[DoConor]

I'll give this mod a try because it's easy to do. If I don't like what it does, getting back to the stock option is simple

Yes. Especially since you can play on the thickness of the foam as well as the bass ports to be closed or opened. This should allow you to adjust the sound as you want. Let's go for a good time of DIY and sound adjustment! Thank you.

 

[DoConor]

Although they're long, they don't go in all the way, so I wouldn't worry about that, you'll be fine

Yes. I'm going to try. I am going to try the Er2xr which must have the wettest and least dry sound of the whole range with its dynamic driver. In addition, it is the cheapest on Adorama.

 

[pk4425]

Just out of curiosity: is anyone using the 99C with an iPhone while using the Apple 3.5 to Lightning adapter (which in fact is a DAC) and can compare it to the sound of a regular USB DAC? Quite positive measurements have been made in the past: https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-quality.htm

As Jeff Spicoli said to the pizza delivery man in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, "Right here, dude."

Yes, I drive my Meze 99 Classics with an Apple Lightning dongle. Also have driven them with these portable DAC-amps: TempoTec Sonata HD Pro, iFi hip-dac and Qudelix 5K.

The 99 Classics truly don't need an amp unless you need ear-pulverizing volume or want to get the most out of silver balanced or unbalanced cables, which cost extra. Their 32 ohm, 103 db sensitivity can be pushed easily with the Apple lightning dongle, which offers almost no power but measures remarkably well as a DAC, as noted by the Ken Rockwell link you posted and by testing by Amir at Audio Science Review.

As just a DAC at $9, the Apple Lightning DAC dongle may be one of the best values in audiophile land for use with cans and IEMs that aren't hungry for power. Absolute purists may scoff at that, but it's true.

 

[pk4425]

Not sure what answer you're looking for. The Apple dongle has enough power to run the 99c comfortably, but in terms of sound quality, the 99c outscales the iPhone's "wired" audio quality, meaning you're going to get much better sound driving the 99c with a better gear than you would from a phone. You probably won't hit the ceiling of the 99c's sound quality until you get into the mid-fi tier of components. Yes, the Apple dongle measures well, but measurements don't tell a complete picture when it comes to actually listening to music.

Yes and no, in my experience. With the stock, unbalanced 3.5-mm cable, a powerful portable amp such as the iFi hip-dac boosts the bassy nature of the 99 Classics instead of taming it. I've seen different reports with the Meze silver cables, both balanced or unbalanced, saying the bass is tamed even with powerful amps. I don't have either of the silver cables for direct comparison.

My TempoTec Sonata HD Pro and Qudelix 5K, which both seem to have about the same power output, keep the big bass of the stock, non-amplified sound signature when using the 99 Classics straight from a phone or laptop or with the Apple Lightning DAC dongle. But throw the hip-dac at it with stock cables, and I think it overheats the already warm bass signature of the 99 Classics, even in low-gain mode with the Bass Boost turned off. All of that power isn't needed and is too much to my ears.

Now, if you're a basshead (which I'm not) ...

P.S.: The hip-dac is a GREAT match for my HiFiMan HE-400se International and Sennheiser HD 560s.

 

[OspreyAndy]

Yes and no, in my experience. With the stock cable, a powerful portable amp such as the iFi hip-dac only accentuates the bassy nature of the 99 Classics instead of taming it. I've seen different reports with balanced output or the Meze silver cables, both balanced or unbalanced, saying the bass is tamed even with powerful amps. I don't have either of the silver cables for direct comparison.

My TempoTec Sonata HD Pro and Qudelix 5K, which both seem to have about the same power output, keep the big bass of the stock, non-amplified sound signature when using the 99 Classics straight from a phone or laptop or with the Apple Lightning DAC dongle. But throw the hip-dac at it with stock cables, and I think it overheats the already warm bass signature of the 99 Classics, even in low-gain mode without the Bass Boost turned on. All of that power isn't needed and is too much to my ears.

Now, if you're a basshead (which I'm not) ...

iFi Hip DAC has been regarded as fun analogue sounding unit with healthy dose of power to enhance dynamics. 99 Classics on the other hand are natively already fun analogue sounding and with impressive dynamic prowess. So combining both you get super vibrant setup which is what you are experiencing now.

In my own personal view, 99 Classics could be served better with highly transparent and sparkly sources. ESS DAC series would work very well with 99 Classics and me as a hardcore ES9038Q2M user (I have 3 of them) really enjoying the pairing.

I don't even bother doing cable swap from copper to silver. I personally believe it doesn't influence much if any. FYI I am a hardcore cabling person myself and make my own custom cables since 2006. I have used pure Silver, SPC, Japanese OFC Canares etc and they influence very little in the terms of sound signature

 

[PopZeus]

Yes and no, in my experience. With the stock, unbalanced 3.5-mm cable, a powerful portable amp such as the iFi hip-dac boosts the bassy nature of the 99 Classics instead of taming it. I've seen different reports with the Meze silver cables, both balanced or unbalanced, saying the bass is tamed even with powerful amps. I don't have either of the silver cables for direct comparison.

My TempoTec Sonata HD Pro and Qudelix 5K, which both seem to have about the same power output, keep the big bass of the stock, non-amplified sound signature when using the 99 Classics straight from a phone or laptop or with the Apple Lightning DAC dongle. But throw the hip-dac at it with stock cables, and I think it overheats the already warm bass signature of the 99 Classics, even in low-gain mode with the Bass Boost turned off. All of that power isn't needed and is too much to my ears.

Now, if you're a basshead (which I'm not) ...

P.S.: The hip-dac is a GREAT match for my HiFiMan HE-400se International and Sennheiser HD 560s.

I never said the 99C needed the power of a discrete amp. Just that it scales with higher quality sources. In fact, I agree with you in that I tend to steer folks towards single-ended cables and sources (i.e. not balanced power) when it comes to the 99 as too much of a good thing is unnecessary and can have a negative effect in this case. The max power rating listed on Meze's site is something unbelieveably low like 50mw.

Now, if you're one of those folks who says all DACs that measure to spec are identical in sound, (which I'm interpreting from your post,) then you're on your own. I can't defend those statements because they're just not true in my experience. And that was my point-- the iPhone dongle has more than enough power to drive the 99C but the 99C also sounds way better on every other wired audio device I own (including a used Samsung S10 I have for work), as long as it's not feeding too much power at low gain. In other words, exceptional measurements do not necessarily equate to exceptional performance. It certainly wasn't "you need a DAP or DAC/amp for the 99C to deliver adequate power".

 

[pk4425]

I never said the 99C needed the power of a discrete amp. Just that it scales with higher quality sources. In fact, I agree with you in that I tend to steer folks towards single-ended cables and sources (i.e. not balanced power) when it comes to the 99 as too much of a good thing is unnecessary and can have a negative effect in this case. The max power rating listed on Meze's site is something unbelieveably low like 50mw.

Now, if you're one of those folks who says all DACs that measure to spec are identical in sound, (which I'm interpreting from your post,) then you're on your own. I can't defend those statements because they're just not true in my experience. And that was my point-- the iPhone dongle has more than enough power to drive the 99C but the 99C also sounds way better on every other wired audio device I own (including a used Samsung S10 I have for work), as long as it's not feeding too much power at low gain. In other words, exceptional measurements do not necessarily equate to exceptional performance. It certainly wasn't "you need a DAP or DAC/amp for the 99C to deliver adequate power".

You interpreted wrong, my friend. I can CLEARLY hear the difference between the warmer Burr-Brown DAC of the hip-dac and the crisper, more clinical DACs in the Sonata HD Pro and Qudelix 5K.

That said, I think the Apple Lightning dongle delivers very good, pretty neutral sound from a DAC, especially one that costs only $9. It works well and is a terrific value for cans that don't need a lot of power or for those without the most discerning of ears. That was my point.

 

[PopZeus]

You interpreted wrong, my friend. I can CLEARLY hear the difference between the warmer Burr-Brown DAC of the hip-dac and the crisper, more clinical DACs in the Sonata HD Pro and Qudelix 5K.

That said, I think the Apple Lightning dongle delivers very good, pretty neutral sound from a DAC, especially one that costs only $9. It works well and is a terrific value for cans that don't need a lot of power or for those without the most discerning of ears. That was my point.

Sure, the Apple dongle is fine for 10 bucks (personally I think it doesn't sound very good) but that's not what the guy wanted to know haha. The original post was specifically asking for a comparison, hence my reply. Not every piece of gear will sound great with the 99C, (and I don't think I implied that,) but the ceiling in terms of SQ for the 99C, with well-matched gear, is around mid-tier imho.

I guess I'm confused. I can't tell if you're trying to respond to the post I was replying to by replying to me instead (which is the confusing part) or you're trying to correct me by telling me "well actually the Apple dongle is fine and there's no point in upgrading". In which case, I can't disagree more haha

 

[magicalmouse]

Yes and no, in my experience. With the stock, unbalanced 3.5-mm cable, a powerful portable amp such as the iFi hip-dac boosts the bassy nature of the 99 Classics instead of taming it. I've seen different reports with the Meze silver cables, both balanced or unbalanced, saying the bass is tamed even with powerful amps. I don't have either of the silver cables for direct comparison.

My experience is that i needed both the smaller pads and 3.5 (single-ended) silver cable to turn these from bass monsters where the bass was way too much for me into really beautiful listening headphones that are euphonic. It is all subjective though.

 

[pk4425]

Sure, the Apple dongle is fine for 10 bucks (personally I think it doesn't sound very good) but that's not what the guy wanted to know haha. The original post was specifically asking for a comparison, hence my reply. Not every piece of gear will sound great with the 99C, (and I don't think I implied that,) but the ceiling in terms of SQ for the 99C, with well-matched gear, is around mid-tier imho.

I guess I'm confused. I can't tell if you're trying to respond to the post I was replying to by replying to me instead (which is the confusing part) or you're trying to correct me by telling me "well actually the Apple dongle is fine and there's no point in upgrading". In which case, I can't disagree more haha

The Apple dongle is fine to drive the Meze 99 Classics to decent fidelity from an iPhone at a great price -- that's my point. But it doesn't work very well with higher-impedance, lower-sensitivity cans, and there are always DAC-amp options to pair with any headphone if you want greater fidelity and need or want more power.

I wouldn't own a Qudelix 5K and iFi hip-dac if I thought the $9 dongle was end game.

 

[pk4425]

My experience is that i needed both the smaller pads and 3.5 (single-ended) silver cable to turn these from bass monsters where the bass was way too much for me into really beautiful listening headphones that are euphonic. It is all subjective though.

Wish I could try the smaller pads, but they're definitely a no-go for me. My ears barely fit into the stock pads, with some protruding cartilage in my right ear pressing somewhat painfully against the driver housing.

 

[SolaVirtus]

Has anyone tried Sendy Aiva pads on a 99? I they just barely don't fit due to the small lip on the pads. I think I can rig up a pretty simple thin ring to put in the pad to fit into the slot on the earcup.

The pads are so dang comfortable, I'm hoping they sound good, and would like to hear any experiences others might have had.

 

[Richsvt]

So after some time, I put the Meze silver balanced cable back on. I hadn't had a lot of head time with it when I first got a some time ago. I am so enamored with the balanced copper that I just never swapped it out.

My first off re-impression is that it does provide some detail clarity that is on the smooth side of sharp. Not harsh but crisp. Bass is tight and maybe even a little sterile. I'm not sure if it'll stay on but provides a nice change from that oh so smooth and lush warmth of the copper from the tubes of N3P and the 99. SE adapter is copper, so there's a little moderation going on.

 

[HurricaneBob01]

Thanks for the recommendation @KillerQ

The depth of the 99c's when running on the Project Ember amp is amazing! They really opened up with the amp.

 

[parawizard]

Anyone try just taping up some of the bass ports? Seems reasonably easy. I've had my 99 noir for awhile now and really like the comfort of the large pads but find the comfort of the small pads good enough and the sound much less boomy! Bass could be cleaned up a bit without me missing it yet still.