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

The Meze 99 Classics made a pretty good impression on me until they didnt: Sound: Overall, these headphones have a pleasant and coherent sound. Nothing is missing, but the sound signature isn’t the one I wanted. The highs don’t have that airy quality I like. The bass is too loud and too loose. When I have even the slightest headache, I can’t listen to music without cranking the volume way down because the bass becomes unbearable. Portability: These are the first headphones I’ve had in a long time that are closed (little sound leakage), light-weight, and require no additional amplification. But these headphones get so damn warm whenever it’s not chilly outside. I dont sweat a lot, yet my head is always drenched in sweat on my walk to work when Im wearing these headphones. I’ve worn some pretty big and clunky headphones (Fostex T50RP MKIII, Audio Technica M50s, etc.) and some not so clunky ones (e.g. Momentum v1 and V-Moda Crossfade M100), but I cannot recall a single pair of headphones making me sweat like these. Comfort: When I put these headphones on the first time, I was thrilled. They seemed to stay in place while clamping minimally and did not require me to fiddle with them to get them to fit nicely around my head. But as I started wearing them for hours at a time, I began to notice that my head would hurt a lot, especially at the top of my head and where the headphones make contact with my glasses. To make matters worse, they always felt like they weren’t fitting snugly enough to keep air from escaping so I’d awkwardly shift them forward on my head to form a better seal, which looked ridiculous and made them hurt even more. Im sure these are great headphones for a lot of people, but they’re just not for me…

I previously had the Drop version of these which I had RMA’d due to loose plug connection in the ear cup itself causing the audio to cut in and out when there is too much movement in the cable / lateral pressure to the plug. This one had the same issue as the two Drop meze 99s. so three of these Meze 99 have had left/right Channels cutting off. Unfortunate because these are actually fun headphones for upbeat music. The bass is nice for DNB, techno, hip hop, funk, etc. Still leaves enough clarity in the highs and mids and the soundstage is surprisingly ok for closed cans . I prefer my sennheiser HD 500s or any HD600s longer wear sessions

These are great headphones. The comfort is incredible; they are so light you can easily forget you’re wearing them. I find that I spend way less time adjusting these than other headphones I own. They also look great, and the long and short cords and case included are really nice additions. I really love the sound signature on these headphones, very fun and punchy. I’m a big punk and garage rock fan which because of poor recording or mastering can be almost unlistenable on more detailed/neutral headphones (sundara’s). Not on the Meze’s. Even the Stooges Raw Power sounds pretty good on these. Bassy hip-hop or dance music are absolutely delightful on these. Two notes of caution: 1) these are super sensitive, so if you plan to run these off a headphone amp, a low gain setting is a must. Running these from my ifi zen 2 dac, with low gain turned on, I can barely get past 9 o’clock on the volume knob. On the plus side, you’ll have no problem at all running these from a phone. 2) If you want to run these balanced, I think you’ll need to buy the cord from Meze. I have a balanced 4.4 to 3.5 cord, but the ends won’t fit through the hole in the ear cup to the actual input. Overall, these are a super fun, daily-driver headphone. I would recommend these to anyone looking to up their headphone game.

These are some of the best headphones Ive ever owned. They sound great, fit well and are comfortable. They even cancel out outside noise. Downside is they create their own noise that does not get canceled out. Especially notable if you take them on a walk. The metal band on arching over the top is loud if anything touches it. even just rubbing your finger over it is too much interference. The cord makes noise if it bumps or rubs against anything, but its not as bad as the overhead metal band. Youll notice the downside if youre sitting back and move your head around or if your scratch your head and bump the metal band on top. or if the wires are rubbing anything. Laying still its fine, walking around its mostly the wire rubbing on your clothing thats noticeable. I love the look and the sound of these headphones. Hopefully a successor will come out that fixes the small problems. Theyll be perfect then.

I was really excited to receive these cans and give them a listen. They were to be used as my daily at work. I began listening to them and realized that while listening to certain songs, on certain notes, it began making a strange sound. Equivalent to when youve blown a speaker and makes that fuzzy noise. It is slowly driving me insane.... The way it looks, comfort, everything else about these cans are amazing. I am so disappointed with the noise it consistently makes. Id like to see if maybe I received a defective pair.

Best headphones I’ve tried by far. You can hear every detail in the music. It’s a great addition to my home studio and has completely changed my practice routine!

THE BOTTOM LINE No sooner had I unzipped its clamshell case than the room began to fill with walnut; it lingered like a cologne. It also marked the beginning of one of the most elegant presentations that I have experienced. From its vintage-industrial aesthetic to arts & crafts assembly, the 99 looked, felt and sounded like something from antiquity. Mono and stereo music sounds phenomenal and multi-channel audio (downmixed of course) is surprisingly good, making games and movies more convincing. Meze 99 Classics is the best all-around headphone at its MSRP. ADVANTAGES [+] Tube amp sound (mellow, organic and peculiar) [+] Incredible dynamics [+] A well-imaged soundstage [+] Natural signature with taut bass and midrange [+] Listenable [+] Fully (user) serviceable DRAWBACKS [-] Comfort (weightiness can affect long-term wearability) [-] Microphonic [-] Inelastic (everything is bolted onto a metal frame)

Some of the most comfortable headphones Ive ever owned. Excellent sound quality with low impedance, so no DAC necessary to drive them. Great looking too with the walnut cups and the gold accents. Easily recommendable.

As a casual audiophile, I was looking for an upgrade over my aging ATH-M50s, and I read a lot of reviews saying that the Meze 99 was really, really good. The reviews were (mostly) right. There was a noticeable improvement in overall clarity from my ATH-M50s, with more bass. I really liked the sound, and the overall comfort was great. However, I wound up returning the Meze 99 because the speaker sits (relatively) close to the ear and my ears stick out more than most. After a several hour listening session, I noticed some discomfort where my ear was touching. Considering how much time I spend on the computer, a lot, it just wasnt going to work for me. Still, Id recommend the Meze 99 to anyone looking for headphones in this price range, but would advise caution if you ears are weird.

I needed a closed-back headphone for work as I didnt want to annoy my coworkers with my open-back Grado headphones so I bought the Meze Classics 99 headphones, based on reviews on Head-Fi.org. tl;dr: The Meze 99s are not perfect, but they are good-sounding, very comfortable headphones. The Meze Classics 99 have a lot of bass, but arent overpowering. The midrange is good, as is the treble. My only complaint about these is that the resolution is OK to good, not fantastic. Sometimes instruments are very distinct, other times they can get a little muddy. That said, these are very listenable headphones. They are not exhausting to listen to for long periods. You find yourself wanting to listen more, which is a good thing. The sound stage is surprisingly good for closed headphones; somewhat better than the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros. The earcups run on the small side, but the pads and headband are extremely comfortable. I have used them in 8-hour sessions and dont really notice the smaller earcups. The construction seems to be very solid: walnut, steel, and pleather - no cheap plastic in sight! They do come with some nice extras, too. A hard shell carrying case, connectors for both 1/4 inch stereo jacks and a airplane connector, and two cables: a 1-meter cable with a microphone for mobile phone use and a 3-meter cable without a microphone for home listening. Overall, these headphones are well worth the price, and I am very pleased with them. 4.8/5.0