[tret]

I think the mid bass bloom is worse at 125Hz, myself. I tend to take that band down more than the 250Hz band. That cleaned up the bass bloat more effectively for me.

I don't generally mess around with EQ tuning, what settings have you found that work best for you?

 

[bzippy]

I think the mid bass bloom is worse at 125Hz, myself. I tend to take that band down more than the 250Hz band. That cleaned up the bass bloat more effectively for me.

+1

I tweak a little for different recordings (and sometimes even no eq), but I usually start here:
31: -1
63: -2
125: -2
250: -1

BUT I just decided to finally try the Yaxi pads that so many here seem to love, to find out for myself whether they bring the bass down at all. I'm currently using the standard stock pads, which I'm pretty sure are the larger ones (bought 99C new this past winter). I'll report what i hear when I get them.

 

[koover]

I wear glasses and I find it interesting that when I wear my glasses regularly under the cups like any normal person would do, they are not to boomy. If you do wear glasses and don't flip the arms over the cups, give it a try. If you want bloomy bass?.... just listen to the 99's this way. For all my other headphones, I just flip the arms of the glasses over the cups to get a proper seal while being able to enjoy the intended sound of that particular headphone. For me, I don't need different pads to control the bloom and uneven sound. Just wearing glasses does the trick for me. Maybe trying the Yaxi's will fix things even more. Thanx @kalibur for that link

 

[mblain]

One final thought. I can’t recall the sound signature of the CD3000s but the look and sense of excitement I had with them originally reminds me of the 99s. They’re so lightweight and isolate well. I’m really impressed and happy. I’ve wondered if today’s closed back could even be close to an open back from a fidelity point of view.

For $200-$300 there’s a capable headphone out there. Now I’ll see how it compares to the Elegia, LCD2 closed, and LCE-XC!

I know this is an old post but I'm curious as to how the 99s stack up against the Elegia's? I have the 99s with the silver cable and they're a pretty tight sound headphone. Any thoughts would be great to hear.

 

[criesaboutelves]

Unfortunately, the headband pad being made of PU leather means it's starting to crack and flake after a couple years of use. I'd like to make myself a new pad out of proper leather so it'll last longer, but first I need to know what size screws hold the headband together, because my smallest Torx screwdriver is only a T10 and shipping time from iFixit takes a hot second. Are they T6's like the screws in the earcups?

 

[bzippy]

Unfortunately, the headband pad being made of PU leather means it's starting to crack and flake after a couple years of use. I'd like to make myself a new pad out of proper leather so it'll last longer, but first I need to know what size screws hold the headband together, because my smallest Torx screwdriver is only a T10 and shipping time from iFixit takes a hot second. Are they T6's like the screws in the earcups?

Yes T6, for both the outside and inside of headband (6 screws per side, 12 total from what i see). Just checked with my 99 Classics.

For you and anyone else who may be interested, I recently bought the Tekton 2830 small screwdriver set and it's awesome, for just $12 on Amazon. It includes 9 small Torx bits (down to T3), and is the most ergonomic and solidly built small screwdriver set I've ever owned (I've foolishly endured way too many cheap crap small screwdriver sets most of my life, made of way too soft metal). This set makes it a breeze getting the arm hinge screw tightness on my glasses just right (Finally!)

 

[Lurk650]

Yes T6, for both the outside and inside of headband (6 screws per side, 12 total from what i see). Just checked with my 99 Classics.

For you and anyone else who may be interested, I recently bought the Tekton 2830 small screwdriver set and it's awesome, for just $12 on Amazon. It includes 9 small Torx bits (down to T3), and is the most ergonomic and solidly built small screwdriver set I've ever owned (I've foolishly endured way too many cheap crap small screwdriver sets most of my life, made of way too soft metal). This set makes it a breeze getting the arm hinge screw tightness on my glasses just right (Finally!)

Will have to order this, I have a Tekton Socket Set and its been solid

 

[wrxified]

New Classic 99 owner here. Couldn’t be happier. I bought on Amazon because I didn’t want to go through the Drop purchase process.

I have been using the JH Audio Rosie IEM’s for the past few years with my AK Kann and have never really been able to fall in love with them. Something about them just fails to excite me. So I started my search recently for an over the ear setup and kept coming back to the Classic 99’s.

I also bought the upgraded 2.5mm balanced cable and the smaller ear pads. Definitely understand why people ditch the larger pads for the smaller ones. The large ones make the bass way too boomy and it drowns out the details from the mids and highs. With the smaller pads you have so much detail. The headphones capture and present every breath the artist makes. On acoustic tracks I hear every movement they make on the guitar. It’s like sitting in a live studio.

One track especially blew me away. Chris Stapleton - Whiskey and You. Mind blowing. Always loved the song but never heard so much detail. It was stunning.

Big thumbs up to Meze audio on these. I understand why they’re so loved by audio junkies.

 

[Lurk650]

Yep, these the only headphones I haven't sold in the years I've owned them and won't sell

 

[Wladimir]

It's quite quiet in here, considering the legendarity of these fantastic headphones we do love.

So I will add also my experience with Yaxi pads I bought. Initially, I thought the main difference is just in added comfort, but later, when I adjusted to the sound of Yaxi's and flipped to original pads (I believe it's the latest revision -> large pads), I find them now dark and murky. With Yaxi, the sound is for me a lot more bright, detailed and open that I just can't listen to my Classics with original pads anymore. I would say that Classics with Yaxi and silver upgrade cable now competes on completely another level, couldn't be more happy (Or well, could, with Empyreans right )

 

[mblain]

It's quite quiet in here, considering the legendarity of these fantastic headphones we do love.

So I will add also my experience with Yaxi pads I bought. Initially, I thought the main difference is just in added comfort, but later, when I adjusted to the sound of Yaxi's and flipped to original pads (I believe it's the latest revision -> large pads), I find them now dark and murky. With Yaxi, the sound is for me a lot more bright, detailed and open that I just can't listen to my Classics with original pads anymore. I would say that Classics with Yaxi and silver upgrade cable now competes on completely another level, couldn't be more happy (Or well, could, with Empyreans right )

I couldn't agree more. Have both the YaxiPads and silver upgrade cable. It definitely bumps these up to another level. I'm always surprised about how well these perform for what they cost, even with adding the price of the silver cable and pads.

 

[Wladimir]

Yes exactly, 99's are offering imo tremendous value. And they need so little to be even "legendarier".
But also a proper DAC+AMP partnership, because since I have some half-decent combo, I don't know anything about boomy or bloaty bass at all, like some other people were suggesting not so long ago. So perhaps pairing/powering might be an issue there and not 99's particularly.

 

[AtomAmp]

Funny. When I first heard the Meze 99 Classics, I was not impressed. My ears hurt from the mid bass emphasis. But I bought them based on reviews. With use, the mid bass emphasis mellowed down but it was still there. I put it up for sale. But I couldn't push through with the sale because I wanted to give them a chance. Now, I don't want to sell them because they give me a different presentation from my Sennheisers and PSBs. They are also fun. They have the slam and crispness that I want.

 

[mblain]

Funny. When I first heard the Meze 99 Classics, I was not impressed. My ears hurt from the mid bass emphasis. But I bought them based on reviews. With use, the mid bass emphasis mellowed down but it was still there. I put it up for sale. But I couldn't push through with the sale because I wanted to give them a chance. Now, I don't want to sell them because they give me a different presentation from my Sennheisers and PSBs. They are also fun. They have the slam and crispness that I want.

yeah, I wasn't a fan of them either when I first tried them. I felt the bass was too boomy and it was missing the detail and crisp nature of the treble. For me, the magic happened when I got the silver balanced and everything tightened up along with more detail and that crispness your mentioning. I know others have said it was the YaxiPads that made them special.

 

[MRSallee]

I’ve tried a bunch of pads.

• Stock pads
• Meze small pads
• Yaxi stPad2
• Brainwavz hybrid (oval)
• Brainwavz sheepskin (oval)
• Brainwavz micro suede (oval)
• Brainwavz perforated (small oval)
• Shure 1540 pads

For me, the Brainwavz micro suedes are best, and IMO not even close. Next best would be Meze small pads. Then maybe the 1540 pads, though bass with those is kinda silly. I see the Yaxi pad is pretty popular here, TBH I don’t care for it much.