[Dobrescu George]

Woah

You surely sound like you like them a lot!

One thing is for sure. The big pads have absolutely no distortion. My pads are usually broken in because I left both 99C and 99N on their box to break in with pink sound, but man, they are absolutely amazing in the bass.

I say this comparing them to Sennheiser ie800 which has one of the cleanest bass I've ever heard and even compared head to head, 99C has considerably more bass by default, but I don't hear any distortion in it. I think that both 99C and 99N are totally winner headphones and totally commend Meze for their great sonic result. I am curious to hear the small pads now though...

 

[Ultrainferno]

I just got round to publishing Nathan's 99 NEO review : http://www.headfonia.com/review-meze-99-neo-riot/
Enjoy! I look forward to hearing it myself in Munich in a few weeks!

 

[MezeTeam]

Now that I have gotten all I needed to off my chest in regards to the ear pads, I guess I should actually share my impressions eh?

Much like the 99 Classics, I love the 99 Neo! Meze has another winner on their hands! First and foremost, I think the 99 Neo are absolutely gorgeous! When I first saw picts I really was unsure if I'd like them. Maybe I was partial to the wood, maybe I thought black and silver has been overdone, but I wasn't sold on them. While a picture says a thousand words, holding the 99 Neo in my hands is a whole different story; Once again it was love at first sight! Damn they are sexy! It's like the 99 Classics threw on a skimpy black dress! The textured surface is a nice touch, very reminiscent of classic AKG or beyerdynamic, and the silver accenting is just enough to add class but not too much to look to gaudy! Nothing feels cheap, and I am appreciating how light they are. Oh, and kudos to Meze for getting rid of the cloth loom after the Y-split! I never really had an issue with rubbing and microphonic noise, for the most part, but my favourite around the house throw on shirt has a collar, and is made of cord, so if I am chilly and want to listen to the 99's I'd either had to put up with the nasty rubbing feeling of the two textured materials rubbing up against each other, or be cold.

In terms of the sound, all I can say is very clean and clear! No sonic detail is lost in the transition from wood to plastic, and the Meze sound is preserved! And while I am not going to go into too much detail in regards to the sound (I want to save it for my review), I do want to say this; The 99 Neo are not so much a "cheaper" version of the 99 Classics, rather they are a companion, or complimentary headphone that just so happens to be less expensive due to the materials used, and that is awesome! While the 99 Neo do offer the 'Classic' sound, they are as different as they similar. A good analogy would be the 99 Classics sound like a band playing at " Smokey Joe's Roadside House of Blues " (wood), while the 99 Neo sounds like the same band, and equipment, playing at " The Union Hall "(modern industrious).

Anyway, I have a lot more listening to do, and 1 week simply isn't enough time. Ok, it is, I just want to keep them forever!

Well, what can we say. WOW for your find and for going the extra mile to "burn in" the ear pads. We gotta be honest, it did sound ridiculous to us the first time we heard about the concept, until we felt the difference, at least in comfort, ourselves! We're taking into consideration your (and all of you!) suggestion regarding the smaller pads.

See, that's why we love doing these tours. You always find out new was to improve on your product.

 

[cleg]

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

 

[Bansaku]

I am all Meze'd out! Today I take a break (maybe... doubtful). I just tallied the total time I have spent listening to the 99 Neo, and it's insane; 8h Friday, 12h both Saturday and Sunday, and 6 hours Mon-Wed. Ya, I like them, quite a bit! But time is a ticking....

Anyway, just a quick comment/suggestion about the pads break-in that I forgot to add. I hyper accelerated the break-in in a most ingenious and silly way. Sunday, I was going to try the very common and suggested way of placing the pads between or under a heavy object, but I forgot. I wore them to work the next day to gauge how well sound isolation was on a city bus, but wasn't happy with how the pads felt against my glasses. Cursing myself for forgetting to do the squeeze the night before, I decided to try something, different. I placed the pads in my front pockets of my (freshly washed) jeans (slim fitting) and went about my work day. Not only did that work, it worked extremely well! One 9 hour shift (plus time worn by myself and dweaver) did the job of wearing them a couple of hours a night for 3-4 weeks (gauging from the break-in of my own pads).

It goes without saying they were more comfortable and comforting to both my head and over the arms of my glasses (HUGE plus), but the pads were also quieter! While the foam itself is plush and squishy, before it's broken in it sounds very, crinkly. Noticeable not only when I first put the headphones on, but every little movement there after would product a squishy crinkly sound. It was even more annoying (and prominent) when wearing my glasses. Now the sound is pretty much silenced (maybe 85% ?), with the very least the pads being as broken in as my own.

 

[Bansaku]

@MezeTeam Forgive me if this has been answered (I did look), but are the drivers in the 99 Classics and 99 Neo the same? I find it odd that the website lists the former as 32 Ohm and the latter 26 Ohm, yet I keep reading in the reviews that they share identical drivers.

 

[subguy812]

@MezeTeam Forgive me if this has been answered (I did look), but are the drivers in the 99 Classics and 99 Neo the same? I find it odd that the website lists the former as 32 Ohm and the latter 26 Ohm, yet I keep reading in the reviews that they share identical drivers.

My review contained a direct quote from the Meze Team, the drivers are the same

 

[Bansaku]

My review contained a direct quote from the Meze Team, the drivers are the same

26 vs 32 Ohm tells me something has changed, or is incorrect. Perhaps a misprint, or maybe a miss quote by Meze? I am leaning towards that maybe the impedance is different between the two. When listening through my iPod with the Classics I tend to hover at -23dB but with the Neo I am at -25dB. However, it could simply be that because of the changes in sound (and presentation within the soundscape) between the two cans it is merely an illusion. This is why I need clarification.

 

[subguy812]

I don't know I guess you are a lot more scientific than I am. I don't listen and worry about ohms as I lisren. I worry about that information up front when deciding if the equipment I have will pair well. I heard a difference between the 99 Classics and 99 Neo and I ask, straight from the source, what accounts for the difference? Tuning, drivers, plastic earcups etc. The answer I received was not scientific and didn't discuss ohms or anything referencing impedance. Only the materials changed and they planned for that to achieve their desired results.

 

[Bansaku]

@MezeTeam For some reason (probably the new forum system) I can not send you a private message. My 7 days is up and I have yet to hear back from @SOULSIK for a shipping address.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Now that the site is stabilizing, I put up my review from THL.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/showcase/meze-99-neo.22329/reviews#review-18553

 

[Makiah S]

I just got my Tour pair, and so far I'm really enjoying these! The sound is excellent, as is the comfort! My wife lovingly decided that tonight, I do NOT look like Shrek wearing these lol

 

[Bansaku]

My review is going to be posted very soon, maybe tomorrow. Just putting the finishing touches on it; Can't rush perfection! lol
Admittedly playoff hockey and spring cleaning ate away most of my free time, but all is good now! Speaking of hockey, I had a nightmare with the 99 Neo. My team, the Edmonton Oilers were defeated in game 7 by the Anaheim Ducks. The night the Oilers lost I had a dream. I somehow was able to fly down to Anaheim to watch the game, and I had a killer seat behind the Duck's bench that was next to the entrance to the dressing room. For some reason I was wearing my 99 Neo (not the tour pair, but my own, which I don't actually own but here I did). As the Ducks were exiting on to the ice, Kesler (what a goon/heel) grabbed the 99 Neo off my head (hand gloved) and placed in on his (over his helmet)! What a person! But no, it didn't end there. The 99 Neo had magic powers, and once on his head a pair of shaded appeared on him and all the Duck's players and the uniforms went from their current to their old black with purple and green! Ok, so the Ducks got a whole lot cooler, besides it not being MY team that wore the 99 Neo, how is this a nightmare? Well, the shades were not just for coolness, no, the shades turned the ducks into Neo, as in "The one"! For the first period all I saw were streaks of black with purple and green trailers as the Oilers got slaughtered, literally. And the referees allowed this! After the first intermission the game was done because there were no more Oilers left alive. Then Kesler flew off and went on to rule the World while wearing MY 99 Neo! What a person!

 

[Howlin Fester]

My review is going to be posted very soon, maybe tomorrow. Just putting the finishing touches on it; Can't rush perfection! lol
Admittedly playoff hockey and spring cleaning ate away most of my free time, but all is good now! Speaking of hockey, I had a nightmare with the 99 Neo. My team, the Edmonton Oilers were defeated in game 7 by the Anaheim Ducks. The night the Oilers lost I had a dream. I somehow was able to fly down to Anaheim to watch the game, and I had a killer seat behind the Duck's bench that was next to the entrance to the dressing room. For some reason I was wearing my 99 Neo (not the tour pair, but my own, which I don't actually own but here I did). As the Ducks were exiting on to the ice, Kesler (what a goon/heel) grabbed the 99 Neo off my head (hand gloved) and placed in on his (over his helmet)! What a person! But no, it didn't end there. The 99 Neo had magic powers, and once on his head a pair of shaded appeared on him and all the Duck's players and the uniforms went from their current to their old black with purple and green! Ok, so the Ducks got a whole lot cooler, besides it not being MY team that wore the 99 Neo, how is this a nightmare? Well, the shades were not just for coolness, no, the shades turned the ducks into Neo, as in "The one"! For the first period all I saw were streaks of black with purple and green trailers as the Oilers got slaughtered, literally. And the referees allowed this! After the first intermission the game was done because there were no more Oilers left alive. Then Kesler flew off and went on to rule the World while wearing MY 99 Neo! What a person!

Ha ha! Well now you can have dreams of Pekka Rinne grabbing your NEO and listening to Trisha Yearwood in Music City while two steppin' with PK Subban in a big Cowboy Hat. I would actually like a video of that dream, please.

 

[MezeTeam]

Something's cooking. What's in the box?