Meze 99 Classics Walnut Gold | Wired Over-Ear Headphones with Mic and Self Adjustable Headband | Classic Wooden Closed-Back Headset for Audiophiles

So after listening to these for a few months, I can say they are as great as they say. I’m using mainly with Tidal and my iFI hip-dac. I’ve used them directly into my iphone(12) and computer(MacBook Pro) with great results. I will say this is the most “high-end” headphone I’ve ever heard or owned. I’m coming from using basic AKG’s and ear buds. These were a quantum leap in audio quality for me. I did some quality tests with different formats: FLAC, MQA, DSD, and Spotify with and without a DAC. The level of detail with DSD files was amazing. These headphones don’t need the help of a DAC but sure shine when you do. Watched a DVD on my computer with them, and it took me a minute to get adjusted to all of the background detail. I can’t compare these to anything comparable or higher end, but if you want to step up from ear buds and basic headphones, just go for it. If you use headphones a few times a week, these are worth the hype and the money. The fit and finish is top notch. No plastic was a big selling point for me. The ability to replace parts means you can have these headphones for as long as you want. They look super cool too!

Meze is an audio company based in Romania which basically came out of nowhere and has taken the headphone world by storm! AKG is a true legend in the headphone industry as well, producing some of the greatest (and still greatest) headphones ever, like the AKG K550 (which sounds like 99% the same as the K551), the K702, the K812, and its closed-back sibling, the K872. The AKG K550 was the first headphone I truly ever cared about, and it was the prime reason (aside from great interest I had in Hi-Res music) why I got so into Hi-Fi audio! Time and time again, Ive seen the K55X series wipe the floor with headphones that cost DOUBLE TO TRIPLE its cost (which these days is roughly $130-$180), even highly-rated ones such as the $399 Oppo PM-3. And were talking SEVERAL headphones up to the $400 mark. The only headphones that ever outdid it in my opinion was the 2nd Generation Bang & Olufsen (B&O Beoplay) H6s. The 2nd Gen H6 offered more detail than the K55X series (though it probably couldnt compete with the K702, and most certainly not the K812 or K872, which both cost $1000-$1500), and was more portable. The H6s shouldve lasted with me a lot longer than 2 months, but their downfall was comfort, or in their case, the lack of. The H6s featured a ribbed headband which would always poke into my skull, and although they were called over-ear headphones, to me, they hardly qualified for such a distinction. The tiny earpads BARELY fit over my ears, and so after a couple months, Id had it, and sold them off. A friend of mine who happened to buy them based on my recommendation felt the same way about his, and he did not keep his H6s either. So after trying out another pair of cans, I went back to AKG once again, but with the K551s. And that was that................until a friend of mine suggested I try out the (newer) Meze 99 Classics (Silver Walnut version). And so I did, using my trusty HTC 10 with its superior sound quality, and my ever-growing catalog of Hi-Res and CD-Quality music (mostly rock, both hard and soft) as tools for this comparison. Price: The Meze 99 Classics cost $309, and the AKG K551 runs about $160 (both per Amazon U.S.). Looks: The 99s came in and I was quite impressed by them right away. They are as striking in their looks as they are in their sound! Here Meze has created a masterpiece of sorts: a pair of headphones with style, premium design, and more! Everything about these headphones (and their accessories) is nothing short of luxurious! They come in a really nice box which opens up magnetically, and features the 99s, various OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) cables (about 4 and 10 long, with the 4 foot one including an in-line remote), a custom soft case for the cables, an airplane adapter, a 6.3mm adapter, and a SWEET hard case for the 99s itself, all for only $309! (Even the scent of the inside of the box itself smells expensive!) The 99s design features NO glue or plastic. Everything is neatly held together using screws. The ear pads are made of synthetic leather and memory foam, and the ear cups are made from stained walnut wood. Ive read that wood has better acoustic properties than plastic or metal do, so this was a plus! Id also read somewhere else that the staining process the 99s undergo takes about 18 months to complete as well! Ive been interested in headphones with wooden ear cups for some time now, but havent found any that were highly-rated. Aesthetically-speaking, it doesnt get much better than this! The 99s have won both sound AND design awards, which it most certainly deserves. The Meze logo itself closely resembles a trident, which is the same logo used by Italian-car maker Maserati, which happens to be my all-time FAVORITE car maker too! So maybe it was fate? Who knows? lol The K551s come in a very nice box as well, which kind of resembles a TV or a stage, which Ive always thought deserved high marks for its unique presentation style. It features a (fixed) 4 cable with an in-line remote, and a 6.3mm adapter. The K551s have some plastic on them, but also have a great deal of metal too. They also exude a premium look (Black/Silver model), and are quite nice to look at, though I slightly prefer the look of the K550 and K550 MK II. The ear pads are also made from synthetic leather and memory foam, and the ear cups appear to be metal and plastic. Comfort: I found BOTH headphones to be quite comfortable. They both fit on great with no noticeable clamping. The 99s win here though because of their design. While the K551s force you to adjust to its headband, the 99s come with an adjustable SMOOTH headband, which adjusts to YOUR head, making it a better fit. But it doesnt end there. While the K551s feature rounded (and large) ear pads, the 99s come with OVAL-shaped ear pads, which really make a lot more sense because human ears are not round, theyre essentially oval in shape! So not surprisingly, these fit onto my ears better too. Now this is where the H6s failed, and the 99s ALMOST suffered the same fate as well. Initially, the ear pads were on the small side, and as a result, several customers complained to Meze about this issue. So apparently several months ago, Meze made yet another very WISE decision to LISTEN to their customers and enlarge the ear pads up to about a medium or medium-to-large size. I have absolutely NO doubt that had Meze not taken this action that I wouldnt have been as happy about the 99s as I am today! The oval shape of these ear pads also have other advantages. One of which has to do with volume and potential hearing loss. Rounded ear pads let more of the sound leak out, which in turn forces the listener to raise the volume up, which can put the listener at increased risk for (unnecessary) hearing damage. But oval-shaped ear pads isolate sound better, and therefore less sound is likely to leak out, and the urge to raise the volume up higher vanishes immediately! This is a wonderful idea, and just one of many wise decisions the 99s creator, Antonio Meze (pronounced Mez-zahh), made while putting the 99s together. But why the 99s are so phenomenal only BEGINS here........................................ Bass: I came to realize how much I really loved a neutral sound signature because of AKG. Other headphones never quite sounded right to me really. Either too much of this or too little of that. The H6s even at times could sound too boomy. So I never thought Id want anything but neutral, until the 99s came along! Although not as neutral as the K551s, the 99s feature a more balanced bass sound that digs even deeper than the K551s do, and so you get a stronger and better bass sound, and NO apparent leakage into the mids and treble regions either. This is KEY, because SO many of the other headphones Ive reviewed failed when it came to this. The PM-3, the B&W P7, the Sony MDR-1A........too much bass! The Blue Lola contained bass however with industrial strength, but fell short on the treble end when it came to detail. The 99s however get bass right at every turn! The OTHER advantage to having oval-shaped ear pads makes its appearance here, where it is more appropriately placed. By offering better isolation as a result of the oval shape, I felt the bass even more closely than I did with the K551s. I really think ALL headphones should feature oval-shaped ear pads. Mids & Highs: Both headphones are great here. Its hard to say that one was better than the other. With the right EQ, you get the best sound that each can offer. Soundstage: The 99s prevail here as well, and this was NO small feat! One thing that AKG is known for being SUPERIOR at is offering a WIDE VAST soundstage with its closed-back headphones. I mean, they took that design to a whole new level, even being comparable with open-back headphones on this front! So when I was told the 99s had an even wider soundstage, I definitely felt some doubt. But that doubt disappeared within minutes of this comparison taking place! Thanks to the way the speaker drivers are angled, and some fantastic tuning as well, the 99s manage to outdo the K551s in soundstage, even with them having smaller speaker drivers than the K551s (40mm vs. 50mm) do. Truly amazing!! Clarity: The overall clarity of both of these headphones is great, but once again the 99s prove victorious here as well. The 99s were odd in not one but two different ways, but these were good oddities: 1) Despite having the same impedance rating but a LOWER sensitivity rating than the K551s, the 99s were somehow LOUDER, though they shouldnt have been! I have no explanation for this, but perhaps someone reading this does and can offer it up in this thread?! 2) I heard details on the 99s that I never heard with ANY headphone Ive ever auditioned!! In one particular case, I was playing a Hi-Res version of the Fleetwood Mac song Second Hand News (from the legendary Rumours album), and during the intro, I noticed what sounded like a background percussion echo of some sort right before the vocals kick in, which I swear Ive never heard before! I then played that same part on my K551s, and the echo sound was COMPLETELY ABSENT, even at the same and even slightly higher volume! The 99s apparently dont let ANY details get passed it! lol Misc: In addition to the sheer awesomeness of the 99s, Meze itself is a force to be reckoned with. The few times I had contacted Meze for answers to questions, they were more than willing to help out and tackle each one, and always within a day or two at most. Conclusion: The Meze 99 Classics are quite an elegant pair of headphones. With these headphones I realized that even when you think youve heard it all, its possible you havent, so dont be afraid to be open-minded when it comes to audio products! And so now I have put my AKG K551s up for sale on eBay, and have officially decided to stick with Meze! I feel strongly that if youre looking for great REFERENCE headphones for studio recording and editing, then the K55X series is your best bet (excluding the K553, which I DO NOT recommend). It offers a great NEUTRAL sound that will really help you get your ideas down w/o any coloration being added to the sound. But when it comes to listening for enjoyment, the 99s take the cake here!! They make everything I listen to sound more enjoyable and more LIVELY than ever before, so I have nothing but love for them! Yes, the 99s cost around double the K551s, but for ONCE Im getting a better headphone at practically every turn! The style, the design, the detachable cables, the bass, the soundstage, and the details of the 99s make it a MUST BUY at $309. Having a nice-looking hard (vs. soft) case included only makes the 99s a more attractive purchase for anyone looking for fantastic audio quality and a premium look & design! Romania may not be on the headphone audio map the way Germany, Austria, and Denmark are yet, but in my opinion, Meze has FOREVER changed that by creating and introducing the world to the Meze 99 Classics! The 99s are INCREDIBLE headphones, and I think the world would be a better place if more people checked them out and gave them a listen as well! Update (12/30/21): Ive removed the 2 instances above where I referred to the cables used on the 99s as balanced. They actually werent. But I have no doubt that such cables would make these sound even better!

These headphones are beautiful, comfortable, and sound fantastic. Everything Ive listened to sounds great. Vocals are really clear, Guitar comes through rich and deep. In live tracks you hear the crowd clearly, but very separated from the music, in the background. And the beginning of Giorgio by Moroder by Daft Punk sounds like youre actually sitting in a cafe with Giorgio. Electronic music sounds wonderful, quite vibrant Id say. The bass on these is very solid. You can really feel it but without it drowning anything else out. One thing that might be offputting is that drums come through as extremely powerful. Its the first thing I noticed when listening. In songs where Im used to them sitting in the background (like Intro by the XX) it was a bit of a shock hearing them in the foreground and so pronounced. I absolutely love the expressiveness it brings, but it might be too much for some. I guess thats why theyre described as punchy. Even with that, I dont think you can go wrong with these headphones

The build quality is very good and the included cables are some of the best quality Ive seen included with a pair of headphones. Sound is overall decent with a focus on the low end. Impact is good, though it might be a bit too much for some people. Overall, a really nice product.

Id like to start off with the packaging and accessories. Simply amazing. Once I opened the plastic wrapping, the smell that emanated from the box reminds me of the smell of a new piano, which is weird out of a box of headphones. That being said, it is not unpleasant. Its a pleasant surprise. It comes with a case, 2 length of cords, a 1/4 adapter and the included in most headphones airline adapter (not too many US airlines use them any more). The case is very nice, and the cords are great as well. Also, for those of you who like stickers, it comes with 2 stickers with their brand name on it. Enough about the accessories. Lets talk about the sound. Without using all the silly words and tags people use in headphone and audiophile forums, all I can say is: Amazing. The sound characteristics compare with headphones costing significantly more. I own quite a few headphones and IEMs, so thats saying something. Most of my headphones are priced under $300, but I own a handful that are significantly over $309 price I paid for this headphones. I have a pair of headphones costing nearly 5x as much as the Meze 99 Classics, and the difference is ever so subtle that I cant justify $1200 difference in the two headsets. Is the $1500 headset better? Yes, but not by much, at least not by $1200 much. You can definitely hear every instrument, breath of the vocalist between passages, the separation and sound stage is definitely clear in a good way. It is not bass heavy, but the bass is very clear and full of energy without conflicting with the lower mid range and mid range as most of the bass heavy headphones do. I listened to softer, more gently recorded songs, as well as classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, EDM, Hip Hop, Country, Vocals, and even watched movies. I can clearly hear everything without any weird harshness or a lack of space, nor did I notice any boosting or cutting of frequencies. I never had the urge to EQ something. Simply put, if you are looking for an improvement to your sub-$300 headphone, do yourself a favor and try one of these. I tried this headphone directly into an iPhone and Android device, as well as through multiple DAC/Amp combos, and of course the latter sounded better, but it was still a pleasant listening experience sans the DAC/Amp. Check out this headphone as it is probably the best headphones I have heard (and yes, I have more headphones than fingers and toes) that are under $1000, and can get close to ones costing more. Caveat: Your mileage my vary, as everyones ears are unique (shape, size, canal depth/shape, previous damage from loud music at concerts, etc.) and how you perceive music or audio in your ears are completely different from mine. I would love to listen to the Meze Empyrean. If youre seeing these reviews, Meze, Id be happy to do a full write up for online sites, and be happy to clean/disinfect/dehumidify, and return them after my review. Would love to compare the Meze Empyreans with some of my top priced headphones. Cheers!

SHIPPING: The box came yesterday. No issues. UNBOXING: Used my trusty razor blade knife to open the box. The headphone was in a plastic wrapped box. The box was thick and textured with magnetic clasps to hold it shut. Similar to the packaging I have encountered on 1MORE In-Ear earphones. A hard shell carry case unzipped to reveal the headphone with its beautiful wooden ear cup. I took a moment to admire it. Also in the case was a 1/4 adapter and two braided cords -- one shorter and one longer -- in a zip pouch. FIT: The ear cups slipped over my large ears. The right ear rubbed the inside of the cup. No big deal just something I noticed. My ears did get mildly warm and clammy. My Bose and Kenwood headphones do the same thing. They are light and do not distract me when listening to my music and movie collections. SOUND: Very very good. But not excellent. Just short of audio nirvana. MOBILE DEVICES: Good sound from an Android tablet and an iPod Touch. Pleasantly surprised. No need for an amp. PC: Near excellent sound. I use an amp and DAC fed through an optical cable. The amp and DAC kick the performance up a notch or three. OVERALL: Worthy! I like the sound (especially with an amp!) and looks. I reserve a 5 rating for the best and costlier headphones. Cheers! I hope this helped.

I ended up sending this back, since they were too dark sounding for my tastes. Your tastes may differ, of course. Just FYI, my favorite headphones are Focal Elears, which are much more balanced in my opinion.

Did anyone else come here from DankPods youtube videos? ;)

Works fantastic! Sounds great!

I love these headphones! I use them for music and tv/video.With music, they faithfully reproduce the engineers mix and mastering. If a recording is poorly done, youll know it, but if its a good production, well, sit back and enjoy! The movie sound is dynamic and captures all the movement and nuances of good theater sound. Not only do they sound amazing, but theyre also attractive. The kevlar cables dont tangle and the hardshell carrying case is a bonus.