[mindhead1]

Honestly I found the bass of the meze 99 classics a little too powerful .. I was hoping that with the smaller pads of the noir, you still have enough powerful bass but a more balanced overall sound .. Has anyone made the comparison?

I have the Noir and the mids and treble are more forward with the smaller pads. The bass tightens up but is still present but not dominant.

That said, I prefer the larger pads from a comfort perspective. Also, after listening to them for 30+ hours either my ears have learned to block out the boomy bass I initially heard or the headphones broke in a little. I’m not going to argue either side. I’ll just say that while the sound has a slight bass emphasis it’s much more balanced to my ear than it was at first.

I’m also using balanced cables from my ES100.

 

[Gioacchino]

I have the Noir and the mids and treble are more forward with the smaller pads. The bass tightens up bit is still present but not dominant.

That said, I prefer the larger pads from a comfort perspective. Also, after listening to them for 30+ hours I’ve my ears have learned to block out the boomy bass I initially heard or the headphones broke in a little. I’m not going to argue either side. I’ll just say that while the sound has a slight bass emphasis it’s much more balanced to ear than it was at first.

I’m also using balanced cables from my ES100.

Does ES 100 perform well with meze? Is this a big step compared to a smartphone with an average dac?

 

[Lurk650]

Does ES 100 perform well with meze? Is this a big step compared to a smartphone with an average dac?

ES100 is all I use for portable, no more DAPs

 

[mindhead1]

Does ES 100 perform well with meze? Is this a big step compared to a smartphone with an average dac?

IMO, the ES100 is the best money I’ve spent on audio in the last couple of years. It really changed my opinion of Bluetooth.

Is it better than USB from you phone to a DAC? That depends on the DAC and your desire for HiRes audio. For me, the ES100 is an awesome portable solution. Drives most of my headphones really well.

 

[Gioacchino]

Is it better than USB from you phone to a DAC? That depends on the DAC and your desire for HiRes audio. For me, the ES100 is an awesome portable solution. Drives most of my headphones really well.
[/QUOTE]

IMO, the ES100 is the best money I’ve spent on audio in the last couple of years. It really changed my opinion of Bluetooth.

Is it better than USB from you phone to a DAC? That depends on the DAC and your desire for HiRes audio. For me, the ES100 is an awesome portable solution. Drives most of my headphones really well.

I was asking you if compared to a smartphone, the es 100 audio quality improves a lot

 

[mindhead1]

Is it better than USB from you phone to a DAC? That depends on the DAC and your desire for HiRes audio. For me, the ES100 is an awesome portable solution. Drives most of my headphones really well.

I was asking you if compared to a smartphone, the es 100 audio quality improves a lot
[/QUOTE]

The Meze 99s sound good directly from my iPhone with the Apple dongle. They sound good directly from the headphone jack of my iPad. You don’t need an amp for the 99s to perform.

 

[Mightygrey]

I've been using these pads that I found randomly via Amazon for about a month now. Comfort-wise they're an incredible upgrade. They're made out of an incredibly soft micro-fibre, with nice, soft foam that gives my ears a ton more room.

They're almost semi-open now - the pads are fairly 'breathable' and take them from 6.5/10 to about a 4.75/10 in terms of isolation.

They also completely change the sound signature. For the better? It depends on your preferences. The biggest effect is the complete flattening of the mid-bass 'hump', and gives the 99's a flatter, more linear bass transition into the mid-range. The signature warmth is largely gone, giving them a drier, snappier tone. I actually really like it, and I find that I'm using them more than the OG stock pads.

 

[PopZeus]

I saw them but honestly I don't understand much from the graphs ..

Ok. The way I understand it, new smaller pads were designed to mimic the sound signature of the Meze 99 Classics when they were originally came out, before the first pad revision. So, watch a few reviews of the 99 Classics from when they first came out (3 years or more ago) to get a feel for the 99 Noir with the new smaller pads. I think the review from Tyll of Innerfidelity is a good place to start.

 

[Gioacchino]

Ok. The way I understand it, new smaller pads were designed to mimic the sound signature of the Meze 99 Classics when they were originally came out, before the first pad revision. So, watch a few reviews of the 99 Classics from when they first came out (3 years or more ago) to get a feel for the 99 Noir with the new smaller pads. I think the review from Tyll of Innerfidelity is a good place to start.

But the pads of the noir already inserted are those of the meze 99 classics?

 

[GravityEyelids]

Question for you guys. I have a 6XX and TH-X00. I have been so tempted to pick up the Meze 99 for the longest time.

Is it different enough from the TH-X00 to warrant a purchase? Or should I go with a planar? Meze 99 is attractive because it would be much more mobile than my other two main over ears.

 

[buke9]

Question for you guys. I have a 6XX and TH-X00. I have been so tempted to pick up the Meze 99 for the longest time.

Is it different enough from the TH-X00 to warrant a purchase? Or should I go with a planar? Meze 99 is attractive because it would be much more mobile than my other two main over ears.

Quite a bit different than the TH-X00’s . The Meze are easy to drive so yes a bit more mobile.

 

[PopZeus]

But the pads of the noir already inserted are those of the meze 99 classics?

Correct. Installed pads are stock 99 Classics. The extra pads that come with the Noir are the same new smaller pads being sold on Meze's store.

 

[Tuneslover]

Do yourself a favor and pick up the yaxi stpads 2 . It cleans up and tightens the bass and gives more room for the mids to shine. These are the best mids I've ever heard in any headphone. Just crazy delicious.

Hey thanks for the Yaxi Pads suggestion. I used their FIT CHART and 3 potential pads appear to work (ST PAD2, Fix 90, Comfort MSR7). Any particular reason that you chose ST PAD2 over the others?

 

[qboogie]

I scoured this thread for the most well-received pads and they seemed to be them. Never heard of the other options

 

[Jonathan Lerner]

I heard that the Brainwavz hybrid pads change the sound for the better but the audio Technica specific ones fit the dimensions of the Meze better does anyone have any experience with these or how making the pads a little smaller and thinner would impact the sound