Meze 99 Classics Walnut Gold Headphones (Gold & Black)

I’ve had many other headphones in the past (high end). Nothing compares to this one

My daughter bought for my birthday (spoilt) So happy great sound and quality product and great hard shell case would highly recommend to any music lover 🎧😊

First, a few things that are important to mention. I am not an audiophile at all. I do not pretend that I know more about anyone else when it comes to headphones. I have tried a few different headphones and can afford any headphone set inside the higher price range on the market. All I want, is a simple, excellent sounding, extremely attractive looking set of over ear headphones. But also something people notice, while probably never seeing it before. I like having things people will most likely not have. So I didn't want a Bose or Sony. When I have 30 minutes to 2hrs to relax, I want to slip into a comfortable music bubble and enjoy what I'm hearing. I had never heard of Meze before. No one I know has either. You probably haven't either. After doing a history check, this headphone set has been around since 2015. Internally, there has probably been some engineering changes to the headphones since then. (Read recent reviews instead of the original ones. I have read they changed the product since the ones from 2015) Any product that can stay around that long, (from a small company in Romania) as well as have incredible reviews (across many websites and youtube), was worth me trying. So I bought a pair. A few more things that are important to mention. The 99 Classics and 99 Neo are both made in China. There is no sound cancelling. They are not wireless. There are no bass buttons or switches on the earcups. There is a microphone on the short cable, which I don't care about, haven't used and never will. I'm not taking calls with these. The paper booklet included does say to use them for 40hrs of burn-in time to reach optimal performing state. After already burning my wallet. The cables are very nice. 10ft and 4ft. You can switch them easily. There's no left and right labels on the earcups. The cables have the labels L and R. The case is the perfect size and shape. It feels good to grab with your hand. Outside feels okay. I think it could be better on the inside. (Basic fuzz that holds velcro nicely, but looks cheap). Some fabric would make it feel more like a luxury item. The logo emblem should be metal for the price. Overall, the case is classy looking. The look. Straight up sexy. The walnut and gold with steel frame look so different from anything else you see people wearing. And they look expensive. Wore them in the office. Turned heads. Questions were asked. Many people liked them. You say "CNC Machined Walnut" and people know, these aren't standard headphones. The feel. The best headphones I have ever felt on my ears. That will be the experience for most people who try them on. I have standard size ears, that don't angle or cup outwards. The cups fit perfectly over my ears. The inside face of the cup does just barely lay on my ears. Just a slight touch. I know for some people this is a deal breaker and downside. It isn't for me. The ear pads are memory foam that feel like wonderful marshmallows that seal extremely well. They feel excellent. My ears got warm in 30 mins. The headband has some stretchy thing in it that allows adjusting instead of the way you do with most headphones. I have a slightly larger than average male head and it worked well and was comfortable for me. I have a set of Status Audio CB-1 headphones, which have been really good for video editing and general use, but after 1.5hrs, they do start to give me a headache. I've read this is actually really common for many people (over ear headphone use) and had no idea. I thought it was just me. The Classics 99 do not do this for myself and I don't know why. However, I do find sweat gathers at the ear pads in most situations where there is no air conditioning in the room (after 30 mins or so). It's a very tight seal. Others have mentioned the PU peels off the ear pads after months of use. Since they are not leather, this is definitely going to happen at some point. But there are after market ear pads I have seen from a variety of sellers. These headphones are actually designed with replacement parts in mind. Which is good because the thought of throwing out good high priced headphones because of PU peeling off earpads is not cool. I wish more headphone companies would do this. The sound. After giving them 40 hrs of use, this is what I experienced. Warm sounding music. Close, tight sound. A small soundstage. For the first time, I can really tell the difference between low quality mp3's and high quality ones. Everything I listen to sounds better (in my very inexperienced opinion) than what I paid for. And that's all I really wanted. When I have the music going, (kind of loud) a coffee grinder can be used 15ft from me and I don't hear it unless I really try. Impressive, but it's probably only because the earcup memory foam seals good. So then I figured, if they sound this good, will they sound better with an amp? They don't need one at all, but a few people had written on different sites, that they actual do sound slightly better with an amp. Again, I'm not an audiophile, and don't know if an amp will do anything worthwhile so I didn't want to spend a lot. So I found a cheap amp on Amazon called MYPIN HA.0290. Super cheap with good reviews. And it actually did make the sound just a bit little bit better. I don't know how to describe the change. Obviously I could drive volume louder with no distortion. The sound was a bit brighter and warmer. Not by much, but it still was very cool, that a cheap amp.. did anything at all. So I kept it. After falling in love with this new combination of toys, I decided it would be nice, to have an mp3 player and amp together in one unit with a short cable linking them. Found dual 90 degree short headphone cable on Amazon called Sinloon. Then got my old iPhone 6 and designed a 3D printed case holding the phone and amp together. One day I'll get something better, but I'm new to all of this and it does the job perfectly as is. Now I just grab the headphones and the player/amp whenever I want to escape into a nice music nap. Anyone I have let listen to these headphones love them. But none of them are headphone snobs or audiophiles, so they may be just as pleased with anything else in this price range. But the comfort and the looks are next level to me. I took some pictures in my photo booth with my iPhone. Enjoy! Update: Four months in and these headphones still work perfectly. Everyone that has tried them likes them a lot. I decided that it was time to design a very good 3D printed case with rubber cushions to keep them safe. I also don't have to unplug the cables from the earcups to put them away each time. All the files are free to download and print for anyone. Just search Thingiverse for Meze 99 Classics.

Die Ansage fängt schon bei der Verpackung an. Eine gut designte Verpackung aus dicker Pappe mit Magnetverschluss. Drinnen findet sich ein Hardcase aus Kunststoff mit 2 verschieden langen Kabeln und 2 Adaptern in einem separat gepolsterten Etui und natürlich der Kopfhörer. Auch das ist bei weit teureren Boliden nicht gängig. Als ich ihn das erste mal sah, dachte ich, waohh, aber den kannst du dir eh nicht leisten und dann sah ich den Preis und er ging mir nicht mehr aus dem Kopf. Und jetzt ist er hier. Er sitzt perfekt auf meinem Kopf und auch lange Sessions sind möglich. Wenn ich so in die Musik versunken bin, spüre ich ihn nicht mehr. Top. Und der Klang? Ich bin eher analytischer Hörer und regel die Höhen bei meinen nuVeros etwas nach oben, der Basschalter steht auf reduziert und der Bass ist noch etwas nach unten korriegiert aber das Klangbild dieses Boliden ist schon etwas besonderes. Glasklare Höhen ohne Spitzen, helle und saubere Mitten ohne nach Dose zu klingen. Ein schneller, fetter und trockener Bass mit etwas mehr im Mittenbass, der manchmal in den Ohren ein wenig kitzelt. Und genau dieser Bass macht etwas besonderes mit dem Sound. Da braucht es für mich keinerlei Korrektur weil die Abstimmung schlicht perfekt ist. Das betrifft auch eine für mich weite und tiefe Räumlichkeit mit der Möglichkeit Instrumente im Raum zu orten. So etwas erlebt man eigentlich nur sehr selten und in weit höheren Preisgefilden. Auf der Kopfhörermesse CanJam 2016 hat er in der Kategorie "Best Product" neben dem Sennheiser HE1 (59000€ - kein Scherz) und dem Focal Utopia (5000€) den dritten Platz gemacht und nach ca 3 Wochen und etlichen Stunden Einspielzeit mit unterschiedlichen Genres weiß ich auch warum. Er ist immer nur besser geworden und wenn ich ihn sehe, möchte ich sofort weiter damit hören. Hören mit dem Meze 99 Classic ist purer Genuss. Er spielt einfach grandios authentisch, holt dich voll und ganz ab und lässt dich den Alltag vergessen. Suchtgefahr garantiert. Bei der Akustikversion von Personal Jesus denke ich immer, ich sitze bei den Kollegen im Studio. Dieser Kopfhörer macht Musik lebendig. Zu den Nachteilen oder Einschränkungen sei erwähnt, dass das Mikrofon samt Schalter, welches im kurzen Klinkenkabel verbaut ist, nur bei Handys funktioniert, die einen 3,5 Zoll Klinkenanschluss haben. Beim Einsatz eines USB-C Adapters oder gar einem externen Hires DAC, funktioniert das Mikrofon entweder verzerrt oder gar nicht mehr. Im Übrigen und der Bauart geschuldet, ist der Kopfhörer eher nicht zum Herumlaufen geeignet, da die Nebengeräusche nicht unerheblich sind und auch die Geräusche, die vom Kabel ausgehen, sind nicht zu verachten. Da mobiler Einsatz aber nicht mein Hauptkriterium ist, ziehe ich hierfür keinen Stern ab. Was bleibt ist nach wie vor ein echt beeindruckender Hörer mit einem besonderen Sound, der so klingt, wie er aussieht, der Top verarbeitet ist und weit über seine Preisklasse hinaus spielt, sehr weit und ich habe schon einiges gehört. Ein absoluter Preisknaller und eine gediegene Ansage der Firma Meze an die Konkurrenz, der beim Hören immer wieder ein breites, zufriedenes Grinsen produziert. Glückwunsch und vielen Dank für bis jetzt schon viele Stunden Musikgenuss pur, weit ab vom Alltag.

These are great headphones and have become favs among the dozen plus set of cans I own. Very stylish with amazing build quality. Comfort is outstanding as they adjust automatically when you put them on and the pads very nice. The sound has a fairly flat profile with bit warmth in the mids and great bass presence....very musical and addicting. Very easy to drive and sound great also with tubes. Comes with a great box and I have purchased a Meze silver plated upgrade cable and sounds amazing. I highly recommend the Meze 99 Classic Series.

I have 5 pairs of headphones topping out at £750 grados and if I had to pick only one pair it would be the classic. They produce a wonderfully natural musicality without losing anything significant over my more expensive cans. The classic is not a neutral headphone but given a digital input they retain the advantages of digital with a more seamless and natural sound and extremely deep, controlled and palpable bass. Difficult to explain but I always feel that my brain is working harder when I listen to high quality digital, whereas these headphones make sound seem easier to process and this just adds to the enjoyment. Highly recommended Go for it if: You want a pair of home based headphones under £700. You have a good quality (not mp3) based digital system. You have a high quality analogue input with a solid state amplifier. You are finding your current headphones too brash, tiring and mushy at the bass end. You have an external headphone amp. Listen for many hours at a time. You want to listen at lower volumes. May be better options if you Connect them directly to a phone or portable player. Truth is the amplifier in the device just won't be good enough to let them sing, although it will drive them. Listen to low quality digital such as mp3 or free Spotify. The bass becomes overblown and vague. Looking for portability. You need very high level of noise isolation. You want a monitor like accuracy and balance. Neutral they are not. You have larger than average ears. Still worth trying but may not fit. You will use them in a warm environment. You are using a less that top quality valve amplifier. May be overly warm sounding. Pros Musicality. I know there are better headphones out there but when I listen through the classics I just forget about being analytical and get lost in the musicality. I initially thought that they lacked detail but I then realised that it is there. What the classic does is to remove the characteristic of digital replay to focus you on continually changing aspects of the music. Instead I just let the music flow over me and it was my decision as to what, if any specific aspect of the music that I wanted to turn my mind to. Don't think this made the music less emotional or musical, in fact it does just the opposite. They have a fantastic bass response that is tight, fast and very deep. However the bass is never overblown like the sennheiser momentum. The main characteristic is a seemless integrated flow of sound that is incredibly natural, the likes of which I have never before heard from a headphone. The sound stage has good but not exceptional width but the produce a great sense of depth putting you on the stage and this leads to a very intimate feel to the music. Sorry but I just can't fault the design compromises of the classic. Good at lower volume. Subjectively I find that I don't have to up the volume to get a sense of realism or additional musicality so I can listen at lower and safer volumes than with my other cans. Fatigue free. There is no sense of fatigue even after several hours of listening. VERY comfortable to wear for hours. They fit over the ears with soft ear cups and no excessive feeling of pressure from the head band. They are also comfortable if you wear glasses. Look pretty good. Detachable and good length cable. In fact they come with two cables, one with in-line controls. Cons Build quality is ok and matches their price and I can't say they look more expensive than they. They also feel a little fragile, although I expect they are more robust than I give credit. Warm. The ears can get a warm, but not uncomfortably so in hotter environments. Not portable. Too large and fragile to carry around. Average to below average noise isolation.