[mindhead1]

Buy an ES100 or one of the many BT adapters out there lol. I use mine with the Meze 2.5 balanced cable to the ES100.

The ES100 using LDAC from my Note 9 has made DAPs inferior (for me)

I have the ES100 and balanced cables for my 99. It’s an excellent setup.

 

[mindhead1]

Just curious how the Apple adapter compares to something like the btr1k for these headphones

The Apple dongle works really well with the 99. The ease of driving the 99 is one of the things I love about them. They sound good with just about everything I plug them into.

 

[Mb1980]

Hi all, total novice with amps, what would you recommend for my classics99 when used with galaxy s9+ around the house please. Mainly electronic/house/tech music.

Volume topping out is the main issue, so looking for best value (cheapest) solution that allows me to increase volume please, without losing quality.

Read about es100 on previous page, but being bluetooth, wont they lose sound quality compared to cable solution?

 

[mindhead1]

Hi all, total novice with amps, what would you recommend for my classics99 when used with galaxy s9+ around the house please. Mainly electronic/house/tech music.

Volume topping out is the main issue, so looking for best value (cheapest) solution that allows me to increase volume please, without losing quality.

Read about es100 on previous page, but being bluetooth, wont they lose sound quality compared to cable solution?

If you want to be mobile the ES100 is hard to beat. BT has improved a lot. As long as your using AAC, AptX or Ldac you won’t notice a degradation of sound unless you have perfect hearing.
I use an ES100 with my 99s and have plenty of headroom volume wise.

 

[Dramlin]

I threw on some Yaxi stPad2 pads. They actually completely change the sound signature to almost neutral to my ears. I haven't decided whether I'm going to keep them or not but its really interesting that the range of sound signatures can be so dramatic with these headphones and only a pad change.

Welcome to the Yaxi club! I went through probably 10 pad swaps before finding that the stPad2's were a perfect match. They do change the sound to an almost neutral clean sound, and considerably improve the bass response.

Pad swapping is almost always a bad idea, as usually headphones are designed to produce a specific sound that is made worse by changing to different pads. However, in this case I think the stock large pads for the 99c's were an afterthought in the design, and actually cause sound issues such as significant bass bleed.

 

[Mb1980]

If you want to be mobile the ES100 is hard to beat. BT has improved a lot. As long as your using AAC, AptX or Ldac you won’t notice a degradation of sound unless you have perfect hearing.
I use an ES100 with my 99s and have plenty of headroom volume wise.

Cheers Matt, that's interesting to hear.

Retaining sound quality is my number priority, dont want to reduce that as my phone is usually strapped to me alm the time anyway.

That said the sources I listen to aren't lossless. Usually mixes from youtube or Google Music.

So to confirm if retaining sound quality is my priority without spending hundreds and hundreds, the ES100 is still the best choice?

I suppose it would be useful for my Shure in ear buds I use for the gym/running as well.

 

[mindhead1]

Cheers Matt, that's interesting to hear.

Retaining sound quality is my number priority, dont want to reduce that as my phone is usually strapped to me alm the time anyway.

That said the sources I listen to aren't lossless. Usually mixes from youtube or Google Music.

So to confirm if retaining sound quality is my priority without spending hundreds and hundreds, the ES100 is still the best choice?

I suppose it would be useful for my Shure in ear buds I use for the gym/running as well.

Audio from YouTube and GPM are going to be 256 AAC or 320 MP3 at best so your in lossy territory already. The ES100 is made for this use case.

In The $100 and under range the ES100 and FIIO BTR5 are as good as it gets for portable bluetooth. If you need hi-res audio and are OK with being wired check out the iFi Hip DAC or the Topping NX4 DSD.

 

[Moumin]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the posts so far. I am about to make my choice between the Meze 99Cs and the Ultrasone DXPs. I would run them through the iFi Hip DAC. Has anyone tried out the two for electronic music (deep house, dub techno)? It's the genre I listen to the most, if not all the time.
On a side note, I do wear glasses and due to my work can happen to have them on for up to 10 hours, if not more a day - so if there are big downsides / you have other suggestions, suggestions welcome!

Happy to change earpads/cables on the Meze 99Cs due to price difference with the Ultrasone DXPs.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Dramlin]

I have both the DXP's and the 99c's, and my main genre of music is electronic. The DXP's are better in every aspect except for looks IMO. The biggest benefit of the DXP's for electronic music will be a much tighter/more controlled bass, as well as an improved sound stage. I'd highly recommend getting a pure silver cable with the DXP's though, as their default sound is a bit warm--- very enjoyable, but on the warm side nonetheless. The silver cable brings the headphones to neutral while giving a perception of increased bass and clarity. The silver cable doesn't have to be expensive, I went with the cheapest one on lunashops and it has worked surprisingly well. The DXP's are the only headphone I've found that actually benefitted from a pure silver cable (usually it makes things too bright).

The only thing I can't comment on is wearing the DXP's or 99C's with glasses, and how either of those headphones will react to the ifi hip dac. Best of luck.

 

[Moumin]

I have both the DXP's and the 99c's, and my main genre of music is electronic. The DXP's are better in every aspect except for looks IMO. The biggest benefit of the DXP's for electronic music will be a much tighter/more controlled bass, as well as an improved sound stage. I'd highly recommend getting a pure silver cable with the DXP's though, as their default sound is a bit warm--- very enjoyable, but on the warm side nonetheless. The silver cable brings the headphones to neutral while giving a perception of increased bass and clarity. The silver cable doesn't have to be expensive, I went with the cheapest one on lunashops and it has worked surprisingly well. The DXP's are the only headphone I've found that actually benefitted from a pure silver cable (usually it makes things too bright).

The only thing I can't comment on is wearing the DXP's or 99C's with glasses, and how either of those headphones will react to the ifi hip dac. Best of luck.

Hi Dramlin,

Thanks for your insights - also highly appreciate the silver cable suggestions, will give it a try once I order the cans.
Would you also rank them in that order (DXP > 99C) for comfort over lengthy listening sessions?
Agree on the looks, although the DXP seem more neutral / less eye catching to be worn in a business casual environment.

Greetings to Utah!

 

[Dramlin]

Comfort is a tough one as it seems to range widely from person to person. If I had to guess then I would bet that the 99C's are more comfortable for most.

- The 99C's have plush pads with light to moderate clamping force on the head. The design of the band is pretty good at distributing the load semi evenly near the top of the head as opposed to the sides, which makes the headphones feel fairly light. I've had some minor issues with the pads pushing in near the jaw line causing some discomfort there, but I don't think most people experience that.

- The DXP's have tougher/less soft pleather pads and a bit more clamping force. If you've ever tried any Ultrasone up through the Signature series, the fit is always similar. The pads go entirely over the ears but depending on the size of your ears they may touch the drivers. I've been lucky that I've never had problems at wearing Ultrasones for hours at a time, but I've seen complaints from others that the clamping force can be a deal breaker.

 

[mindhead1]

The 99 Noir are messing up my plans. I picked these up to try out and see what the buzz was about and not expecting to be overly impressed and ultimately sell or gift them away.

My longer term plan was to get a new amp for my desk (thinking Asgard 3) and try out some hard to drive higher end headphones. I still may do this, but it’s really not justified.

I have been using the 99s for about a month now w/ the larger pads. After about 20 hours of burn they sound wonderful. Whether driven directly from my iPad Pro, iPhone dongle or my ES100 (BT and USB fro MacBook Pro). I picked up the balanced cables and have been using the 99 for hours everyday while WFH. Again, they sound great in all these configurations. Add to that, the all day comfort and great looks (if that matter) and I think I’ll sit tight and hold off on the upgrades for a while.

 

[StrangeProgram]

Hey guys, i'm planning to buy this soon with the IFI Hip Dac but was just wondering if the sound quality improvement is going to be significant compared to my Sony WH1000XM3. I've never owned any wired headphones before and there is no place for me to try here in my area so i have to order them online and was just curious if it will be worth the price.

 

[ColdsnapBry]

Shopping for a closed back of headphones to use while laying down in bed. There's one for an excellent price but wasn't sure how the headband works while laying down with a pillow. The design makes me thing I might want to look elsewhere, but I heard these sound good and wanted to check.

 

[Mightygrey]

Shopping for a closed back of headphones to use while laying down in bed. There's one for an excellent price but wasn't sure how the headband works while laying down with a pillow. The design makes me thing I might want to look elsewhere, but I heard these sound good and wanted to check.

The headband is very noisy when it brushes against anything. I love my 99's but they're not great in this situation.