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

This is an initial review after a little less than a day of use. So far I am extremely satisfied with the Meze 99 Classics. I got them to replace my recently sold Mr Speakers Mad Dogs, which were excellent sounding headphones but were big, bulky, and I didnt find them terrible comfortable. I wanted a pair of good sounding, closed-back headphones that could be used either at home with my Schiit Bifrost/Lyr stack or on the go out of just my LG G4. So far these are filling out my desires excellently. The Mezes are exceedingly well made and very nice to look at, being made out of mostly metal and wood. A nice bonus is that despite being solidly constructed from metal and wood, these are fairly light headphones. Almost an entire day of wearing them at my desk at work has gone by and theyve yet to feel uncomfortable or put too much pressure on my head. The sound is definitely excellent, although possessing more of a fun sound signature. Those looking for hyper-detail accurate headphones may not be as interested in these. As Ive been listening to the Mezes as I work, I cannot give a detail breakdown of the sound but I can say that they certainly sound excellent. For someone looking for a fun sounding headphone that can be used at home or on the go, these are definitely a pair worth checking out!

The balanced tonal quality of these headphones is the first thing that stands out. Add clarity, definition, range, great imaging, and terrific dynamics. These cans are efficient too! I pulled them out of the box - seriously, these are the best sounding out of the box headphones I’ve ever listened to - with my portable Oppo ha2 amp ready to go - - didn’t need it. My A&K 70 sounded just fine without the amp meaning: the 99s are super efficient. If I have to choose a word to paint a picture: Spectacular! And I own 15 pairs of headphones including all the past and present Sennheiser line, LCD-X and Focal Clear. I’m telling you, these cans are bad to the bone (props to George T for the line). Need more proof? My wife grabbed these, wouldn’t put them down and I just ordered a second pair. Best 309 I ever spent.

I bought these and the AKG 712 Pros and the Beyerdynamic DT880s headphones. The AKG 712s won the contest. The Beyerdynamic DT 880 came in second. These MEZE headphones are beautiful and come with 2 sets of cords and have the cords divide into the right and left inputs on the ear pieces. To be clear - these are quality headphones. However, I could not pull myself away from the spaciousness and reality of the AKGs. Also, to be clear, I am 65 years old and my hearing is a bit compromised. But, I had my wife ( who hears everything ) take a listen and she agreed. I listened to Billie Eilish, electronic EDM A sides and stuff like JP Saxe and Julia Pruitt. All of these are modern, high quality audio pieces. I listen through my iMac which feeds into the a Musicstream DAC and then into the Schiit Audio Magni amp. This also feeds my JBL Pro 5 powered speakers and a Jamo 8 sub. The sound I get with this without headphones is amazing. It is important to me that the headphones equal or surpass this. Sadly, the Meze dont quite reach this.

When considering these I heard some divided opinions. Several folks said they are too bright sounding and a bit lacking on low-end bass. Others praised its open sound stage and praised/criticized them for being very transparent. Ive had them for a few days now and have listened to a fairly wide array of music. At the moment, Im loving how they sound with Monks Brilliant Corners (streaming via Tidal). I can hear Monks percussive attack on the keys and the lovely tone of softer sustains as he plays. I know that the concept of wanting to just hear the music, the pure intent of the artist is a bit of a fools errand. However, I have made an effort to use monitors and create a bit of a reference set up (Fluance Rt185 and Klisph RM600s). These headphones fit right in. After about the first 20 minutes I stopped wondering if they are coloring or warming or cooling the music. I love the clarity that comes w/ the brightness and I hear wonderful base. Earlier today I was listening to Thundercats recent It Is What It Is and it was luscious sounding! I dont know what happens if I turn the volume up to 11 as I want to hear the music not be blown away. So these are wonderful. Perfect? No... my ears seem to feel a bit warmer than w/ the Fostex these are replacing. Also, while Ive never thought of myself as having a small head lol.. it has taken me a little while to get used to the lightness and not quite a snug fit. I also will say I dont think I would use these out and about walking. In some ways they would be great... certainly are the best looking cans Ive seen in a long time. However, while moving around with them on, the wood cups and metal suspension telegraphs the sound of the cord moving or if something bumps the metal frame, it is pretty distracting. On the other hand, if you mostly sit and listen, working at a keyboard, reading, etc... they are perfect.

For their lower end headphone these sound great, are comfortable, light and look great. Sound is well balanced, plays well on all my headphone amps.

I just recently got into hifi, so I dont have that much to compare them to, but on their own I love wearing them, the sound is amazing, they look gorgeous and you barely feel them on you. The carry case and all the extras included are a good bonus and shows the attention to detail from Meze. Ill definitely be getting more Meze headphones in future.

I really love the sound, coming from Beyer T90s, when I finally broke after 3 years of use. The main reservation I have about these is the tight clamp out of the box. Now, I listen to music all day at work and I wear glasses. The clamp on these caused the frames to dig into my mastoid and lingering pain ensued after a few days of this. While the headband is bendable, the weight distribution is still on my mastoid and jaw bone, making the headphone uncomfortable after a short while. Because of how much time I spend with headphones on, comfort is just as important as sound quality. For this reason, I dont know if Ill keep these... EDIT: The fit and weight on these is actually really good, but what really helped was bending the metal band. I can feel pressure on my glasses after a bit but its not too bad. Sound is stellar. The earpads started flaking after about a year so I bought another for $20 - still holding up great.

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.

I wanted to love these so bad. The design is beautiful. The wood is beautiful. They are very sensitive, dont need an amplifier, work great with a phone. Unfortunately the bass is boomy and bloated and interferes with the mids. The other deal breaker for me was the comfort. The cups are too small, they touch my ears, and when I turn my head side to side it breaks the seal of the pads and does funny things to the sound. I will keep my HD6XX for home listening and IEMs for portable.

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.