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

Updated review at the end - leaving the original first: Comfort: I have a fairly large head and it fits well. It is soft on the ears. It is warmer than other headphones I have used in the past, but not enough to make me think badly of them. All in all, very comfortable. Sound Leakage: When playing music, I cant hear any outside noise. When playing at medium levels, nobody else can hear the music I am listening too. I have not played them with really loud music to know if anyone can hear them besides the listener or not in that situation. Sound quality: I am not good at describing this, but I will try my best. I do hear details in the music in the mid and highs, but at the same time it sounds a little dull or muffled. It has a good amount of bass (more than many other headphones I have tried), but I cant hear as much details in the low end as I can with the mids and highs. I had high hopes for this based on all the audiophile reviews, but it surprises me that so many people like this type of sound profile. I expect headphones (or any speaker system for that matter) to sound as if the music and vocals are right in front of me. The Meze 99 Classics do not sound like that to me. The best example I can give is that it seems like the highs and mids (especially the vocals), are too far a way - like you are listening to someone else playing music through the wall of an apartment. I can hear each and every word and various subtleties in the music, but it doesnt sound vibrant or rich and certainly not sounding like it is being played right in front of me - like it does when you see a band live. I guess I would describe the sound I prefer as more open, vibrant or airy sounds and with good clarity and detail at all levels (mids, highs and lows). In summary, the Meze 99 Classics are comfortable, although warm, have good clarity at mids & highs - not the best I have heard, but really good for the price. I dont find the lows to have enough detail for my tastes. But the part that kills these headphones for me is what I mentioned above - the sound signature they produce overall feels muffled or fake to me. It must sound like the music is being played live right in front of me and Meze 99 Classics fails in that regard. And since that is the number 1 thing I look for, these headphones are not for me - even with their great clarify for the price. ***Update March 19th 2018*** I have been asked to specify what setup I was using to test these headphones to help people understand the context of my review. Also, since I have been using these headphones for a while now, I wanted to provide an update. To answer the question first. I bought these headphones for use with portable devices (tablets, laptops, cell phones, etc...). I had no intention of getting something that required an amp to get acceptable volume levels or require an EQ to produce the sound signature that I like. I already have a high quality setup for just pure home use for something like that. So I purchased the Meze 99 Classic to be directly plugged into and used with portable devices. That means I needed headphones that had a low ohm rating. The Meze 99 Classics, rated at 32 ohms, fit the bill for these types of source devices. Now after trying the Meze 99 Classics out on multiple source devices for weeks now, I found that some devices are adding a lot more color (not a good thing for my tastes) than others. However, the Meze 99 Classics sound colored & recessed to some level on all the source devices I have tried. Lets cut to the chase. Will you like these headphones for use with portable devices? I think that for most people, they will say yes. Because I think a lot of people in the market for better than average headphones will like the clarity of the mids and highs that these headphones bring. And I think most of them will be happy with the extra bass and most people won’t be bothered that these headphones sound “bass colored” at all frequency levels and somewhat recessed. However, there will be some audio enthusiast, like me, that having the sound colored is not acceptable. The bass should be there, I love bass. But for my tastes and others like me it is not ok that the bass bleeds into the mids or highs, nor is ok to us that it makes them sound recessed (muffled, in the background, closed, or however you want to describe that sound). If you fit into this category of listener, you will be disappointed by these headphones. To give a better analogy than when I said the Meze 99 Classics sounds like good music being played behind a wall, let me say this instead: At one time, I put a good audio system into my car, including an amp in the trunk and an EQ. I carefully selected speakers to get the clarity I was looking for and I made sure I had good woofers for clear bass with the punch that I wanted. I could hear details at all frequency levels and I could feel the vibration of that bass punch through the back of my seat (without any of that distorted rattling you hear in some bad setups) and without drowning out the mids an highs. Picture the mids and highs mostly coming from the speakers in the front of my car – where I was sitting - and the bass mostly from the back. It was in perfect balance. I can hear everything without anything overwhelming and drowning out other sounds. With the Meze 99 classics, the sounds is like the opposite car speaker setup – meaning like the bass is coming from speakers up in front of the car - closer to your ears - and all the mids and highs coming from the speakers in the back – making them sound recessed (in the background). Again this is more notable on some sources than others and maybe if you ran it through an amp and an EQ, you can fix that. But for the use I have intended – plugged directly into portable devices, the recessed and colored sound is there and that is not what I am after.

I could listen for hours. Use them with an A&K Kann. They are gorgeous and sound better than they look. Highly recommend.

The sound quality is absolutely amazing. However, Ive had them for only 7 months, and theyre starting to fall apart. The fabric of the inner right ear has torn off, and the left cup is coming apart. While these see daily use, nothing more strenuous than taking them on and off has occurred. Of the many headsets Ive owned, this has lasted the shortest amount of time before noticeable wear and tear was witnessed. Also, something important to note: one must keep their head absolutely still when using them. Any slight movement, and youll hear the metal/screws creak. Even chewing will cause this creaking. Working on multiple monitors while listening to anything, youll hear this creaking frequently while simply moving your head to see the other monitor. Its quite annoying. Overall, I dont think theyre worth the money Ive spent, and I wont be buying another set again.

Beautiful. Great sound. Comfortable. Isolate sound well. Have had these for over a year and use them for watching movies at night. Bought Dakoni pads which are more comfortable than the stock ones. Perfect for movies since these are detailed with lots of substance in the base. Also great all-rounders if you can equalize them. Have a set of Qudelix 5xs which come with EQ profiles for this, which balances out the sound more favorably. Cons: Wish they hit faster

These beauties are not only for your eyes to gaze upon, but also delivers incredible sound, a neutral sound signature with a hint of warmness. Great separation, clarity, and sound stage. These do have quite the punch and sub. The warmness is just delicate enough to not make the bass muddy, but enough to make you shiver to a good EDM beat. Im currently running these on an ATOM AMP & ATOM DAC and wow it brings out the clarity of the music. I have had these for about a week and have used them for all different kind of genres with no problem whatsoever. Comfort is top-notch. Low pressure, lots of space for your ears, a headband that makes the headphone fit you perfectly, and PU leather that you cant get enough of. One thing to note however is that they are quite big, but that is absolutely not a problem for me. I might be biased because these are my first pair of high-end headphones, but they are incredible and worth every penny.

These headphones are honestly worth every penny. The sound quality is perfect to my preferences, with the top end times a bit down so that long listening sessions don’t get annoying. The quality of build is amazing as well; you can feel where your money went when holding them. Not to mention, there’s a budget version that only makes aesthetic compromises if 300 is out of your budget. I took these traveling overseas and they were incredibly convenient with the carrying case and airplane adapter. 100% recommend these!

Listening set up: MacBook / iPhone + Oppo HA-2se + (headphones) Music I tried: 1960 Stravinsky Columbia Recording of Le sacre du printemps / Beach Boys Pet Sounds / Oneohtrix Point Nevers Replica / general hip-hop/dance music Head size: ~ 12 circumference (larger than most) || Listening preferences: Im not a bass head, I do prefer warmer mids Comparable Products I tried alongside: Beyerdynamic DT-1350 [80hms] (5th favorite) / Sennheiser 598 (4th) / Grado 225e (3rd) / Beyerdynamic T51i (2nd) / Meze 99 Classics (1st) *** As hopefully you know, everyone hears music differently (everyones ears are different), and everyone has preferences. Just because I prefer these doesnt mean you will. Overall +/-: + Where do I start, ok basics: comes with detachable headphone cables, package comes with two different length nylon coated cables that are tangle resistant. Comes with 3.5mm/1/4 converter. Long cable is perfect, I never not use it. + Adjustable headband works well with varying head sizes, Ive had multiple friends try it and none of them complained about uncomfortable pressure points, or not fitting well. I have a large head, these were the only ones I tried that fit well enough. + Leather ear cups are comfortable, I can wear these for hours. Its a preference, but I look forward to wearing these. + Wow the mids on these are so pretty. Listening to records like Unknown Mortal Orchestras II, the guitars are so glistening and warm coming across. + Highs arent as shrill or exciting as Sennheiser, but they are still pleasant. Enjoyed Stravinsky greatly on this. Sound stage made me feel present to recording. + Bass is there, but not dominating (as I prefer, not for everyone). Has color, but is reserved to allow rest of recording to shine (unlike Beyerdynamics which were too bass heavy in my opinion for listening to anything other than dance music) + Perfect for offices, very little noise bleed, and isolates you well enough from keyboard/general office noise. - Sub-bass could uses some more color, I tend to use bass boost feature on Oppo HA-2SE sometimes when listening to rap/dance music. - Nothing really, I struggle to complain about these. Sure its no open-back $1000 headphone, but my god I enjoy them. - The headband isnt really convenient for travel, but fine enough for office spaces. These aren’t marketed as portable, so don’t buy them for such purposes. Seriously buy these. Seriously. Wow. ****Note: I didn’t try these without my DAC/Amp, so I have no idea how these without them. I would strongly suggest that if you buy any headphone above $150 you get a dedicated DAC/Amp to drive them properly.

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.

These aint cheep, rather most would call these priced in enthusiast mid range area, but Ill be honest when I say, these sound like 1,000 dollar cans. Durable too! I drag these everywhere! they look so good Im gonna wear them at the park when the plague feels like its let up. (soon!) But if your reading this, on the fence, get them. These are amazing. If you have the extra, drop it on the silver cable and the recommended dac+amp to power it. (the silver cable has a smaller plug for more direct sound, as I understand it the left and right channels are their own thing with a good dac and have next to zero cross talk. in laymans terms your right ear hears things you left ear wont PLUS the cable is stronger and more snag resistant)

Most of my headphones are open back, and I share an office with my father so I needed a closed back solution. I heard great things about these and man I love them. Nice and punchy without losing any clarity, and they dont really need any EQ adjustments for my tastes. Use the mostly for gaming but theyre great for music.