[Dramlin]

I know the obvious concern is the bass; apparently it’s out of whack with the new pads. But when people say that, I wonder what it’s relative too. Is it like crazy Beats bass? Is it just slightly more than the HD6XX? I do kind of prefer a slight bass emphasis, but not if it’s overbearing or throws the whole sound off...

Take my opinion with a grain of salt as I've been one of the more vocal individuals against the current bass sound. I'd wait for others with the current pads to chime in, but in the meantime I'll give my 2 cents. I haven't heard beats, but the bass on the 99C's isn't like anything I've heard from other bass emphasized headphones. Many bass heavy headphones (like cheap Sony's that have "xtra bass") have a lot of untextured mid bass that muffles the rest of the sound. The 99C bass doesn't necessarily cause the rest of the sound to become muffled. It's just very loud, mostly untextured, with an uncomfortable reverb effect attached to it. The overall sound signature is still intact, just the bass takes front center stage in a distracting way. It's hard to enjoy the nice mids with an echoing bass that is several db's louder than everything else.

I will add that my clear preference in a headphone is emphasized bass. All of my higher end headphones are bass emphasized (sometimes not enough...), but none of them sound like the 99C's in that area.

 

[mbwilson111]

In addition, while I do like a bit of a bass tilt I still want the music to sound natural;

Have you considered the Meze 99 Neo in stunning black and silver? It was released with the "new pads" and so was hopefully tuned with those in mind. I love mine. Mids are very important to me because I listen to a lot of singer songwriters...along with almost every genre except Rap, Metal and EDM. I do have multiple headphones (plus buds and iems) so they are not used every day, but when I do use the Neo I love it. I am currently thinking about getting a balanced cable for it because I do have a couple of balanced sources. When I get that I am sure I will use it more.

I am sure someone will come along to tell you they are horrible... lol. I personally prefer the Neo to the Classic. I have listened to my husband's Classics with both the original pads (not for long as they were horribly uncomfortable for me) and also with the 2nd generation pads.

I can't believe this thread has devolved into a constant discussion about pads.

I should add that I can listen to these (Neo) for hours on end without physical or listeners fatigue.

 

[Keko123]

[Ironic mode on]

I'm still surprised. A company has a great product but decides to make it worse. Two years later they still in their bad decision

why make it well if you can make it wrong?

[Ironic mode off]

 

[bcaulf17]

Take my opinion with a grain of salt as I've been one of the more vocal individuals against the current bass sound. I'd wait for others with the current pads to chime in, but in the meantime I'll give my 2 cents. I haven't heard beats, but the bass on the 99C's isn't like anything I've heard from other bass emphasized headphones. Many bass heavy headphones (like cheap Sony's that have "xtra bass") have a lot of untextured mid bass that muffles the rest of the sound. The 99C bass doesn't necessarily cause the rest of the sound to become muffled. It's just very loud, mostly untextured, with an uncomfortable reverb effect attached to it. The overall sound signature is still intact, just the bass takes front center stage in a distracting way. It's hard to enjoy the nice mids with an echoing bass that is several db's louder than everything else.

I will add that my clear preference in a headphone is emphasized bass. All of my higher end headphones are bass emphasized (sometimes not enough...), but none of them sound like the 99C's in that area.

Interesting, thank you. I do have a portable amp as well, though I’m not sure what it would fix. Unfortunately it’s been a struggle finding a portable closed back around that price range that is right for me. Everything has a negative. I do like my H6’s but I think I’m just moving on to liking a different kind of sound. The Oppo PM3 is the only other I can think of but I’d have to get that used.

 

[Shane D]

Have you considered the Meze 99 Neo in stunning black and silver? It was released with the "new pads" and so was hopefully tuned with those in mind. I love mine. Mids are very important to me because I listen to a lot of singer songwriters...along with almost every genre except Rap, Metal and EDM. I do have multiple headphones (plus buds and iems) so they are not used every day, but when I do use the Neo I love it. I am currently thinking about getting a balanced cable for it because I do have a couple of balanced sources. When I get that I am sure I will use it more.

I am sure someone will come along to tell you they are horrible... lol. I personally prefer the Neo to the Classic. I have listened to my husband's Classics with both the original pads (not for long as they were horribly uncomfortable for me) and also with the 2nd generation pads.

I can't believe this thread has devolved into a constant discussion about pads.

I should add that I can listen to these (Neo) for hours on end without physical or listeners fatigue.

If you are hunting for a no-name balanced cable, the 99's headphone inserts match nicely with Denon. I needed to buy a second cable since my first wouldn't work with the Meze. In my case, I needed dual 3.5mm X 4.4mm termination for my Sony DAP.

On a side note, the balanced output from my DAP is much more powerful. The Meze cannot use this. I have to run my balanced set-up in low gain at half-power (60-70 out of 120). They are ridiculously easy to drive. Of course I don't listen very loud.


Shane D

 

[Lurk650]

LoL I run the 99C on my zx300 balanced on High Gain, not a single issue for me...

 

[Shane D]

LoL I run the 99C on my zx300 balanced on High Gain, not a single issue for me...

WOW, you must listen REALLY loud. It was too much volume for me and the sound wasn't as clean, to my ears. At low gain/mid volume it made a very good headphone a little bit better to me.

The difference with the Sony Z7's was night and day. With the 99's I find the balanced out difference is much more subtle.

Shane D

 

[bcaulf17]

WOW, you must listen REALLY loud. It was too much volume for me and the sound wasn't as clean, to my ears. At low gain/mid volume it made a very good headphone a little bit better to me.

The difference with the Sony Z7's was night and day. With the 99's I find the balanced is out is much more subtle.

Shane D

I noticed the standard balanced cable is only $50 on Meze website right now, and the Q1 MK II supports balanced...might be worth the upgrade if I end up getting this headphone.

 

[Shane D]

I noticed the standard balanced cable is only $50 on Meze website right now, and the Q1 MK II supports balanced...might be worth the upgrade if I end up getting this headphone.

That is a killer price on that cable! Especially if you can use a 2.5mm termination.

Shane D

 

[bcaulf17]

That is a killer price on that cable! Especially if you can use a 2.5mm termination.

Shane D

Hm, I will need to check the Fiio guide to see what output it supports.

 

[Keko123]

That is a killer price on that cable! Especially if you can use a 2.5mm termination.

Shane D

I bought this cable and in Ibasso DX120 is perfect. Great sound

 

[Lurk650]

Hm, I will need to check the Fiio guide to see what output it supports.

It's 2.5. That's the most common balanced termination right now. I would hop on it. I paid $70 for mine on Amazon right before it went on sale. I have it connected to an iBasso CB02 2.5 to 4.4 adapter

 

[Bansaku]

Take my opinion with a grain of salt as I've been one of the more vocal individuals against the current bass sound. I'd wait for others with the current pads to chime in, but in the meantime I'll give my 2 cents. I haven't heard beats, but the bass on the 99C's isn't like anything I've heard from other bass emphasized headphones. Many bass heavy headphones (like cheap Sony's that have "xtra bass") have a lot of untextured mid bass that muffles the rest of the sound. The 99C bass doesn't necessarily cause the rest of the sound to become muffled. It's just very loud, mostly untextured, with an uncomfortable reverb effect attached to it. The overall sound signature is still intact, just the bass takes front center stage in a distracting way. It's hard to enjoy the nice mids with an echoing bass that is several db's louder than everything else.

I will add that my clear preference in a headphone is emphasized bass. All of my higher end headphones are bass emphasized (sometimes not enough...), but none of them sound like the 99C's in that area.

Yes, I agree. But who knows, maybe @bcaulf17 's ears will fit in the new pads better and thus the effects you describe (and I too hear) are not present for him. To my ears, the larger pads don't sound bad, it's just by having the originals to compare I can safely say why I, and others, prefer them.

More and more lately I’ve been thinking I want to try this headphone. I’ve been reading a lot about it, various reviews, posts on the internet. My recent HD6XX has kind of turned me on to a more relaxed and warm signature, while my current office closed back (H6 Gen 2), which definitely has good quality, just for whatever reason hasn’t been sitting with me. I do like it, but I’ve been trying for a long time to love it. It lacks the thickness of the mids that the HD6XX has. What I wanna do is at least try the 99 Classics to see if I prefer it. And then if I don’t, just send it back.

I know the obvious concern is the bass; apparently it’s out of whack with the new pads. But when people say that, I wonder what it’s relative too. Is it like crazy Beats bass? Is it just slightly more than the HD6XX? I do kind of prefer a slight bass emphasis, but not if it’s overbearing or throws the whole sound off...

In addition, while I do like a bit of a bass tilt I still want the music to sound natural; the 6XX is great because it has very little color and presents the music close to how it’s supposed to sound.

Basically with the original pads they sound like a closed wooden backed HD 600. With the new pads the 99 Classics sound more like a closed wooden back AKG Q701 with bass boost. Basically the sound becomes less intimate and more airy, but with that bass that just doesn't quit.

Things that help tame/control the bass of the new pads: Quality DAC/AMP, none of this smartphone business. Upgraded cable to OCC copper, preferably balanced. EQ the bass down.

 

[bcaulf17]

It's 2.5. That's the most common balanced termination right now. I would hop on it. I paid $70 for mine on Amazon right before it went on sale. I have it connected to an iBasso CB02 2.5 to 4.4 adapter

But I don’t even have the headphone yet

 

[Dramlin]

A question for those that have the Meze balanced cable. I've noticed that the basic balanced cable is silver plated over copper, and in my experience silver plating tends to change to make headphones brighter. Typically treble is extended, details are increased, and mids suffer from the treble extension. Is that generally what changes with the official Meze cable? I've read the excellent review of the cable by ostewart which seems to suggest that the mids are actually improved in some ways, just looking for additional opinions.

I ask as I bought a different balanced cable from New Fantasia: https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...646926&sr=8-2&keywords=meze+99+balanced+cable

I've bought a few of these for various headphones and always liked them, but this cable doesn't seem to play nice with the Meze's. The mids are really taken away, and the overall sound is just worsened. I may end up picking up the official Meze cable instead if it doesn't hurt the mids too much,