[Murmel]

Any updates in the pad switching business? I'd really love to have bigger pads on these cans without screwing up the sound.

 

[sabloke]

My sheepskin angled Brainwardz pads are on their way. Will definitely try them on the Classics and let you know, probably within a week.

 

[Murmel]

My sheepskin angled Brainwardz pads are on their way. Will definitely try them on the Classics and let you know, probably within a week.

Sounds great! I was tempting to get the Brainwavz non-angled sheepskin pads myself, but first I am waiting for my ZMF Ori pads to arrive (somewhere in the near future hopefully).

 

[shuto77]

My sheepskin angled Brainwardz pads are on their way. Will definitely try them on the Classics and let you know, probably within a week.

 

  Sounds great! I was tempting to get the Brainwavz non-angled sheepskin pads myself, but first I am waiting for my ZMF Ori pads to arrive (somewhere in the near future hopefully).

 
I have no testing to support this, but I would assume that the Brainwavz flat pads *should be* good because they're similar in shape to the stock ones, just bigger, and made of better materials. 
 
I love the ZMF Ori pads. I have them on my Oris (surprisingly enough!) and my E-MU Teaks. They are extremely comfortable and sound great. I've never had a ZMF pad make a headphone sound obviously worse; unfortunately, the Brainwavz pads are a total mixed bag.

 

[peter123]

I'm pretty sure that the HM5 pads will be a loose fit on the 99C, not sure if it'll be ideal for portable usage......

 

[shuto77]

I'm pretty sure that the HM5 pads will be a loose fit on the 99C, not sure if it'll be ideal for portable usage......

 
Yes, you may be right. But to me, large pads would be less of a deterrent for portable use than that giant headband it uses. I don't consider these headphones particularly portable because of the headband.

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
Yes, you may be right. But to me, large pads would be less of a deterrent for portable use than that giant headband it uses. I don't consider these headphones particularly portable because of the headband.

 
I am actually wearing 99C in public more than any other headphone. 
 
I agree about the headband being a bit large, but that actually made things even better for me as it added comfort. We are still in winter / spring in Romania and we didn't have summer yet but as Romania is a 4 seasons country, I think that 99C find their usage all year round for me. 
 
By the way, still using 99C, still loving them! 
 
Had to travel by train - 4 - 5 hours trip. Couldn't had lived through it without 99C. I couldn't hear any of the train chatter (ad it was really crowded) nor did them leak any sound to the people around me - and I listened quite loud. Sweet travel companion! 

 

[sov73811]

  Hey folks, got some updated impressions with the larger pads. I swapped out the pads for the originals to get a better gauge on the differences and there is a slight revision to make. Firstly, everything I said about the larger pads still holds true but I need to add that the change I hear is " subtle but noticeable ". In regards to headphones, it's akin to "not all" when talking about hot social political issues; Something I always assume from others but one never knows what the recipient is thinking.
 
Anyway, now that that is out of the way, I do have to make an adjustment/correction to my impressions, and that would be in regards to the bass. I do find the mid-bass to be more controlled, more solid, however my sub-bass impressions needs an adjustment. Sub-bass weight and rumble actually is waaaaaaay up from the stock pads. When I was putting the new pads through my series of tests, I never actually took the time to chill and listen to my random playlist. In other words, test tracks be damned as real world listening (as it were) gave me a better grasp on how the sub-bass was performing, and it actually got a huge boost! The larger pads brings the sub-bass curve to the levels of the Momentums', which is fantastic! But some may not like the change. While I do enjoy the extra rumble and weight, it did take some time to adjust. My brain has already accepted the extra air, but still is coping with the bass boost. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if the sub-bass is trampling the mid-bass and lower mids, nor is it drowning out or muddying the sound, but it is quite a bit stronger.
 
Another change I found is that my ears do not distort when playing at higher volume! I normally keep the setting around -22 dB (give or take a few dB because of DR differences), anything higher and my ears say "No way!", which is why I am not too partial to IEMs because they all distort my ears! However, the larger pads allow me to significantly boost the volume by a good 5-6 dB before my ears give me the "finger" and decide to go home! I am figuring that the extra air is responsible for keeping the sound under control. This is also why I figure I hear added transparency and smoothness. Perhaps the sound with the stock pads didn't have enough time to fully resonate before it reached my ears/skull due to lack of space? I duno, I ain't no engineer!
 
All in all, I am loving the new pads. I am sure after many many hours of break-in that the sound will change again (as it does with any pads), probably bringing down the level of the sub-bass. I suppose only time will tell! Obviously I will report back on this topic when I feel it's warranted. 
 

 
One little thing that fixed the extra bass for me was simple: throw the pads underneath a bunch of heavy books! Don't worry; they'll mostly retain their shape with 48 hours of weight. Made them more comfy for me too. 
 

My sheepskin angled Brainwardz pads are on their way. Will definitely try them on the Classics and let you know, probably within a week.

Hmm....Problem is those Brainwavz pads are going to put your ears waaaay too far from the drivers causing them to sound tinny. At least, that's what my experience was.
 
 
Speaking of experience...I promised an Oppo Vs. Meze match didn't I? Well...work, life, my brother sneaking them into his room (who could blame him?), and just general puzzlement delayed that for a long time.
 
I can't really give a full comparison but I can give you this right now: I am CONFLICTED.
 
Oppo PM-3:
- Neutral-ish. In every sense of the meaning.
- Tyll Herstens said they're "boring" but while the treble is rolled off and subdued I've listened to Polk and JBL headphones before. I know what terrible treble sounds like (read: none). 
- You can hear it all. All the details. All. The. Details.
 
Meze:
- Bass is marvelous. Kicks nicely but not hard enough you fall to the floor.
- Treble has a lot more detail. But not Audio Technica level detail (and that's okay)
- You get a slightly larger sound stage. But both Meze and Oppo "stages" are more intimate than say, the NAD Viso HP50 or the Sennheiser Momentum. 
 
It's a situation where for me there is no clear winner on what "sounds better." Where I like stuff in the Oppo, I'll start missing things from the Meze and vice versa. Both give their own unique experiences and for you audiophiles out there, you are probably like
 

 
But I'm guessing most of you already do. 
 
And...With the Meze Classics 99 I could utterly never listen to another pair of headphones again. But what's the fun in that right? 

 

[sabloke]

Make sure you try the Nightowls. They're utterly different from both PM-3 and Meze and are a great complement to both.

 

[dany111777]

A small and personal review... if anyone is interested. 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/meze-99-classics/reviews/18311

 

[Chuck Canada]

I have had my 99 Classics for about two weeks now, I used two files from this website for the burn in process I did 40 hours of pink noise as well as sinlog2 for my burn in. I do the same on all my headphones and I do it just a touch past listening volume. "That was two weeks ago roughly when I did that''
 
These headphones are great like every says the build quality and materials are top notch so I'm not going to just repeat what every says, they are well worth it, they are awesome for 310$ Canadian. At that price you probably can not get a better deal.
 
 
 
Pros: Gaming on PC, these are beast gaming headphones the way they are tuned is just perfect for gaming and movies, very clear and open sounding with some really nice bass when you want it. "I prefer these for gaming over my DT990 cans, hands down'' 
 
Listening to any new age music like Lindsey Stirling, Peter Hollens, Pentatonix and any music that has a lot of bass, these headphones do have wonderful bass and they stay tight and don't get sloppy when the frequency gets low, just wonderful tight bass I can't say anymore. If you listen to Rap and RnB these will sound great. Same goes for anything electronic like Hardcore, Rotterdamn, House, Dubstep etc.
 
Audio clarity overall is great so I wouldn't recommend mp3's at all, just for ****s I downloaded a few songs I have on I-Tunes in mp3 format and swapped back and forth between flac and mp3 its a noticeable difference. So clarity is great they seem very accurate. 
 
 
 
Cons: Recesses mids.
 
Listening to different types of metal, Metallica, Nightwish, Disturbed, Iron Maiden. Anything in the metal genera as well as most Jazz and Blues really needs good up front mids in my opinion or at least to my ear it does anyhow, these cans lack that and then some. Luckily it's not hard to tweak an e.q. and get them to do what you want but in all honesty for some music if you aren't a bit of a bass head these might not be for you. 
 
 
Lastly like I mentioned earlier everything people say about build quality and packaging, the case they come in etc that is all spot on I just don't like to really repeat whats already been said. I just wanted to do a review on how I feel the sound is on these headphones.
 
Overall for what it is worth I couldn't be happier with these.

 

[Preachy1]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed (my search abilities are limited).  I've the Walnut/Silver set for a few weeks now.  Love them a lot, so much that when a really good deal turned up on eBay, I grabbed a set of the Maple/Silver cans.  1st I noticed is that the ear pieces are just slightly smaller and a bit more shallow than the Walnut pair.  Also, the cable on the Walnut set is sheathed up to the Y junction, but only rubberized from there up to the cups.  The cable on the Maple set is fully sheathed all the way up, which seems to add to the microphonics (not good, but not a huge deal).  Anyone know why the cables would be different from set to set?  Did Meze change the design at some point?
 
Just askin'!
 
Thanks in advance,

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Forgive me if this has already been discussed (my search abilities are limited).  I've the Walnut/Silver set for a few weeks now.  Love them a lot, so much that when a really good deal turned up on eBay, I grabbed a set of the Maple/Silver cans.  1st I noticed is that the ear pieces are just slightly smaller and a bit more shallow than the Walnut pair.  Also, the cable on the Walnut set is sheathed up to the Y junction, but only rubberized from there up to the cups.  The cable on the Maple set is fully sheathed all the way up, which seems to add to the microphonics (not good, but not a huge deal).  Anyone know why the cables would be different from set to set?  Did Meze change the design at some point?
 
Just askin'!
 
Thanks in advance,

 
Whoa 

I heard folks talkin' about two pads versions but not two cables version .. 
 
What if the seller took the fabirc off the cable themselves (since I understand you pair was second hand) ? 
 
 

  I have had my 99 Classics for about two weeks now, I used two files from this website for the burn in process I did 40 hours of pink noise as well as sinlog2 for my burn in. I do the same on all my headphones and I do it just a touch past listening volume. "That was two weeks ago roughly when I did that''
 
These headphones are great like every says the build quality and materials are top notch so I'm not going to just repeat what every says, they are well worth it, they are awesome for 310$ Canadian. At that price you probably can not get a better deal.
 
 
 
Pros: Gaming on PC, these are beast gaming headphones the way they are tuned is just perfect for gaming and movies, very clear and open sounding with some really nice bass when you want it. "I prefer these for gaming over my DT990 cans, hands down'' 
 
Listening to any new age music like Lindsey Stirling, Peter Hollens, Pentatonix and any music that has a lot of bass, these headphones do have wonderful bass and they stay tight and don't get sloppy when the frequency gets low, just wonderful tight bass I can't say anymore. If you listen to Rap and RnB these will sound great. Same goes for anything electronic like Hardcore, Rotterdamn, House, Dubstep etc.
 
Audio clarity overall is great so I wouldn't recommend mp3's at all, just for ****s I downloaded a few songs I have on I-Tunes in mp3 format and swapped back and forth between flac and mp3 its a noticeable difference. So clarity is great they seem very accurate. 
 
 
 
Cons: Recesses mids.
 
Listening to different types of metal, Metallica, Nightwish, Disturbed, Iron Maiden. Anything in the metal genera as well as most Jazz and Blues really needs good up front mids in my opinion or at least to my ear it does anyhow, these cans lack that and then some. Luckily it's not hard to tweak an e.q. and get them to do what you want but in all honesty for some music if you aren't a bit of a bass head these might not be for you. 
 
 
Lastly like I mentioned earlier everything people say about build quality and packaging, the case they come in etc that is all spot on I just don't like to really repeat whats already been said. I just wanted to do a review on how I feel the sound is on these headphones.
 
Overall for what it is worth I couldn't be happier with these.

 
 
Whoa. I actually think them to be mid - forward 

 
And I'm saying this after listening to pretty much the same metal bands as you sometimes. I probably wouldn't want the mids any more forward, or rather my EQ adds a bit to the upper mids and takes some bite from the lower mids 

 

[Preachy1]

"What if the seller took the fabirc off the cable themselves (since I understand you pair was second hand) ? "
 
It's possible, as both sets I purchased used.  If they did take the fabric off the Walnut set, they did a very clean job! And it reduces the microphonics a whole lot!

 

[Preachy1]

If you look at the pics on the website, it appears that the cables are stripped from the Y connection up.
 
https://www.mezeaudio.com/collections/accessories/products/1-2m-cable-with-mic