[dissembled]

Oh my God guys, I'm itching to purchase the Noirs, even though I already own the Classics. It's so tempting, but I'm also wanting to save for a lens for my A6500. But then again, the Noirs are so sexy. No...must...not. Or, maybe? The itch is so...strong.

 

[chupacabra314]

I had some extra pads to play around with from my m50x - Dekoni ($40) and WickedCushions ($20), both pleather and memory foam. Neither will slot easily so I had to wrap them around the cups.
The signature with the dekonis, although better than the "stock" pads, was a bit weird. They introduced some deep notches in the highs around 8-9 kHz.
The Wicked Cushions I had modified by removing the filters altogether. Surprisingly, even though they sounded bad with the m50x, here got really close to the signature of the "new original" pads, just with slightly more bass. The added benefit is that they are really big, fat and comfy, and move the drivers away from your ears so they aren't touching, and making the sound stage wider.

 

[dissembled]

Last one, I swear.

 

[DiederickFritz]

I had some extra pads to play around with from my m50x - Dekoni ($40) and WickedCushions ($20), both pleather and memory foam. Neither will slot easily so I had to wrap them around the cups.
The signature with the dekonis, although better than the "stock" pads, was a bit weird. They introduced some deep notches in the highs around 8-9 kHz.
The Wicked Cushions I had modified by removing the filters altogether. Surprisingly, even though they sounded bad with the m50x, here got really close to the signature of the "new original" pads, just with slightly more bass. The added benefit is that they are really big, fat and comfy, and move the drivers away from your ears so they aren't touching, and making the sound stage wider.

Interesting... Are the WCs thicker or bigger than the Dekoni's? Have you also tried sheepskin? And lastly, is the sound from the "new original" pads any good?

 

[PopZeus]

I've got a pair of the Noirs arriving tomorrow. Very excited! Hoping it will be the ultimate pairing with my DAP. I've come to the realization that getting as close to my ideal tuning is super important with all the options out there. And I prefer smooth, warm headphones over other factors (love me some deep sub-bass). It's gotten to the point that I'm going to sell my Elex for the LCD2 Classic, fer instance. Heck, if money were no object I'd look at the Empyrean.

Anyways, that's why I'm really looking forward to the 99 Noirs. I love the aesthetics, and I prefer listening to a closed back over another IEM. This will hopefully be the best closed-back for me at this price.

 

[Mhog55]

I've got a pair of the Noirs arriving tomorrow. Very excited! Hoping it will be the ultimate pairing with my DAP. I've come to the realization that getting as close to my ideal tuning is super important with all the options out there. And I prefer smooth, warm headphones over other factors (love me some deep sub-bass). It's gotten to the point that I'm going to sell my Elex for the LCD2 Classic, fer instance. Heck, if money were no object I'd look at the Empyrean.

Anyways, that's why I'm really looking forward to the 99 Noirs. I love the aesthetics, and I prefer listening to a closed back over another IEM. This will hopefully be the best closed-back for me at this price.

I think you may be on the right track!

 

[dissembled]

Does MassDrop require a signature upon delivery? Hopefully not as I work all week.

 

[menuki]

Does MassDrop require a signature upon delivery? Hopefully not as I work all week.

I think that strongly depends on the carrier they're being shipped with. For example, mine are being shipped with DHL, but usually you'll have the option to just say you want to have it delivered to a neighbour or a DHL shop near you. Maybe you could also just let them ship to your workplace?

It's really cool that this thread is so active now that the Noire's are being available again... it's still a bit annoying that Massdrop always writes 8 hours left, but in reality, these 8 hours are now about 2 days. But hey, maybe they just get bought so often that they postpone the timeframe in which you can buy them, maybe I'm just not understanding how Massdrop works. xD

Can't wait to also share some seksy pictures and impressions from both pads! I owned the Meze 99 Classics with the original pads, so I'm curios if the new ones are more comfortable - that would be freaking stellar because they were already really comfy.... damn. I'm looking forward.

 

[nisa]

I think that strongly depends on the carrier they're being shipped with. For example, mine are being shipped with DHL, but usually you'll have the option to just say you want to have it delivered to a neighbour or a DHL shop near you. Maybe you could also just let them ship to your workplace?

It depends on the destination country. In Germany there are two options and you can't choose. Either DHL has to collect the customs fee (plus €6? DHL fee) or you'll get a notification and you have to get your HP from the next customs office.

The last pages were largely about pads, so i wonder if the Branwavz Oval pads fit on the Meze? There would be even a few choices: leather, velour or hybrid - angled or not. Would it be worth a try?

 

[chupacabra314]

Interesting... Are the WCs thicker or bigger than the Dekoni's? Have you also tried sheepskin? And lastly, is the sound from the "new original" pads any good?

WCs are huge 116x90x30mm - they stick out about 5mm over the top and bottom of the cups. The Dekonis fit exactly around the cups and are about 26mm thick. Don't have them with me to measure. I haven't tried sheepskin.
The "new original" pads are the reason I haven't put the Noirs up for sale. Did some A/B/C/D testing. My impressions of the sound were as follows: Noir+"stock" pads < Noir+WC pads ~= m50x+Dekoni < Noir+"new originals".

Again, it may be a matter of burn-in and the sound signature you like. My preference is pretty much the Harman curve with a few more dB in the upper treble.

 

[blackdragon87]

Does MassDrop require a signature upon delivery? Hopefully not as I work all week.

They did for mine

 

[Lurk650]

That's how the large Sheepskin Ovals are from Brainwavz, widen stage and allows bass to mellow out as drivers are farther away but you lose subbass rumble and impact.

 

[Natarian]

They did for mine

I've never had to sign for my massdrop packages

 

[chupacabra314]

That's how the large Sheepskin Ovals are from Brainwavz, widen stage and allows bass to mellow out as drivers are farther away but you lose subbass rumble and impact.

By "lose subbass" do you mean totally lose or does it just mellow it out. I find with the WC pads the bass/subbass are still more than what I'd like.

 

[Lurk650]

By "lose subbass" do you mean totally lose or does it just mellow it out. I find with the WC pads the bass/subbass are still more than what I'd like.

You still get some rumble but not at the level that the Shure 1540 pads have. The Brainwavz Sheepskin are 20% off on their site so $32 or pay an extra $6 and get them faster from Amazon.

I really enjoyed the BW pads for a long time. Shure pads made me realize all the beautiful subbass I was missing, the shallower pads are a downfall but at least with the foam backing my ears aren't as uncomfy as the original pads