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

Almost too realistic in projection of sound. I swear in some music I have almost a 360 degree listening range as I hear things coming from in back of me. Scares the shit out of me as I think someones there... lol.... These are NOT noise cancelling, and the highs arent quite what Id expect, however this is the best set of muffs Ive ever had.

Very musical headphones. Bass is there for weight but not overly done. Top end is smooth with satisfying detail. Very comfortable to wear in a home environment. Not sure I would take them out in a mobile fashion. For me these headphones strike a perfect balance and bring about blissful listening. Listened with a Teac ha501 headphone amp and most of my previous listening was with v moda 80 and v moda 100 headphones as well as various Panasonic headphones.

Just looking at them their a quality item. Very clear sound and comfortable. I live in a very small house and everyone else is in bed by 9. With these I feel like Im listening at a theater. Clear and loud. I take them off just to be sure none else can hear. The house is silent. Amazing.

Bass isnt as pronounced or visceral as my last pair of Sennheisers- and Im a sucker for deep, hardhitting electronic stuff- but these feel so balanced and the midrange is glorious. Highs are nicely smoothed out with no hint of shrillness. Perfect for vocals and acoustic sounds! As others have said, noise isolation is zero but thats not necessarily a bad thing- your housemates will be able to get your attention without stealing em off your head!

These Meze 99 Classics Headphones work best with 5 Instruments in songs. The Meze 99 Classics Headphones allow Guitar, Piano and Bass to be fully represented. I hope to be able to afford Planar Headphones in the future but I will always hold onto these Meze 99 Classics Headphones.

Just got it 2 days ago and a bit too early to comment on the Sound quality, but at first hearing, it sounded clean and with strong deep bass. I was puzzled since the headphones came in a box clearly marked (and shown in a picture on the box) Walnut Silver, yet I ordered Walnut Gold. I called Amazon customer service and they told me to unwrap the box and inspect. I did so and found that they did include the Walnut Gold version, in a Walnut Silver box. I am also puzzled because the signal cables connectors were in a silver finish (unlike the black connectors that are pictured on the Meze Audio web site) which clashes with the Gold metal sockets and the rest of the headphone Gold finish hinge parts. Also, the included carrying case sports a silver colored Meze emblem, not the gold colored emblem shown on the company web site. So it appears that everything in the box is set up for Walnut Silver headphones. Perhaps I should have just simply ordered Walnut Silver. The fit and finish of the headphones is first rate. Clamping force on my head is just right, and the headphones are very comfortable. I am very happy with the included accessories. The lengths of the short and long headphone cords are just right. Edit update 10-22-17: I found the user manual in the box. The headphone cables have a silver Meze Audio emblem on cable splitter, so again, it is designed for the Walnut Silver headlphone, NOT the Walnut Gold headphone that I received in the box. Edit update 10-30-17: Meze offered to send me free replacement gold-tipped cables for my walnut/gold 99 Classics. I received the replacements the other day. They are beautiful. Meze customer service is top notch. I think there was a glitch on the assembly line as the walnut/gold model was put into the box for the walnut/silver headphones with corresponding silver accessories.

Meze 99 Classics, a bit bright and forward vocals, efficient and good bass extension, similar to my reference Klipsch Forte II sound signature. M1060C has collapsed imaging and not as resolving, PX7 not able to play loud enough in both BT and wired mode but better imaging. Qudelix-5K LDAC used for BT sound comparison on Meze and Monoprice. Didnt test ANC.

The Meze 99 Classic is a beautiful looking, extremely comfortable headphone that does a great job of reproducing the fill sound spectrum. I compared it to a Denon AH-D5200 that I bought at the same time, playing it through the headphone output of a Marantz SR5011 with no other amplification. It nicely reproduced both Steve Hacketts piercing guitar solo and the very deep bass in Genesiss Firth of Fifth. It also did a great job reproducing the sound effects in Star Wars episodes IV and V. As mentioned in other reviews, the bass is strong from this headphone, although not overpowering. I would call it a luscious sound. If this was the only headphone I tried, then I would have been very happy with it. However, I compared it to the Denon D5200, which is not fair because the Denon cost twice as much, but I was curious if my 62-year old ears with tinnitus could tell the difference. They could, and I preferred the slightly clearer sound of the Denon, so I returned the Meze. Still, I highly recommend the Meze 99s to anyone who is looking to buy a headphone in the $300 range.

After ten hours of use, the padding on one side fell off. You can see the one drop of glue on the broken side connecting the foam padding they claim as noise cancella It is a plastic bond glue, Checked it.. It is not walnut wood, nor the connectors gold. I do not want my money back, I want to warn others not to get completely robbed.

So first things first this is going to be a bit long in the tooth but the TLDR version is as follows: For someone just starting to develop their ear for audiophile peripherals and devices who also happens to be leaning towards luxury stylings, this is an unbeatable package (that also doubles as an investment). These deliver a detailed and non fatiguing listening experience and damn do they look good doing it! Im going to begin by explaining a brief background on my listening habits and what devices I have experience with. First and foremost I am by no means an audiophile, but I am becoming more interested in HIFI audio as time has gone on. My very first pair of headphones I ever purchased were the Auvio 33-290 (A very apt direct comparison to the Meze 99s if only looking at the contents of the boxes haha!). I seriously thought they were the coolest headphones ever what with the ANC (powered by two AAA batteries as was the fashion at the time) and a hard case as well as two cable attachments 1 for a hifi stereo and another for an airplane audio port (the perfect set up for an angsty teen whos family moved around as often as mine did). I used these as my daily drivers for years and I never even considered there being a better alternative. So you could imagine my surprise the first time I tried on a pair of first generation Bose QuietComfort QC1s. Before then I never realized a pair of headphones could simultaneously be quiet (the Auvios being all plastic and rather cheaply made rattled like crazy), comfortable (the plush memory foam on the Bose was a treat to my head after the abuse the earcups and headband padding had taken on my Auvios), and actually make music sound better (the first time listening to a pair of high end headphones after only ever listening to a set of cans from radio shack is really only something you can experience for yourself). Now all that being said I never did buy that set of Bose headphones because I didnt really care much about the difference in quality once I saw how much more expensive they were than my Auvios. Even though I didnt buy them, that first experience with a luxury headphone still stuck with me and eventually lead me to the Meze 99 Classics over a decade later. I can safely say listening to the Mezes for the first time took me right back to that same feeling I got with the QC1s! For starters calling Meze headphones high end or luxury is to almost understate the actual beauty of the headphones themselves and the overall presentation. From the logo on the form fitting hard case to the gold accents and walnut ear cups, everything on these exudes confidence and quality craftsmanship (hell even the zippers are satisfying). Im going to break everything down to those three key areas I mentioned before: Quietness: These headphones have a spring steel headband which means theyre extremely solid (no rattle to be found here). You also wont find any plastic on these headphones and every piece is secured with screws so all you hobbyists out there can tear them down and replace components as needed with very little fuss! The cord also is part woven kevlar and part rubber coated which also contributes to a nearly noiseless headphone (the most noise Ive heard from them has been the earpads adjusting after slipping the headphones on, something that will change once theyre broken in of course). This cable can of course be upgraded to a balanced cable should you aim for a more audiophile focused listening experience. Comfort: The first thing I noticed when I picked up the box was just how light the entire package was, something that was a great indicator of just how comfortable these were going to be for extended listening. You couldnt imagine my face once I was actually holding the headphones solo, it was like some sort of antigrav technology (hyperbole I know, but theyre seriously light!). Then once I actually got them on I immediately knew I could never go back to a standard headphone band. Having a self adjusting memory foam headband coated in PLU with the lush earcups was a total treat! Again I have to express how weightless the package feels due to how comfortable it is! The fact that they dont majorly squeeze your head is a major plus as well. This is still yet another area that can still be improved further with the wide availability of differing earpads (I am honestly smitten with these ones though, the comfort and noise isolation is perfect for my tastes and I havent noticed the pads contributing to any sort of increased base presence as Ive seen mentioned in other reviews). Music Enjoyment: Again, I cant stress enough that Im not an audiophile but that I do thoroughly enjoy music and have a pretty decent ear for it (dont worry though, Im not about to go on about frequency response and things of that nature, better to leave that to the pros). So when I say that these improve the listening experience what does that mean exactly? Aside from the obvious comfort of the headphones themselves (a must for extended listening sessions) you also get a far more full bodied 3D audio experience from your music. This is a headphone that will seriously give you moments of amazement and joy as youre able to hear elements of your favorite songs that you might never have noticed before. If you pay attention you may even start to get this spatial awareness of where the different elements composing a particular song are coming from. Its really one of those experiences that will stand out to you the more time you spend with these headphones. That being said, you may be wondering if theres a particular genre that these excell at and so far I havent found one that stands apart from the rest. I listen to A LOT of music encompassing many genes (Id say my comfort zone is somewhere between punk and prog rock with a lot of new age jazz for some variety) and these headphones have truly improved the listening experience with every song Ive tried them with. They can even take some crunchier punk recordings and still pump some extra depth into them without really making you notice that lowfi quality in a bad way. Theyre just really great all around headphones delivering depth that you would normally need open backed headphones to even scratch the surface. They handle these different elements all while delivering a really fun listening experience that isnt going to fatigue your ears and doesnt require anything more than the device of your choice to achieve. Final Verdict: Given that my most recent pair of headphones prior to purchasing these was not my old Auvios I must admit my world was not turned upside down in the exact same way with my first listening session, my enjoyment more so built over time. These days I use a pair of Sony WH-CH510s for music and a pair of Skullcandy Hesh 3s for gaming and travel. Neither of these are particularly high quality headphones, but they can still deliver a pleasurable listening experience without being overly expensive or fussy. The 99 Classics, on the other hand, are in a class all their own in terms of the quality and engineering in comparison to their cost. Not only do they look the part of a premium headphone but they sound incredible to boot and are fully serviceable. This all boils down to these being more of an investment for me personally as Ill be able to keep these operating for years to come and even upgrade certain components as my needs change. The fact that these headphones can hit so many marks at the $300 price point is truly a remarkable feat and something to be admired (especially in the wake of planned obsolescence). All in all, Im overjoyed to own these headphones and if you find yourself looking to invest in a quality pair of headphones, I think these could fit your needs just fine!