[rustyvinyl]

How's the cable that comes with noir ? The one with mic....good quality? Any pics? Thanks

 

[Bansaku]

:::facepalm::

I really don't understand Antonio and Meze's position in general regarding the Pads, their decisions, secrecy…

From time to time, this controversy appears and we always get silence from Meze. And the curious thing is that we are all satisfied customers, that we have supported a small company, that we enjoy the sound that their products offer us.

In Meze they know better than anyone that there are sound differences between the different pads, if the controversy is real or exaggerated, if the sound curves are so different, etc ... and it would be good to indicate it, because I say again, we are their customers and we deserve that information, after talking about it for so long and with the promise of releases of pads that never arrive.

No one has problems with Meze's excellent customer service, or with the quality of their products, but this pads situation seem more like the secret formula of Coca-Cola or NASA files.

How difficult is it to tell the reality and the plans? The curious thing about all this is that simply selling the original pads on their website would end the controversy, they would earn money and we would all be so happy. And if the change of sound is not so evident between the different pads, a message in the forum or on their website would silence the rumors and polemics once and for all.

But no, it's groundhog day, over and over again.

Couldn't agree more. What gets me is that Tyll Henderson, who is highly regarded in the headphone community, spoke about the change in pads and included FR measurements in his critique. When the (now) legend hates them, Meze should have realized their mistake. The 99 Classics went from the Wall of Fame to simply meh with the new pads, and he couldn't recommend the headphones. That right there is a HUGE red flag. IMO, if people disliked the comfort of the original pads, they should have simply found an aftermarket pair that worked for them, much like what a heck of a lot of current 99 Classics owners ended up doing anyway. Meze should not have bent to the pressure of the "vocal minority" and stuck to their guns.

 

[Laurenesi]

Recently Massdrop started with EU drops. Hopefully the Noirs will get an EU release soon as well.

 

[sov73811]

I just saw Joshua Valour's review of the 99 Noir...I could almost swear that those "new" pads are really the original ones?

 

[Bansaku]

I just saw Joshua Valour's review of the 99 Noir...I could almost swear that those "new" pads are really the original ones?

They "seem" close to the original pads. I just did a quick measurement of the ones I have (original and new) and they are:
Original release: Outer - 95mm, 83mm,17mm Inner - 60mm, 44mm, 14mm
3rd gen standard: Outer - 104mm, 90mm, 24mm Inner - 64mm, 47mm, 18mm

Stock 99 (Noir & Classics) Meze Pad: Outer dims: 96.24mm, 85mm, 25mm (H,W,D) Inner dims: 60mm, 50mm (H,W,) Backing Material: Black Mesh
New “Original” Meze Pad: Outer dims: 104mm, 85mm, 24mm (H,W,D) Inner dims: 67.5mm, 50mm (H,W,) Backing Material: Black Mesh with foam this is from the massdrop page

Edit: Josh also said he heard no difference between the 99 Classics and Noir, and that the "new" pads offer up even more bass. I assure you, there is quite a noticeable difference in sound between the original pads and the standard larger ones.

 

[bcaulf17]

They "seem" close to the original pads. I just did a quick measurement of the ones I have (original and new) and they are:
Original release: Outer - 95mm, 83mm,17mm Inner - 60mm, 44mm, 14mm
3rd gen standard: Outer - 104mm, 90mm, 24mm Inner - 64mm, 47mm, 18mm



Edit: Josh also said he heard no difference between the 99 Classics and Noir, and that the "new" pads offer up even more bass. I assure you, there is quite a noticeable difference in sound between the original pads and the standard larger ones.

Just very strange that it is the other way around! The original should have less bass, but according to Mr. Valour, the extra Noir pads that are supposedly similar to the original have even more. Others here have posted that this is not the case though. And your measurements indicate that they seem close to the original. I wonder if it's that extra foam damping layer mentioned on the product page is what would cause it? This is getting to be rather confusing lol.

 

[Mhog55]

Additional set of pads look close to equally as thick as the standard. Just smaller dimensions, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

 

[Natarian]

Just very strange that it is the other way around! The original should have less bass, but according to Mr. Valour, the extra Noir pads that are supposedly similar to the original have even more. Others here have posted that this is not the case though. And your measurements indicate that they seem close to the original. I wonder if it's that extra foam damping layer mentioned on the product page is what would cause it? This is getting to be rather confusing lol.

You're putting too much stock in what one person perceives. I like his personality but he has said several things over the course of his reviews that did not make any sense to what I experienced. So as always, YMMV.

 

[bcaulf17]

You're putting too much stock in what one person perceives. I like his personality but he has said several things over the course of his reviews that did not make any sense to what I experienced. So as always, YMMV.

Well I’m still taking his word with a grain of salt. For all I know he put them on for 5 minutes. Just interesting that he did come to that conclusion. There just haven’t been many other thoughts on the matter yet or other reviews to get a fair consensus.

 

[Natarian]

Well I’m still taking his word with a grain of salt. For all I know he put them on for 5 minutes. Just interesting that he did come to that conclusion. There just haven’t been many other thoughts on the matter yet or other reviews to get a fair consensus.

Agreed. Mine are on the way!

 

[Zenrap518]

I can somewhat see where he's coming from, but I still think that this is odd. I don't have the original pads but i do use the PSB pads on mine, which are said to be similar to the sound on the original pads and even have the same foam layer. With the PSB pads, the sound at first seems like the same, but the bass is cleaner but also a bit more impactful. After getting used to them and then switching back though, it is a night and day difference. Bass sounds much cleaner.

 

[bcaulf17]

Agreed. Mine are on the way!

Looking forward to your impressions!

 

[trevinthefionaapplefan]

They "seem" close to the original pads. I just did a quick measurement of the ones I have (original and new) and they are:
Original release: Outer - 95mm, 83mm,17mm Inner - 60mm, 44mm, 14mm
3rd gen standard: Outer - 104mm, 90mm, 24mm Inner - 64mm, 47mm, 18mm



Edit: Josh also said he heard no difference between the 99 Classics and Noir, and that the "new" pads offer up even more bass. I assure you, there is quite a noticeable difference in sound between the original pads and the standard larger ones.

The original pads were actually 55mm x 40mm inner, I'm almost certain.

Couldn't agree more. What gets me is that Tyll Henderson, who is highly regarded in the headphone community, spoke about the change in pads and included FR measurements in his critique. When the (now) legend hates them, Meze should have realized their mistake. The 99 Classics went from the Wall of Fame to simply meh with the new pads, and he couldn't recommend the headphones. That right there is a HUGE red flag. IMO, if people disliked the comfort of the original pads, they should have simply found an aftermarket pair that worked for them, much like what a heck of a lot of current 99 Classics owners ended up doing anyway. Meze should not have bent to the pressure of the "vocal minority" and stuck to their guns.

Yes. Tyll mentioned years ago that the pads ruined the sound of these things. Took them from winner to "also-ran" status (in his words). I've mentioned this many times and you all called me a troll but now you're all saying "oh yeah, that's true..."

But I don't want to make this about me.

What you have to remember is that when the 99 Classics were originally released with the actual original pads, almost everyone on the thread had noted that the pads openings were small. It wasn't a "vocal minority." Check the original reviews for this headphone and early in this thread if you don't believe me.

:::facepalm::

I really don't understand Antonio and Meze's position in general regarding the Pads, their decisions, secrecy…

From time to time, this controversy appears and we always get silence from Meze. And the curious thing is that we are all satisfied customers, that we have supported a small company, that we enjoy the sound that their products offer us.

In Meze they know better than anyone that there are sound differences between the different pads, if the controversy is real or exaggerated, if the sound curves are so different, etc ... and it would be good to indicate it, because I say again, we are their customers and we deserve that information, after talking about it for so long and with the promise of releases of pads that never arrive.

No one has problems with Meze's excellent customer service, or with the quality of their products, but this pads situation seem more like the secret formula of Coca-Cola or NASA files.

How difficult is it to tell the reality and the plans? The curious thing about all this is that simply selling the original pads on their website would end the controversy, they would earn money and we would all be so happy. And if the change of sound is not so evident between the different pads, a message in the forum or on their website would silence the rumors and polemics once and for all.

But no, it's groundhog day, over and over again.

And yes, Meze seems to have abandoned this thread a while ago. And despite loyal fans wanting the old pads to be available again, Meze won't sell them anymore. It's not like they don't know how to make them. So who knows what's up with that. Being vocal about it is the only way they will consider selling them again though.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

I can somewhat see where he's coming from, but I still think that this is odd. I don't have the original pads but i do use the PSB pads on mine, which are said to be similar to the sound on the original pads and even have the same foam layer. With the PSB pads, the sound at first seems like the same, but the bass is cleaner but also a bit more impactful. After getting used to them and then switching back though, it is a night and day difference. Bass sounds much cleaner.

May I ask, what are the PSB's?

 

[Moak]

I am very curious about the differences. I bought a new Meze 99 classics very cheap last week. Yesterday I also bought the Massdrop Meze 99 Noir.