[Bansaku]

Got my review pair of 99 Neo this evening! Very positive first impressions, but I am going to refrain from commenting until I put them through their paces. I will say this though, they sound FANTASTIC!
As well, in regards to the pads, they do seem a tad fatter and more square in the front than the larger (V2) pads. It could be due to them not being broken in yet, not sure yet. I am swapping the Neo's with the Classics original (V1) pads after I post this and will report back tomorrow.

 

[Ike1985]

Well I must say I just spent the last 2-3 hours writing my review...and as I am posting it I guess I timed out. As I logged in it said security error and I lost the entire review.

So sorry to hear that. I do mine in MS word first and then paste them in and add pics.

 

[Ike1985]

Got my review pair of 99 Neo this evening! Very positive first impressions, but I am going to refrain from commenting until I put them through their paces. I will say this though, they sound FANTASTIC!
As well, in regards to the pads, they do seem a tad fatter and more square in the front than the larger (V2) pads. It could be due to them not being broken in yet, not sure yet. I am swapping the Neo's with the Classics original (V1) pads after I post this and will report back tomorrow.

Yes for the price they are spectacular. I'm on my 3rd review pair of <$500 headphones this month and none of them come close to 99 neo with regard to sound quality. Neo is way more comfortable as well. Hard to send them on down the road!

 

[subguy812]

So sorry to hear that. I do mine in MS word first and then paste them in and add pics.

Ike generally I do too. I was on this evening, feeling like writing. Kinda made me sick when I lost it.

 

[Wyville]

Ike generally I do too. I was on this evening, feeling like writing. Kinda made me sick when I lost it.

Sorry to hear about that. While I have only written one review, I have a lot of experience writing and so for my review I created a folder on my desktop and prepared everything beforehand (text, pictures, formatting) to make sure I would not loose anything. But then I completely understand what it is like when inspiration comes. I have post-its and notebooks all over my home and my wife is used to me jumping out of bed at 3.00am to make notes.

 

[subguy812]

Nevermind...I really feel dumb now...all was not lost. It was my bad I have it

 

[Wyville]

Nevermind...I really feel dumb now...all was not lost. It was my bad I have it

Nothing dumb about it. It is simply the downside of being a creative and inspired mind!

 

[Dobrescu George]

I strongly agree about the sound.

At their very sane price point, there are literally no other headphones with the same sound quality in any aspect.

I've generally heard all headphones that are physically sold in Romania by any store and with all honesty, Meze 99 series is a solid contender regardless of the price range we're talking about. Now , te signature is fun and the top end is smooth, but the EQ abilities with no distortion are crazy good and I'm sure one can get Meze 99 series to fit almost any taste and sonic preferences with a bit of tweaking t the EQ level.

 

[subguy812]

After a wonderful exercise session this morning and much panic for nothing last night...I am happy to say the lost review is found. Not a fan of the site changes to say the least but I guess it will grow on me.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/showcase/meze-99-neo.22329/reviews

 

[ngoshawk]

I strongly agree about the sound.

At their very sane price point, there are literally no other headphones with the same sound quality in any aspect.

I've generally heard all headphones that are physically sold in Romania by any store and with all honesty, Meze 99 series is a solid contender regardless of the price range we're talking about. Now , te signature is fun and the top end is smooth, but the EQ abilities with no distortion are crazy good and I'm sure one can get Meze 99 series to fit almost any taste and sonic preferences with a bit of tweaking t the EQ level.

I would respectfully disagree. In your opinion, might be a better way to state that. My review will shed light as to why I disagree. The Neo is very, very good, but...

i say this as I listen to the tour Neo, through my BL and MBP of course. A very good sound, indeed to me.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I would respectfully disagree. In your opinion, might be a better way to state that. My review will shed light as to why I disagree. The Neo is very, very good, but...

i say this as I listen to the tour Neo, through my BL and MBP of course. A very good sound, indeed to me.

Don't worry at all!

I should be the one to apologize!

I always make this kind of assumptions, based on what headphones / devices I heard up to that date! It is me who probably is wrong, but I enjoy getting enthused, I enjoy hearing headpones and most certainly I love the 99 Classics I've been using! I love them maybe a bit too much, but man, my setup iDSD BL + EQ + 99 Classics is heaven sent. I do add some EQ for them to sing as I want them to, but again, I'm the one who's a bit oblique in my tastes. Anyways, I do hope that everyone is having the same amounts of fun I'm having and please do remember, I'm just honestly expressing my feelings.

I just like them and have fun this much!

 

[Bansaku]

Ok, after spending several hours last night extending into the wee hours of the morning, I have to confess, Tyl was right. I broke my own rule and read Innerfidelity's preview, because hey, I was stoked about the 99 Neo's. User's impressions are one thing, but I don't like to be potentially influenced by professional, especially one held in high regard such as Tyl, backed up by graphs. In all honesty, my heart sank once I finished reading, prompting me to immediately go into pad swapping mode with the 99 Classics. Now I actually was slowly coming to Tyl's conclusion as I listened to the larger pads, BEFORE I read the article. Certain songs I had not yet listened to weren't sounding right when heard, with way too much bass that had too much growl and rumble (distortion of the bad kind) that shouldn't be. However I was digging the sound of the soundstage, mids, and highs too much not to really care. Hey, if it sounds good to me why does it matter, right? Nope! The audiophile in me was perturbed. I was going to put it on the back burner as I needed to finish my 12 Classics review, but instead I was on a mission to try and hear what I saw with the graphs Tyl provided. To sum things up, the regular pads are now back on my 99 Classics.

Tyl was also right in saying that the Neo and Classics' sound is affected in different ways with the smaller and larger pads installed. However I have already rambled about the 99 Classics over on it's thread, so I won't say much about them. After all, this is the 99 Neo thread. I did a lot of soul searching (so to speak) last night and most of today. I have to admit, the smaller 99 Classic pads on the 99 Neo is the way to go, bar none! Now, don't get me wrong, the 99 Neo sound pretty darn good with the larger pads, but with the smaller pads, they sound FANTASTIC! The sound presentation doesn't change quite as much with the 99 Neo as it does with the 99 Classics, but undoubtedly with the smaller pads everything is a lot more clean and smooth sounding.

I find with the larger pads and the Neo, the bass doesn't necessarily bleeds into the mids, rather I think of the bass as a man teetering up on his tippy-toes right on the line, and at times his larger belly extends over. With the Classics, that man is a lot more lean and while still teetering, doesn't intrude upon the mids. Because of the 99 Neo's slightly stronger bass, this doesn't sound good. It's too sloppy. It really does take a FANTASTIC sounding headphone and bring it down to simply good.

Here's my dilemma; Do I continue using the smaller pads during my time with the 99 Neo, or do I use the pads that was shipped on the headphones? Is @MezeTeam set in stone on including the larger pads? To be honest, the smaller pads are on the 99 Neo, and I don't want to take them off.

I hate that my first impression is somewhat negative because the 99 Neo IMO are on the same level as the 99 Classics, and I adore the 99 Classics! In fact, I am quickly falling in love with the 99 Neo, with the smaller pads! The difference between the 2 cans is comparable to the HD600 vs the HD650, and that says a lot about the 99's! But sometimes ya gotta give some hard love in order for one to succeed, and I want @MezeTeam continued success!

 

[ngoshawk]

Ok, after spending several hours last night extending into the wee hours of the morning, I have to confess, Tyl was right. I broke my own rule and read Innerfidelity's preview, because hey, I was stoked about the 99 Neo's. User's impressions are one thing, but I don't like to be potentially influenced by professional, especially one held in high regard such as Tyl, backed up by graphs. In all honesty, my heart sank once I finished reading, prompting me to immediately go into pad swapping mode with the 99 Classics. Now I actually was slowly coming to Tyl's conclusion as I listened to the larger pads, BEFORE I read the article. Certain songs I had not yet listened to weren't sounding right when heard, with way too much bass that had too much growl and rumble (distortion of the bad kind) that shouldn't be. However I was digging the sound of the soundstage, mids, and highs too much not to really care. Hey, if it sounds good to me why does it matter, right? Nope! The audiophile in me was perturbed. I was going to put it on the back burner as I needed to finish my 12 Classics review, but instead I was on a mission to try and hear what I saw with the graphs Tyl provided. To sum things up, the regular pads are now back on my 99 Classics.

Tyl was also right in saying that the Neo and Classics' sound is affected in different ways with the smaller and larger pads installed. However I have already rambled about the 99 Classics over on it's thread, so I won't say much about them. After all, this is the 99 Neo thread. I did a lot of soul searching (so to speak) last night and most of today. I have to admit, the smaller 99 Classic pads on the 99 Neo is the way to go, bar none! Now, don't get me wrong, the 99 Neo sound pretty darn good with the larger pads, but with the smaller pads, they sound FANTASTIC! The sound presentation doesn't change quite as much with the 99 Neo as it does with the 99 Classics, but undoubtedly with the smaller pads everything is a lot more clean and smooth sounding.

I find with the larger pads and the Neo, the bass doesn't necessarily bleeds into the mids, rather I think of the bass as a man teetering up on his tippy-toes right on the line, and at times his larger belly extends over. With the Classics, that man is a lot more lean and while still teetering, doesn't intrude upon the mids. Because of the 99 Neo's slightly stronger bass, this doesn't sound good. It's too sloppy. It really does take a FANTASTIC sounding headphone and bring it down to simply good.

Here's my dilemma; Do I continue using the smaller pads during my time with the 99 Neo, or do I use the pads that was shipped on the headphones? Is @MezeTeam set in stone on including the larger pads? To be honest, the smaller pads are on the 99 Neo, and I don't want to take them off.

I hate that my first impression is somewhat negative because the 99 Neo IMO are on the same level as the 99 Classics, and I adore the 99 Classics! In fact, I am quickly falling in love with the 99 Neo, with the smaller pads! The difference between the 2 cans is comparable to the HD600 vs the HD650, and that says a lot about the 99's! But sometimes ya gotta give some hard love in order for one to succeed, and I want @MezeTeam continued success!

I would concur with what you said about the pads. I am borrowing a set of Classics, and did a pad swap. To me, the smaller pad sounds better, with less bass-bleed into the mids. I applaud Meze for listening to us and making the pads larger, but an option would be to either include both, or an option. I carefully put the Neo pads back onto the tour unit (and it was a major pain, too...) so that I could judge the sound "as is."

I will mention both in my review, which will be live tomorrow as will a video review. I do like the Neo, but to me the smaller pads sound "less bloated" and of a more rounded sound. YMMV.

 

[jinxy245]

Here's my dilemma; Do I continue using the smaller pads during my time with the 99 Neo, or do I use the pads that was shipped on the headphones? Is @MezeTeam set in stone on including the larger pads? To be honest, the smaller pads are on the 99 Neo, and I don't want to take them off.

I hate that my first impression is somewhat negative because the 99 Neo IMO are on the same level as the 99 Classics, and I adore the 99 Classics! In fact, I am quickly falling in love with the 99 Neo, with the smaller pads! The difference between the 2 cans is comparable to the HD600 vs the HD650, and that says a lot about the 99's! But sometimes ya gotta give some hard love in order for one to succeed, and I want @MezeTeam continued success!

[/QUOTE]

You have a good impression of both, so I'd switch out for comparison purposes, but listen with what I enjoy most... You always (IMO) write an engaging review, so your comparisons of the pads will likely be a key part, unless I miss my guess. Have fun, enjoy & be clear about what you hear between the two. We all have our preferences, which the best reviewers are upfront about. Tell us what you hear...
That's just my 2 cents (minus inflation means I probably owe you something).

 

[Dobrescu George]

I don't hear any distortion with the larger pads (I think I have the larger pads), but I do add some EQ when I listen casually.

In other order of words, I'm comparing the bass with DJ1P from Ultrasone which sounds anemic by comparison and Sennie800 which has less bass by quantity, but there doesn't seem to be a distortion added when comparing ie800 to 99 Classics directly. This part can vary a lot with the ear and head shape and size since it will influence the way sound travels to one's ears and how it is perceived in the end.