[Zenrap518]

Could someone please try listening to this song and say if the bass bleeds into the vocals in the first 15 seconds?

 

[Lurk650]

How can you tell the difference in the pad revisions, not sure what I have since mine we'r bought used

 

[Zenrap518]

How can you tell the difference in the pad revisions, not sure what I have since mine we'r bought used

Are the insides of your pads smooth, or wrinkly? Bansaku said earlier that if the insides are smooth, you have the old ones. If they are wrinkly, they're the bigger ones. I found this to be true.

 

[Bansaku]

Are the insides of your pads smooth, or wrinkly? Bansaku said earlier that if the insides are smooth, you have the old ones. If they are wrinkly, they're the bigger ones. I found this to be true.

And sadly one can not purchase the original "small" pads from Meze. The only way to obtain a pair is to get lucky when purchasing the 99 Classics; After the first run ran out, Meze switched to the 2nd gen. larger pads because of the massive vocal outcry of "my ears are too big" err, uhm... I mean "the pads are too small for my ears". Meze respectfully caved to the pressure and made the pads larger for the later runs of the 99 Classics, and eventually the 99 Neo. IMO (and Tyl's) this changed the sound too much. Even after the pads are fully broken in, I will admit, the bass is a little too strong by comparison albeit the mids and treble fell back into place. Kudos to Meze for listening to the community and giving the people what they wanted, but at the same time alienating those who prefer the smaller pads, and the accompanying sound. Given the pad size was probably the only negative the 99 Classics received, I can't fault Meze for the switch.

 

[Zenrap518]

And sadly one can not purchase the original "small" pads from Meze. The only way to obtain a pair is to get lucky when purchasing the 99 Classics; After the first run ran out, Meze switched to the 2nd gen. larger pads because of the massive vocal outcry of "my ears are too big" err, uhm... I mean "the pads are too small for my ears". Meze respectfully caved to the pressure and made the pads larger for the later runs of the 99 Classics, and eventually the 99 Neo. IMO (and Tyl's) this changed the sound too much. Even after the pads are fully broken in, I will admit, the bass is a little too strong by comparison albeit the mids and treble fell back into place. Kudos to Meze for listening to the community and giving the people what they wanted, but at the same time alienating those who prefer the smaller pads, and the accompanying sound. Given the pad size was probably the only negative the 99 Classics received, I can't fault Meze for the switch.

I fully agree with you. If anyone has a spare pair of PSB M4U1 pads, i recommend trying them on the Meze's, as those apparently make them sound like the Meze's with the old pads. I cannot confirm this, as i haven't heard the Meze's with the old pads, but they do tighten up the bass while still keeping the fun, musical sound and bass impact of the Meze's. They make the Meze's (almost) perfect for me. I gave my pair of PSB M4U1's to a family member because of how much i liked the Meze's, especially with the PSB pads.

 

[The Correlation]

I've posted my pair up for sale with the small pads if anyone's interested.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-...ver-brand-new-small-pads-extra-cables.878373/

 

[Phronesis]

If I needed a closed-back and my budget was say $500 or even maybe $750, I'd gladly buy the Classic 99 and consider it an excellent value. I'm actually looking for good closed-back, and my budget is more like $2K, but I may still buy the Classic 99 anyway.

After a two-week trial, I went ahead and bought the 99 Classics. I don't 'need' it, and am still in search of a really high-end closed-back, but the Meze is too good to pass up for the price, and delivers a listening experience which I consistently find to be quite enjoyable.

 

[Lurk650]

Couple of things,

Got my Silver cable from Triton Audio for these. Stereo imaging is much improved making these sound more spacious, sounds more crisp and refined treble wise. Bass sounds about the same, maybe tightened up a bit.

On that note, that's using the Sheepskin Brainwavz pads. I'm pretty sure the stock pads I have are first revision. I swapped them back on to listen, drivers are closer to my ear so they aren't nearly as comfortable, but because of this mids are a bit more forward losing out on spaciousness, bass for me seems to be actually increased while having the same tightness. I prefer the Sheepskin overall.

So, I will let the pads go for the cost of shipping, $5. US only. First person to PM me.

 

[tili]

The Brainwavz Sheepskin Memory Foam pads definitely help in this regard. There's been lots of pad swapping in this thread and others have a preference for different pads but there are alternatives

i have found these pads to add some sizzle

 

[Phronesis]

Couple of things,

Got my Silver cable from Triton Audio for these. Stereo imaging is much improved making these sound more spacious, sounds more crisp and refined treble wise. Bass sounds about the same, maybe tightened up a bit.

On that note, that's using the Sheepskin Brainwavz pads. I'm pretty sure the stock pads I have are first revision. I swapped them back on to listen, drivers are closer to my ear so they aren't nearly as comfortable, but because of this mids are a bit more forward losing out on spaciousness, bass for me seems to be actually increased while having the same tightness. I prefer the Sheepskin overall.

So, I will let the pads go for the cost of shipping, $5. US only. First person to PM me.

You might want to try a blind test to see if the cable swap observation holds up. I’m not saying it’s impossible for the cable to make a difference, but misperception is quite possible on something like that.

Pads are certainly likely to affect the sound.

 

[Lurk650]

You might want to try a blind test to see if the cable swap observation holds up. I’m not saying it’s impossible for the cable to make a difference, but misperception is quite possible on something like that.

Pads are certainly likely to affect the sound.

I've been using Sheepskin pads for months. I'm still not completely sold on Copper vs Silver but I do believe in Balanced vs Single Ended. The imaging and spaciousness of sound has def been improved with the balanced cable.

 

[dafos58]

Has anyone tried these balanced cables from ebay?
Cable with 2.5mm Trrs Balanced Male for Meze 99 Classics / Focal Elear headphone

Received them today, waited for only 2 weeks, so that really wasn't a problem. First impression: quality is not any problem, they fit excellent. They could have been shorter for my taste (about 1.7 meter before the T split) A bit microphonic, but they really open up the sound of the 99. The bass is much more in controll. Will have to try them more of course to get a further impression. But for this price I think it's more than worth it!

 

[superuser1]

Received them today, waited for only 2 weeks, so that really wasn't a problem. First impression: quality is not any problem, they fit excellent. They could have been shorter for my taste (about 1.7 meter before the T split) A bit microphonic, but they really open up the sound of the 99. The bass is much more in controll. Will have to try them more of course to get a further impression. But for this price I think it's more than worth it!

Thats is awesome news indeed! So no plug fitting issues and the likes?
Also if you could please clarify as to which pads yours using at the moment?
Thanks

 

[dafos58]

Thats is awesome news indeed! So no plug fitting issues and the likes?
Also if you could please clarify as to which pads yours using at the moment?
Thanks

The plugs fit excellent, not any problem at all (see picture). I still use the standard pads I received. My 99 is only a few weeks old. At first because of the bass I wasn't a great fan of it, but now I'm getting more interested to give it a further try.

Oeps uploading picute didn't work I've got now idea why not.

 

[dafos58]