[arrayindexoutofbounds]

hey array,

I've owned both the Oppo PM-3 and the Meze 99 Classics (and also the wired B&W P7), and I can say without ANY doubt that the 99 Classics are the superior headphone vs. the PM-3 (and P7), AND they're cheaper too!

The 99 Classics have a wider soundstage than the PM-3 does (and even wider than my AKG K55X headphones), and also it handles bass better. By that I mean it isolates it perfectly and has the right amount of "bass punch". In checking my old notes/posts on the PM-3, I saw that it wasn't as overly bassy as my former Sony MDR-1A headphones, but still too bassy vs. the more neutral AKG K553. In one spot, I saw that I'd mentioned that: "When playing acoustic guitar & vocal songs (I played a wide range of rock in each session), I seemed to notice that sometimes the PM-3's bass sound from the acoustic guitar would steal just a bit of the clarity from the vocals". This is NOT an issue with the 99 Classics. At least not for me.

I started out liking more bass a lot a few years ago, then thought neutral was better since so many headphones I'd tried that had any bass would always end up being too bassy. But when I heard about and tried out the 99 Cs a few months ago, ALL that changed.

So my advice is to get the 99 Cs and don't look back. This review I wrote on the 99 Cs should answer all your other questions, and then some. I strongly suggest trying out my custom EQ (at least the main one) on Poweramp (or any 10-band EQ player app) as that is what it took to make these sound perfect. Poweramp is my preferred player app.

Hope this helped!

thanks! how does the bass on the 99s compare to the p7?
do you suggest pairing these with an amp?

 

[RockStar2005]

thanks! how does the bass on the 99s compare to the p7?
do you suggest pairing these with an amp?

YW!

The bass on the 99s is the BEST I've ever heard, period. And I've reviewed a lot of headphones too. The Blue Lola would be the only other one I'd say had this kind of isolation, but the 99 Cs also go very deep with the bass (and sub-bass), maybe even deeper than the Lola? Plus they've revealed details to me that even my AKG headphones couldn't, which is no little thing. Make sure to see my review for more about that and other info.

Well, I really ALWAYS suggest to people to have not only a good amp but a quality DAC paired with their headphones as well, even when the impedance rating is low. A good amp will give the sound more body, while a quality DAC will do many other things, including improving instrument separation, widening out the soundstage, offering extra clarity, etc. vs. most smartphones. These days I pretty much only suggest the highly-rated $198 AudioQuest DragonFly Red, or else the cheaper but still great $98 Black. Not only are these super portable, they seem more like in-line remotes than an extra device you have to carry around. I've actually tried the Black and was impressed by it. It's up to you which one to get, but again both are superior to not using an amp/DAC device with your phone.

What phone are you gonna use with the 99 Cs (if you buy them)? Let me know so I can tell you which adapter to get so you can use the Red or Black with your phone.

 

[arrayindexoutofbounds]

YW!

The bass on the 99s is the BEST I've ever heard, period. And I've reviewed a lot of headphones too. The Blue Lola would be the only other one I'd say had this kind of isolation, but the 99 Cs also go very deep with the bass (and sub-bass), maybe even deeper than the Lola? Plus they've revealed details to me that even my AKG headphones couldn't, which is no little thing. Make sure to see my review for more about that and other info.

Well, I really ALWAYS suggest to people to have not only a good amp but a quality DAC paired with their headphones as well, even when the impedance rating is low. A good amp will give the sound more body, while a quality DAC will do many other things, including improving instrument separation, widening out the soundstage, offering extra clarity, etc. vs. most smartphones. These days I pretty much only suggest the highly-rated $198 AudioQuest DragonFly Red, or else the cheaper but still great $98 Black. Not only are these super portable, they seem more like in-line remotes than an extra device you have to carry around. I've actually tried the Black and was impressed by it. It's up to you which one to get, but again both are superior to not using an amp/DAC device with your phone.

What phone are you gonna use with the 99 Cs (if you buy them)? Let me know so I can tell you which adapter to get so you can use the Red or Black with your phone.

I meant more about quantity. Just want to confirm the quantity on them is not overbearing like on the p7. I use a Google pixel with usb c

 

[Hondadude85]

I got to hear a pair of these today and I must say I'm pretty impressed. It wasn't long of a demo to give detailed impressions but the sound was pleasant with a nice weighted low end. Especially for a small Romanian company to make a headphone this good at this price point. I want to hear them again!

 

[RockStar2005]

I meant more about quantity. Just want to confirm the quantity on them is not overbearing like on the p7. I use a Google pixel with usb c

The quantity is a bit above neutral, but not by a whole lot. Due to the 99 Cs being so perfectly tuned, they isolate the bass so well that, especially with the right EQ, it's never really an issue at all.

You'll notice in my review that in addition to my main custom EQ, I also added a "Xtra Bass" and a "Bass Light" version of it as well in there. Sometimes I'll use the bass light one, but it's pretty rare. I'd say less than 1-2% of the time. I would advise you to try out both the main and the Bass Light versions of my EQ and see which one works for you. I'm sure either one will suffice.

Ok cool. I have USB-C too on my phone (HTC 10). So then you will need this adapter to use with the Red or Black, or one exactly like it.

If you put all this together, you're gonna find yourself in a different LEAGUE of sound quality. Count on it! lol

Hope this helps! Keep us posted on what you do.

 

[Dobrescu George]

The quantity is a bit above neutral, but not by a whole lot. Due to the 99 Cs being so perfectly tuned, they isolate the bass so well that, especially with the right EQ, it's never really an issue at all.

You'll notice in my review that in addition to my main custom EQ, I also added a "Xtra Bass" and a "Bass Light" version of it as well in there. Sometimes I'll use the bass light one, but it's pretty rare. I'd say less than 1-2% of the time. I would advise you to try out both the main and the Bass Light versions of my EQ and see which one works for you. I'm sure either one will suffice.

Ok cool. I have USB-C too on my phone (HTC 10). So then you will need this adapter to use with the Red or Black, or one exactly like it.

If you put all this together, you're gonna find yourself in a different LEAGUE of sound quality. Count on it! lol

Hope this helps! Keep us posted on what you do.

I really need to step up my game and get one of those adapters! So hard to find in romania though!

 

[RockStar2005]

I really need to step up my game and get one of those adapters! So hard to find in romania though!

lol.................I would just Google them and see what stores sell them online. I'm sure there must be ONE store that sells them. If not that name brand, another one perhaps?

 

[peter123]

I meant more about quantity. Just want to confirm the quantity on them is not overbearing like on the p7. I use a Google pixel with usb c

The bass on the 99C is very present (especially mid bass), for me personally it's a bit too much with the stock pads but changing the pads (or using eq if you're in to that) helps a lot. I'm pretty sensitive to mid bass though and a lot of people seem to enjoy them stock as well but yeah, they've definitely got more bass than what I'd consider to be neutral.

All said and done they're still a amazing pair of headphones and easily worth their asking price imo.

 

[Liviu Nicolof]

That seems like a good choice. I really like my HPH MT220s (not portable). Let us know what you think.

Sound fantastic,( clarity and bass is the strongest point) if Meze would have an open back portable on ear will be like this one,though looks cheap you feel comfortable.
On ear open back are not so many choices, where I live we do not have sidewalk, I have to pay attention of the cars and only with open back and low to moderate volume you are relatively safe.
I EQ Meze from George Dobrescu tip and from great headphones sound become fantastic.

 

[mbwilson111]

Sound fantastic, if Meze would have an open back portable on ear will be like this one,though looks cheap you feel comfortable.
On ear open back are not so many choices, where I live we do not have sidewalk, I have to pay attention of the cars and only with open back and low to moderate volume you are relatively safe.

Very happy you found something you like. Be safe!

 

[RockStar2005]

The bass on the 99C is very present (especially mid bass), for me personally it's a bit too much with the stock pads but changing the pads (or using eq if you're in to that) helps a lot. I'm pretty sensitive to mid bass though and a lot of people seem to enjoy them stock as well but yeah, they've definitely got more bass than what I'd consider to be neutral.

All said and done they're still a amazing pair of headphones and easily worth their asking price imo.

Yeah. I tried out the BrainWavz genuine sheepskin leather earpads, and although I liked them a bit more in terms of feel and comfort (though I find the stock ones to be quite comfortable too), they made the bass diminish a bit too much for my taste, and the mids & highs seemed a bit off too. Of course I could've tried to adjust my custom EQ towards their sound, but I just didn't feel like it. lol So I returned them.

Array, this could be another option too for you to consider. But understand that if you do go with this, you'd have to adjust my EQ to it as my EQ is tuned to the STOCK earpads, not these. I would suggest trying my EQ and Bass Light version out as well first, but this wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

[Liviu Nicolof]

Yeah. I tried out the BrainWavz genuine sheepskin leather earpads, and although I liked them a bit more in terms of feel and comfort (though I find the stock ones to be quite comfortable too), they made the bass diminish a bit too much for my taste, and the mids & highs seemed a bit off too. Of course I could've tried to adjust my custom EQ towards their sound, but I just didn't feel like it. lol So I returned them.

Array, this could be another option too for you to consider. But understand that if you do go with this, you'd have to adjust my EQ to it as my EQ is tuned to the STOCK earpads, not these. I would suggest trying my EQ and Bass Light version out as well first, but this wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I want to try you EQ but from the pics I cannot go exactly. Power amp have an import settings, could you export and make available for who wants to try.You can make a dropbox link for sharing or something like that .
I would love to try.

 

[RockStar2005]

I want to try you EQ but from the pics I cannot go exactly. Power amp have an import settings, could you export and make available for who wants to try.You can make a dropbox link for sharing or something like that .
I would love to try.

Hey Liviu,

I'd honestly LOVE to, except the problem is the extreme LAZINESS of the Poweramp devs in recent years. lol You see, I have the Alpha 704 version of Poweramp, and although it does let you create that export file, it NEVER works when I try to import it on either the Poweramp Alpha or the official version due to what I can only assume is some kind of issue they haven't worked out yet. This is why I keep bugging them lol to finish up V3 already so then it will work for sure the way it does if you create it on REGULAR/OFFICIAL Poweramp. The Alpha version has certain features I really love like 1:1 volume, which is why I even put up with it honestly.

So unfortunately the only way to do it for now is to to just go off the pics. Honestly, if you have Poweramp, it's pretty easy. You CAN enlarge the pics too to make it easier to see. Note too that I dipped the Preamp band down a bit in order to give Poweramp a BIT more control over the treble region (to avoid shrieking lol).

The Poweramp devs again have said they should finish V3 by the end of this year. If they do not, I'll have to keep bugging them lol, but hopefully they just do. Poweramp is a pay app, so honestly they should have more respect for that fact and be better about updates.

But again, my EQ would need further adjusting if you were to use the Brainwavz Sheepskin pads, so I would worry less about accuracy with using my EQ as you're gonna have to adjust it further anyway if using those pads.

 

[uncletim]

Just a small update on my experience with the Brainwavz Angled pads:

I haven't used the 99C at all since that first day or two. But today I pulled them out for comparison in a review I'm writing. And I absolutely loved what I heard. The soundstage was huge, everything was beautifully balanced and super clear.

I will be keeping these pads on.

just to confirm, these pads?: https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Sheepskin-Leather-Angled-Memory/dp/B01J53WTUQ/

Meze has been great and sent me the very latest *slightly* larger pads a while back. I'd still like something a bit larger. a tad less bass is ok with me.

I ordered several brainwavz pads and sent them all back so far.

I wish they would fold flat for travel. I do not travel with them anymore, just a bit too large for the carry-on.

 

[superuser1]

Was listening to the 99c with the iDSD BL and i must say he pairing is really really good.