery must have been used here because while both male and female vocals sound more organic, more natural, with a greater sense of 'breath', they do take a step back though I want to make it clear, not recessed! It's as if the stage in front the singer got larger (or maybe the listener moved back a table).
Treble: Ever heard a Grado or AKG? That's pretty much how I'd describe the treble with the larger pads. Air air and more air, natural air! I will say that out of the whole FR range, the upper treble gets the biggest boost and in turn it affects both bass and mids as well as the lower treble. Everything I have written thus far would be moot if it wasn't for the this. If anyone has ever heard the Shure SE846 with both the "neutral" filter vs the "treble" filter, you know exactly what I am talking about. Really hard to put into words, but EVERYTHING opens up. The filter swap turned them from "meh, kinda boring" to "sweet mother of pearl!". That's how I'd describe what the treble air does for the 99 Classics, and I like it! However unlike the bass and mids, there is a small cost. For those of you who like a more thicker or weighted treble you may not like the larger pads. Nothing sounds piercing and sibilance remains controlled, however the treble response does take on a lighter characteristic. In no way does it sound thin or brittle, but treble went from sounding like a Sennheiser to an AKG.
Speaking of AKG, a several posts ago I said that the Sennheiser HD600 drivers in a closed wooden cup would have a 'similar' sound signature to the 99 Classics (hang in there, it'll make sense). I take that back. With the new larger pads, the 99 Classics' sound signature is damn near a spitting image (I would imagine) of what the AKG Q/K701 drivers would sound like in a closed back wooden cup, and that is a huge compliment (for both
). I went back and forth between the two cans and I'll be damned if they didn't sound like they were cut from the same cloth! I am curious if anyone here who ones the 99 Classics with the larger pads also has heard/owned the K555/554/553 that could compair.
@dweaver IIRC you reviewed the K555/554, do you have the larger pads?
All in all, I really
really like the larger pads both for the added comfort and I'm my opinion, refinement of the already phenomenal sound of the 99 Classics, all without messing sh&t up! To sums things up, the larger pads add much needed air while giving a slight, gentle 'W' shape to the sound. If it were up to me, I'd pack the larger pads in with the 99 Classics as standard and call it a day.
Side note: As I was wrapping things up, it occurred to me that what I just described basically mirrors what others have said about the Sennheiser Momentum receiving larger pads. Makes perfect logical sense too as Sennheiser has gone on record stating that besides the larger fit, nothing has changed internally. Pretty much what I just wrote.
Anyway, to end the impressions, I have to say hats off, kudos, two bigs thumbs up to Meze! You guys did good with the larger pads!!
Quote:
Hey
@Bansaku, did you ever post a straight-up comparison of the PSB M4U 1s and the 99 Classics?
I know I have stated a couple times at least that I would. Now that Santa has brought me a shotgun mic for my T4i, me thinks a video head-to-head is in order. IIRC that was my plan as trying to express my thoughts into text is exhausting whereas I can blather on pretty easily. Soon!
P.S. The rest of my Christmas impressions is coming soon (I hope). It features the Shure SE846 vs the 11 Neo and 99 Classics!
