[emptymt]

And what price do you think?
Plus what to expect when pairing with the x5iii balanced output?

balanced output will usually yield better soundstage and better channel separation while providing minor more subtle upgrade to the sound in general due to each channel being driven separately with more power, I guess this is what to expect.

 

[peter123]

i am absolutely unsure about the price. Pinky has better knowledge to answer the same. As some people have observed the pairing from balanced out gives a extended lows and also introduces more hiss than the SE.

If you have a device that has more hiss from the balanced output it's probably faulty.

The difference between SE and balanced output will vary from device to device in my experience but so far I've never heard any reason to use the SE in a device offering both.

 

[subguy812]

  i am absolutely unsure about the price. Pinky has better knowledge to answer the same. As some people have observed the pairing from balanced out gives a extended lows and also introduces more hiss than the SE.

I have never heard more hiss from balanced. I think the extended bass also depends but in theory it should provide control at those deep bass levels. Balanced connection is not usually night and day different. It happens more with more revealing and detailed IEM's and headphones. It should create a more silent sound floor. From the right balanced connection it should probably sound more dynamic and detailed. YMMV

 

[peter1480]

If you have a device that has more hiss from the balanced output it's probably faulty.

The difference between SE and balanced output will vary from device to device in my experience but so far I've never heard any reason to use the SE in a device offering both.

I'm using balanced cables there is no hiss, more bass and a wider soundstage with the x5iii and the x7. Search balanced in this thread, mine are by Russ Andrews with Meze plugs but it would be nice to have the Meze balanced cable as well.

 

[davidmolliere]

I don't know how but I just came across threads and reviews while considering moving from NightHawks to NightOwl (office use) and it does look like they offer great value for money (punch well above their price) and the sig is right down my alley

No brainer given the price, I pulled the trigger on them!
We'll see how they pair with DX200
 
Pretty interested about balanced cable discussions, I'd love it if Meze could provide an upgrade path there...

 

[black9white]

  i am absolutely unsure about the price. Pinky has better knowledge to answer the same. As some people have observed the pairing from balanced out gives a extended lows and also introduces more hiss than the SE.

This would depend on the source right? or just the general

 

[superuser1]

 

If you have a device that has more hiss from the balanced output it's probably faulty.

The difference between SE and balanced output will vary from device to device in my experience but so far I've never heard any reason to use the SE in a device offering both.

I'm using balanced cables there is no hiss, more bass and a wider soundstage with the x5iii and the x7. Search balanced in this thread, mine are by Russ Andrews with Meze plugs but it would be nice to have the Meze balanced cable as well.

 
You are right. there was some problem with the jack and therefore was experiencing the hiss. Apologies

 

[superuser1]

 

  i am absolutely unsure about the price. Pinky has better knowledge to answer the same. As some people have observed the pairing from balanced out gives a extended lows and also introduces more hiss than the SE.

This would depend on the source right? or just the general

 
I was talking specifically about my experience and it turns out that the hiss was introduced due to a faulty cable.

 

[bluesaint]

mines connected using balanced XLR to Schiit Mjolinir 2 and zero hiss or hum.

 

[deteugma]

Dobrescu George, how do you EQ them?

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Dobrescu George, how do you EQ them?

On both my laptopy using the built in tool from the audio card driver and on FiiO X5ii using the EQ within X5ii. My eq graphs looks like this for laptopy:
 
sliders are as it follows:  5   3   0   -3   3   3   3   3   0   15   and the master is at -7 dB
 

 
 
But on my X5ii it looks different, considerably so. This is due to very different signatures between laptop and x5ii - but both sound similar and really good. 

99c are probably the best closed back headphones I listened to for prolonged periods of time to date, I like them better than EL8-C after EQing them. The comfort is considerably better on 99C due to reduced weight.
 
This is how it looks on x5ii. Listening like this at lower volumes works amazing as well.
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

I will make a Foobar2000 EQ image when I get enough free time as well 

 
Different sources sound different, but 99C sounds really good by its own from a phone as well. With some EQ. For phone I use VLC. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

Two more observations:
 
1. Those things look beautiful when worn. I like wearing them, feels really fancy 

 
 
2. Someone asked how they work with classical;They work really good after using the EQ I posted above. Like, really good. The only thing I prefer more so far is ie800 - which costs 700$ as is an IEM mind you 

 (from what I spent good hours testing classical with).
 
The details and tone are just right on, texutres are nice, soundstage as well. those instruments that usually get drowned out are present and shining. 
 
 
EDIT::: Not everything works as well even after ultra heavy EQ. My words of praise are for how the final result sounds like. I EQed all headphones I ever used / tested. The question is what can sound the best. 

 

[deteugma]

Great, thanks for sharing these! I'll try EQing, but I think I've decided to send mine back. I love them in nearly every respect, but I have complaints about them in nearly every respect, too (comfort, ergonomics, bass, mids, treble, overall sound). Maybe they'll sound different on my home DAC/amp (Nuforce HDP) and portable (xduoo xd-05), which I don't have currently, but I don't see myself getting past the comfort issue.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Great, thanks for sharing these! I'll try EQing, but I think I've decided to send mine back. I love them in nearly every respect, but I have complaints about them in nearly every respect, too (comfort, ergonomics, bass, mids, treble, overall sound). Maybe they'll sound different on my home DAC/amp (Nuforce HDP) and portable (xduoo xd-05), which I don't have currently, but I don't see myself getting past the comfort issue.

 
I actually found the comfort to be quite good. The general shape of the cups might be a bit small for me, and the cups might raise form the ears at times naturally. So I take a bit of time to snuggle my ears inside the cups and now the fit is much better and they don't fall off my ears. The headband is on the comfortable area although I don't recommend wearing them outside in full summer as the surface of the headband is not small and it might get hot. But at this moment in Romania, I can wear them 1-2 hours inside and outside without a problem 

 Even with the smaller cups, they are more comfrotable than me Dj1P and the only headphones that I found to be considerably more comfy are open albeit there are closed back models I'm yet to test.
 
Anyways, sound wise - I fully recommend trying a similar EQ to mine before deciding. This particular EQ will affect the sound in more than one way - it affects both the FR and the phase, it gives them a sound that easily competes with most TOTL headphones. I need to run considerably more tests on both FR graphs analysis and other type of tests before explaining why this happens, but 99C are really worth EQing, like all headphones afterall 

I EQ my ie800 at times as well, even tho it's a 700$ IEM.