[monkey5949]

I now have 4 pad pairs for my Meze 99 Noir. As with anything disclaimer that I still need time with all these pads and this opinion may change. Currently have ~15 hours with small stock, 20 hr with Yaxi, 20 min with brainwavz and 1hour with big stock.

Best to worst for me:

#1 Yaxi stPads2

These are great. I'm still enjoying them. They tame the base a smidge while keeping solid mid/high and stuff. Going back and forth with the others, these might veil a little bit (I think I'm using this correctly) but that is the price for the tamed bass. Its like the difference between a loosely trained German Shepard (other pads) and a well trained German Shepard (Yaxi)....both are nice but I like the one that follows me without a leash behind my right leg and does what I ask of it.

#2 Stock small pads

Heavy handed bass but not overkill personally, more fun.....not super detailed which is nice when I want to kick back with the tunes. Also great for me comfort-wise (ive read negative comments about this). I enjoyed these from the get go- first format of the cans I tried.

#3 Brainwavz Oval Velour

I just got the Brainwavz Red Velour Oval pads and would agreed with some aforementioned comments about the space increase and bass with them.....trebles and mid might be a little cleaner but I started out listening to Hozier - Almost (sweet music) and It's like I can feel my eardrum membranes pushed (no pleasant) - curiosity peaked I moved to some rock - then deadmau5 and some Adele a capella......again clean and clearer mids/highs but the thing is a cannon with the space (deadmau5). Pretty consistent with what I found between the stock pads.....too much room seems to magnify the lows and thump to painfully overpowering levels. Little sad as I am a fan of the dark to red contrast. May try to adjust material directly over the driver to settle down the base. Also only have like 30 minutes listening time......need more to really eval but first impression.

#4 Stock big pads

These might even tie with the Brainwavz for sound.......bass isn't a cannon but muddies the sound .....continued problems with room in cup. Brainwavz take the win though because 1) Red! 2) Velour fabric feels nice. These are also narrower (the foam) than the small stock pads.....the space doesn't seem to do these any favors.

Here are the contenders: The best closest to top Yaxi, small, big, brainwavz

And profiles :L to R large stock, yaxi, small stock, Brainwvz

 

[erich6]

Yeah, I thought I might be running them through SE but I talked to a rep from IFI and the nano BL's port is both SE and balanced they said, so if you have a balanced 3.5mm It'll work as balanced and improve the sound quality over SE. I actually have 2 adapters for 3.5mm, one balanced, and one SE to see if this was actually true and I personally can hear an improvement with the balanced over the SE. Unless my mind is playing tricks on me, I might have to poke them again about that. Even if it's just SE I still have to say the sound improvement is incredible over the original cables and worth the extra $ for me personally.

Glad to know you are getting better quality with the silver balanced cables. I just ordered one for my 99 Classics to use with the A&K SR25 balanced port. That said, how can you know if the improvement is the cable or the iFi circuit? I always thought balanced circuitry would be the most likely reason for the change in sound and not the cable.

 

[jkpenrose]

Glad to know you are getting better quality with the silver balanced cables. I just ordered one for my 99 Classics to use with the A&K SR25 balanced port. That said, how can you know if the improvement is the cable or the iFi circuit? I always thought balanced circuitry would be the most likely reason for the change in sound and not the cable.

I didnt really notice a difference with silver in my 2 channel system...

But I did notice a difference with balanced using the meze balanced cable and es100.

I hear slightly better imaging and soundstage (depth and width)... Not night and day, but clearly noticeable to me - even if it is just 'in my head' I consistently prefer the balanced cable, at least from the es100

And I really like the 99s... They made listening fun again... I use the larger pads and eq the bass down... To my ears it is similar sounding to the smaller Gen 3 pads without eq - but a little more comfortable for longer listening sessions...

YMMV and all that...

Ive read great things about the ifi black - especially the dac implementation... But I haven't listened to one myself yet...

 

[erich6]

didnt really notice a difference with silver in my 2 channel system...

But I did notice a difference with balanced using the meze balanced cable and es100.

I hear slightly better imaging and soundstage (depth and width)... Not night and day, but clearly noticeable to me - even if it is just 'in my head' I consistently prefer the balanced cable, at least from the es100

And I really like the 99s... They made listening fun again... I use the larger pads and eq the bass down... To my ears it is similar sounding to the smaller Gen 3 pads without eq - but a little more comfortable for longer listening sessions...

YMMV and all that...

Right on. I just got the A&K SR25 this afternoon. Listened briefly with the 99 Classics plugged with the standard single ended cable. Like you, I really like the 99 Classics and first impression on the A&K SR25 is very good. The silver balanced cable arrives tomorrow night so I'll report tomorrow or on Monday how they compare.

 

[mblain]

Glad to know you are getting better quality with the silver balanced cables. I just ordered one for my 99 Classics to use with the A&K SR25 balanced port. That said, how can you know if the improvement is the cable or the iFi circuit? I always thought balanced circuitry would be the most likely reason for the change in sound and not the cable.

Good question, I ended up getting two 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapters. One is 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm balanced, and the other is 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm SE. I got them both since I wanted to use my headphones on other gear that only has 3.5mm SE as well. This also allowed me to see what had more affect to the sound, whether it was the balanced output or the cable. For the IFI nano I do notice a difference with the balanced adapter, the sound is a little cleaner and more detailed over the SE. That being said I will say the upgraded silver cable gave the 99s the biggest improvement over the balanced output. It just puts these headphones in another league for me. Between the tightened up bass and improved clarity I feel the silver cables are worth the investment.

 

[iFi audio]

Ive read great things about the ifi black - especially the dac implementation... But I haven't listened to one myself yet...

Thanks, we've been very happy with it, so once you get a chance to hear it, you might like it

Good question, I ended up getting two 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapters. One is 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm balanced, and the other is 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm SE. I got them both since I wanted to use my headphones on other gear that only has 3.5mm SE as well. This also allowed me to see what had more affect to the sound, whether it was the balanced output or the cable. For the IFI nano I do notice a difference with the balanced adapter, the sound is a little cleaner and more detailed over the SE. That being said I will say the upgraded silver cable gave the 99s the biggest improvement over the balanced output. It just puts these headphones in another league for me. Between the tightened up bass and improved clarity I feel the silver cables are worth the investment.

Thanks! The S-Balanced headphone out in nano iDSD likes balanced terminations a lot, so your findings are a spot on. If you'd like to know more about it, please see this short but informative document:

https://media.ifi-audio.com/wp-cont...DSD-BL-balanced-circuit-Tech-Note-Nov-xx-.pdf

Out of curiosity, which silver cable you got for your Meze 99s?

 

[mblain]

Thanks, we've been very happy with it, so once you get a chance to hear it, you might like it



Thanks! The S-Balanced headphone out in nano iDSD likes balanced terminations a lot, so your findings are a spot on. If you'd like to know more about it, please see this short but informative document:

https://media.ifi-audio.com/wp-cont...DSD-BL-balanced-circuit-Tech-Note-Nov-xx-.pdf

Out of curiosity, which silver cable you got for your Meze 99s?

I did a bit of digging and it felt the best option was the silver balanced cable directly from Meze. I got the 2.5mm balanced and of course, use the 3.5mm adapter. That way I have some flexibility for when/if I do end up getting a balanced system. Although I just upgraded to the Micro iDSD BL soooo, that's not going to happen for a while since this is a nice upgrade over the nano. The nano is still more portable and great for on the go but the micro is a great desktop/office combo and does a really nice job at making the 99's sing.

 

[iFi audio]

Although I just upgraded to the Micro iDSD BL soooo, that's not going to happen for a while since this is a nice upgrade over the nano. The nano is still more portable and great for on the go but the micro is a great desktop/office combo and does a really nice job at making the 99's sing.

Yes, although transportable rather than portable, micro iDSD BL is quite the step up over the nano version. Enjoy

 

[DaveElan]

Right on. I just got the A&K SR25 this afternoon. Listened briefly with the 99 Classics plugged with the standard single ended cable. Like you, I really like the 99 Classics and first impression on the A&K SR25 is very good. The silver balanced cable arrives tomorrow night so I'll report tomorrow or on Monday how they compare.

I am seriously considering the SR25, but i've read reviews saying that A&K software has frequent glitches. What's your experience?

Also, do you think the SR25 has enough output power to really drive the 99c?

 

[DaveElan]

I did a bit of digging and it felt the best option was the silver balanced cable directly from Meze. I got the 2.5mm balanced and of course, use the 3.5mm adapter. That way I have some flexibility for when/if I do end up getting a balanced system. Although I just upgraded to the Micro iDSD BL soooo, that's not going to happen for a while since this is a nice upgrade over the nano. The nano is still more portable and great for on the go but the micro is a great desktop/office combo and does a really nice job at making the 99's sing.

I thought the BL had wonderful soundstage and power, but eventually found it too fatiguing, and it was frustrating that it cannot be charged while using - unless you trickle charge while connected to a PC

 

[DaveElan]

Thanks, we've been very happy with it, so once you get a chance to hear it, you might like it



Thanks! The S-Balanced headphone out in nano iDSD likes balanced terminations a lot, so your findings are a spot on. If you'd like to know more about it, please see this short but informative document:

https://media.ifi-audio.com/wp-cont...DSD-BL-balanced-circuit-Tech-Note-Nov-xx-.pdf

Out of curiosity, which silver cable you got for your Meze 99s?

I agree. definitely worth the investment - the cable is so much nicer than the stock

 

[erich6]

I am seriously considering the SR25, but i've read reviews saying that A&K software has frequent glitches. What's your experience?

Also, do you think the SR25 has enough output power to really drive the 99c?

SR-25 has plenty of power single ended and even more so balanced to drive the 99C. It’s a nice DAP with some quirks. I posted first impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/astell-kern-sr25-the-next-a-norma-player.926918/post-15737449

 

[mblain]

I thought the BL had wonderful soundstage and power, but eventually found it too fatiguing, and it was frustrating that it cannot be charged while using - unless you trickle charge while connected to a PC

I can see how some people would find it fatiguing. It's definitely a full-body sound. There's weight behind the music which I can see be too much for some people. The 99c enhances that full-body even further so depending on your tastes it may be too much of a good thing. With a more clinical sounding headphone, it can balance it nicely. I actually found my active Kef LSX speakers sounded a little too clinical and thin so I added the ifi nano iOne to help balance the sound better. It helped add that body and warmth to the music that was missing before.

 

[ChoColostrum]

With the price it's going for now, is it still a nice buy soundwise?

 

[jkpenrose]

I actually found my active Kef LSX speakers sounded a little too clinical and thin

I picked up a pair of KEF LSX a few months ago for the office... They sound great, but like you, I found they tend toward the clinical and don't sound very natural to me (almost to clean, modern and digital) - still deciding if I am going to keep them - have seen very few reviews that mentioned that - so maybe it is just a preference thing