[B9Scrambler]

  I just finished my review of the Meze 99 Classics and you can find it here:  

http://www.head-fi.org/products/meze-99-classics/reviews/14469
 

 
..

 
Great review, and amazing pictures. They show off this headphone perfectly. What a beautiful piece of equipment. Meze....you guys did an outstanding job with the design. Wow....just wow. 
 

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[LorandCz]

   
Great review, and amazing pictures. They show off this headphone perfectly. What a beautiful piece of equipment. Meze....you guys did an outstanding job with the design. Wow....just wow.

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Thank you, @B9Scrambler! Just wait until you hear them.  

 

[reddog]

Looking forward to hearing these cans. The wooded cups look awesome.

 

[Nikori]

Only 2 reviews so far...would love to hear more about these headphones (currently saving up to maybe grab a pair in a few months time)

Btw, these headphones are the most beautiful I've ever seen! Whoever designed them...just WOW. I mean if I had cash to spare, I'd just buy them to hang round my neck 

 
Anyway, looking forward to more impressions!! XD

 

[BloodyPenguin]

Anyone looking to get their hands on a Free Meze 99 Classics, check out this:  

iCAN micro SE – intergalactic launch competition
 

 
This Christmas, the iFi/Meze Santa will deliver ‘Out of this Galaxy’ prizes to 10 lucky winners
 
If the winning picture you post, win you will the Millennium Falcon Prize. There are nine other prizes too:
 
Millenium Falcon (Prize #1 = US$1,000)
iDAC2 + micro iCAN se + Meze 99 Classic headphones
 
X-Wing fighter (Prize #2 = US$600)
micro iCAN se + Meze 99 Classic headphones
 
Tie-Fighter (Prize #3 = US$300)
micro iCAN se
 
Naboo Royal Starship (Prize #4 = US$300)
Meze 99 headphones
 
Interceptor (Prize #5 > #7 = US$110 ea)
iPurifier 2
 
Pod Racer (Prize #8 > #10 = US$100 ea)
Mercury USB cable (0.5m or 1.0m)
 
 
Closing date: 31^st December 2015.
 
--

 

[skullguise]

Just adding a few cents here, not a real review but some initial thoughts.
 
I decided to try these out unheard, based on the reviews/notes posted.  Executive Summary: I'm glad I did!
 
Some details......
 
Not fully burned in, only have about 25-30 hours on them.  But there is some great stuff going on here especially for the price.  So far, I have tried these on 3 systems:
 

1. Laptop/foobar --> Exogal Comet (via USB Regen) --> Micro-ZOTL 2 amp
2. Straight from AK100ii
3. Laptop/foobar --> iFi iUSB 3.0 --> Chord Mojo

 
In all three systems, the sound characteristics were similar to me, minor variations in things like bass response and soundstage.....
 
What I liked:

1. Strong, balanced tone - some of the deeper bass notes were a bit fat, but this may settle in time.  But top to bottom, these seem pretty even, with good extension up top and a nice clear & neutral midrange
2. Transparency - these eek out some nice details.  One of my favorite albums of recent is London Grammar's.  On the song Sights, there is a little electronic "bouncing ball" type sound.  Very clearly delineated with the Meze, and placed well in the stage.  Vocals and piano are also very clear and detailed, thought here may be a VERY slight leanness to vocals (may be more neutral than some other phones that have had some fullness, TBD)
3. Soundstage - not as big as the open phones I'm using now (Senn 800, 650), but fairly good front to back depth and very nice image placement within the stage
4. Instrument separation - very nice, easy to pick apart voices/instruments; yet still plays the "whole" well
5. Isolation - very good for low-to-medium noise work environments.  I can't hear myself typing when music is playing, and environmental noise is almost non-existent

 
Not Sure Yet:

1. Others have mentioned getting warm/hot with the pads; have experienced some minor discomfort, but not so much hotness.  More like:
2. Pad fit on/over ears - can't say I have large ears, these fit JUST over mine, though.  Some touching of inside of pads with my ears, but so far not overly bothersome

 
My listening sessions so far max out at maybe 2-2.5 hours on a given run.  To be determined if comfort has issues longer-term.  But honestly, with everything else that's good about them, I'd rather take a quick break now and then, and enjoy the rest of it for what it is.
 
BTW, music I've used so far:

1. London Grammar - If You Wait (24/44)
2. Kraftwerk - Electric Café (24/96 vinyl rip)
3. Agnes Obel - Avantine (16/44)
4. David Sylvian - Secrets Of The Beehive (24/96)
5. Hiromi - Move (24/192)
6. Coil - Musick To Play In The Dark - Vol 2 (16/44)
7. Pink Floyd - The Endless River (24/96)
8. Shpongle - Nothing Lasts... But Nothing Is Lost (16/44)
9. Alison Kraus And Union Station - Live (DSD)

 
Bottom line: These won't be replacing my Stax or Senn 800's any time soon.  But for great listening, at work especially if you need a bit of isolation, these are a steal of a phone for $300-ish.  VERY well done Meze team!

 

[ithilienrp]

Mine arrived today. I was kinda skeptical for this Meze 99 headphone given the past records. However, since I'm a complete sucker for wood headphones, I have to have this in my collection.
 
First impression is very good. I like this, out of the box, more than my Sennheiser Momentum. The ear cups are a bit too small and the pads a bit too shallow though. So that might be problems for some people with big/sensitive ears. I can wear mine for an hour before my ears start feeling some pain.
 
By the way, this headphone is clearly tuned for mass market, with very fun sounding. Quite warm and a tad bassy, but not bloat or bleed at all. Details are good and nothing feels recess.
 
I think Meze really nailed this one.
 

 

[ezekiel77]

They make nice-looking ads hehe. I'll be on the lookout.

 

[DaddyMojo]

I've recently discovered these headphones and I must say that I love them. I can't think of another closed headphone that brought me so much joy with classical / instrumental music. It has a wonderful stage, but also very good details and transient response.

It's my favorite portable closed headphone at the moment and one of my favorite headphones of any type. 

You can read my review here.

I read both your review and Bloodypenguin and I was impressed with both of your impressions. I had seen the Meze cans a few days ago and did not see a lot of reviews out there yet I am glad my fellow head-fiers stepped up to the challenge. Nice work.

 

[MezeTeam]

Hello there,
 
We just started two new threads.
 
An official Meze 99 Classics impressions and discussion thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/794593/meze-99-classics-discussion-impressions-thread 
 
And a poll thread with what happened at CES2016: http://www.head-fi.org/t/794603/meze-headphones-ces2016-and-news
 
Check them out! You might find some interesting news for 2016 there

 

[typesino]

Really considering buying this as I can get a 10% discount!
 
How well does this scale with a good dac and an amp?

 

[ithilienrp]

My first mod for Meze 99: pads-rolling to Fischer Audio FA-003's pleather pads (I happen to have some of them around).
 
They are loose-fit for the Meze 99 (as the cups are smaller). But thanks to the smaller pad-hook-opening (whatever they call, it's where you insert the pads into your cups), they do stay nicely. This improves the comfort of the headphone quite noticeably, while taking away none of the sound quality/signature.
 
To quote myself in my previous short impression:
 
Quote (myself):

 The ear cups are a bit too small and the pads a bit too shallow though. So that might be problems for some people with big/sensitive ears. I can wear mine for an hour before my ears start feeling some pain.

 
Now all those problems are gone. The FA003 pads have enough depth and are big enough to fully cover my ears. I can wear the Meze 99 for hours without feeling any ear-pain now. And it's even better than FA003 itself, since Meze 99 has ways ways better fitting mechanism and clamping force.
 
Since FA003 is more-or-less the same headphone as Brainwavz HM5, the HM5 pads should fit the same way.
 

 
Off topic: I really do think that if designers/manufactures don't know better and/or don't have better pads .... compatibility with FA003/HM5 pads should be a must for headphones. They are relatively cheap, readily available, and very comfortable.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Nice mod! Do I ever want a pair of these...it's unbearable...

 

[digitaldodd]

  My first mod for Meze 99: pads-rolling to Fischer Audio FA-003's pleather pads (I happen to have some of them around).
 
They are loose-fit for the Meze 99 (as the cups are smaller). But thanks to the smaller pad-hook-opening (whatever they call, it's where you insert the pads into your cups), they do stay nicely. This improves the comfort of the headphone quite noticeably, while taking away none of the sound quality/signature.
 
To quote myself in my previous short impression:
 
 
Now all those problems are gone. The FA003 pads have enough depth and are big enough to fully cover my ears. I can wear the Meze 99 for hours without feeling any ear-pain now. And it's even better than FA003 itself, since Meze 99 has ways ways better fitting mechanism and clamping force.
 
Since FA003 is more-or-less the same headphone as Brainwavz HM5, the HM5 pads should fit the same way.
 

 
Off topic: I really do think that if designers/manufactures don't know better and/or don't have better pads .... compatibility with FA003/HM5 pads should be a must for headphones. They are relatively cheap, readily available, and very comfortable.

 
Good mod!  I ordered the HM5 pads off of Amazon and they worked out great.  I do believe the deeper pads did slightly change the sound vs. the original pads, at least for me, so I added some lightweight foam from some older pads I had sitting around and it's just right now.
 
I've only had the Meze 99s for four days so far, but am enjoying these immensely. I got them mostly for mobile use and they pair very well with my LG V10 android phone.  Enabling the built-in hi-fi DAC on the V10 makes these headphones really come alive and I've already indulged in several long listening sessions without any fatigue. So fun!

 

[cosie]

  My first mod for Meze 99: pads-rolling to Fischer Audio FA-003's pleather pads (I happen to have some of them around).
 
They are loose-fit for the Meze 99 (as the cups are smaller). But thanks to the smaller pad-hook-opening (whatever they call, it's where you insert the pads into your cups), they do stay nicely. This improves the comfort of the headphone quite noticeably, while taking away none of the sound quality/signature.
 
To quote myself in my previous short impression:
 
 
Now all those problems are gone. The FA003 pads have enough depth and are big enough to fully cover my ears. I can wear the Meze 99 for hours without feeling any ear-pain now. And it's even better than FA003 itself, since Meze 99 has ways ways better fitting mechanism and clamping force.
 
Since FA003 is more-or-less the same headphone as Brainwavz HM5, the HM5 pads should fit the same way.
 

 
Off topic: I really do think that if designers/manufactures don't know better and/or don't have better pads .... compatibility with FA003/HM5 pads should be a must for headphones. They are relatively cheap, readily available, and very comfortable.

Hi ithilienrp, how the sound was changed with this pads?
Thanks.