[Leopanda]

I agree on all accounts. I own both and the only similarities is that they're both on the warmer sound. The treble on the Elear absolutely ruins the overall sound signature. If the treble wasn't as jacked up as it is, this would be a really nice headphone. That's why so many people are dumping them and they're selling for under $500. I heard Sonorworks really helps them as I may check it out. The mid suck-out that most complain about isn't nearly as poor to me as it is to others.
I prefer both the 99's and Neo to the Elear on my desktop and portable. But hey...that's me

Tried to use Meze at home with R2R 11 so many times, but they can't get even close to modded TH-X00 performance. At the same time they are superb for portable and office use!

 

[koover]

Tried to use Meze at home with R2R 11 so many times, but they can't get even close to modded TH-X00 performance. At the same time they are superb for portable and office use!

Yeah, I have the modded Purplehearts with the driver dampening and Ori pads, but they're completely different animals and kinda unfair to compare. The Purplehearts are focused on sub bass, treble and are V shaped while the 99's are not. The 99's are much more neutral with the emphasis in it's bass, are much darker, better mids, smooth creamy treble but don't have the sub bass of the modded PH. The 99's also don't have the clarity and detail in the treble like the PH's. They compliment each other beautifully and are great companions sitting on my ears....at different times of course

 

[Leopanda]

Yeah, I have the modded Purplehearts with the driver dampening and Ori pads, but they're completely different animals and kinda unfair to compare. The Purplehearts are focused on sub bass, treble and are V shaped while the 99's are not. The 99's are much more neutral with the emphasis in it's bass, are much darker, better mids, smooth creamy treble but don't have the sub bass of the modded PH. The 99's also don't have the clarity and detail in the treble like the PH's. They compliment each other beautifully and are great companions sitting on my ears....at different times of course

Yeah. Koover, you need to try ebonies or teaks, seriously. They are meze 99's on steroids.

 

[soundboy94]

Yeah. Koover, you need to try ebonies or teaks, seriously. They are meze 99's on steroids.

Are those pads you are talking about?

 

[Leopanda]

Are those pads you are talking about?

No, talking about massdrop version of Fostex biodyna headphones TH-x00. They are available in 3 wood variants, each noticably changes sound signature.

You may read more in related thread.

 

[HungryPanda]

I have both TX-00 Purplehearts and Meze 99 Classics. Both amazing but both are left in the dust by my Denon D7200's

 

[Shane D]

I have both TX-00 Purplehearts and Meze 99 Classics. Both amazing but both are left in the dust by my Denon D7200's

YOU have a very nice collection!

Shane D

 

[sauronmordor756]

Hey I’m choosing between the TH-X00 Mahagony and the Meze 99 Classics. Which would be better for bass, vocals and trebles? Which would have better imaging. Also I wouldn’t be using an amp. I would mostly use them to play video games, watch YouTube videos and listen to Hamilton.

 

[koover]

I don't have the Mahogany but do have the Purpleheart and obviously the Meze 99 classic.
For portable, the 99's would be better just because you do receive 2 sets of cables (one for portable use with a microphone) and they are so easy to power. Not to mention they sound great as I know you've read a lot of feedback on this thread. No amp is needed and they sound great and are easily powered straight from your phone.
The TH-X (R) now has a detachable cable but I didn't look to see the length.
The TH-X has great detail, slamming bass, extended treble that isn't sibilant (which will be a major difference between the 2) and the TH-X is much more V shaped (which pushes the vocals more to the background) versus the 99's. They also are pretty easy to power but not like the 99's. which are monsters. I've never owned another headphone that is this easy to power.
Both are great HP's for the money and now that the TH-X (R) has a detachable cable, it makes them that much more attractive as that's one of the biggest drawbacks to me as I NEVER use them for portable use as that cable is like a vacuum cleaner cord. For me, the Meze all the way for portable use but the TH-X is a great headphone so if you can deal with the cable, you have a difficult choice to make. I can't take that cable and it absolutely ruins it for portable use.

 

[soundboy94]

Ok I just received today the Brainwavz Velour Angled Pads. I'll skip the fact that one of the pads had a tear so that was pretty dissapointing when I opened the box. Now the sound...God I literally lost all the bass on my Classics with the angled Velour pads and also 20% of the volume is pretty much gone. Gonna return them ASAP....overall sound quality went down using these pads. Is there any point of trying to order the sheepskin pads? I'm looking for subass improvement.

 

[Lurk650]

Ok I just received today the Brainwavz Velour Angled Pads. I'll skip the fact that one of the pads had a tear so that was pretty dissapointing when I opened the box. Now the sound...God I literally lost all the bass on my Classics with the angled Velour pads and also 20% of the volume is pretty much gone. Gonna return them ASAP....overall sound quality went down using these pads. Is there any point of trying to order the sheepskin pads? I'm looking for subass improvement.

Yes, velour pads lose bass if headphones aren't tuned to have them IMO, even Hybrid velour I had with another set of headphones.

Sheepskin are much different, they clean up bass and increase just a tad of top end. Mids aren't sacrificed though

 

[soundboy94]

I think I will just invest in a DAC and hopefully I will get better sound out of my Samsung S8. Through my HP OMEN with Bang&Olufsen Built-In DAC they sound so good. And through my mixer as well.

 

[superuser1]

Just A/B 'd stock SE cable with a balanced 2.5mm cable i got from ebay. I certainly feel the bass has tightened a bit and to me the mids are more forward compared to the stock. Was listening to Pink Floyd - When the Tigers Broke Free. I felt a general sense of better detail retrieval. Used out of the Micro iDSD BL and Sony zx300.

EDIT: Forgot to mention this album

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

sat down at the store and thought "what headphone do I want to listen to..." I was looking at the walls and I was about to pull the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow Closed. I then thought "I want something a little more engaging then that" so I pulled the walnut Meze 99 off the wall. I really like these for an engaging listen when I want a closed back. Its my first pick here for that.

Also an easy pick if I want something that doesn't beat me over the head with details and is a little warmer. Listening to the Utopia/Clear or HD800 isn't worth the neutrality and detail if I am not paying attention to it... These are just great all rounders in my opinion.

 

[kdoof]

So my misadventures in modding continue, and I'm so glad they do -- my Meze 99 Classics are officially the best headphones in my collections now.

Basically with the mod as detailed in my previous post, the midbass was a tad over accentuated compared to the rest of the soundscape, which was made more apparent by the tamed subbass, and the treble felt a tad recessed.

So I added a half strip of tape to the top and bottom of the duct tape sleeve I outlined from my previous post (at an angle so there's a gradual slope) so now the whole side is effectively taped to some degree.

And God damn if these don't sound absolutely perfect now! They are so utterly revealing yet tastefully impactful. The timbre on the headphones are so amazing when the mids are fully available to your ears; snare drums sound especially sweet. Reverb is extra resolving now as well, and there's still a nice warm subbass that gracefully compliments the midbass, but never intrudes into the mids and uppermids.

With this mod these headphones are sublime. I'll update my post with new pictures of the latest addition, but I really recommend owners to experiment with using tape to reduce the size of the front of the pads, so the driver is angle towards and brought a bit closer to your ear. It really is easy and totally reversible