[Moebius]

Random question, anyone got an old pair of the stock Meze 99 pads they're not using? I heard they work well on MDR-7506s, need to replace my old pads.

 

[MusicC]

Hello everyone,
After many months of browsing forums and reviews, I finally bought a Meze 99 Classics and the sound suits me perfectly. However, I'd like to improve its comfort with compatible velvet/velour earpads without altering the sound profile. Could someone could recommend me compatible models with their purchase links (Aliexpress or Amazon)? Many thanks in advance to the community!

 

[twigfarm]

Hello everyone,
After many months of browsing forums and reviews, I finally bought a Meze 99 Classics and the sound suits me perfectly. However, I'd like to improve its comfort with compatible velvet/velour earpads without altering the sound profile. Could someone could recommend me compatible models with their purchase links (Aliexpress or Amazon)? Many thanks in advance to the community!

I think once you introduce a material such as velvet or velour you're automatically going to change their sound profile as well as lessen their sound isolation. That said, I've been using Wicked Cushions' Hybrid ATH M50X earpads (velour/leather mix) for a while now with very good results. They come both with and without cooling gel (I got the version with cooling gel). They can be purchased either directly from Wicked or Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZS1D1QT/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/WC-PadZ-Velour-Compatible-SteelSeries/dp/B07CYRHZNR?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

https://wickedcushions.com/products...-as-well-hybrid-velour?variant=39299364520015

Here's a previous post of mine showing how they fit and look on my 99 Noirs (page 511):

BTW, here are my Noirs with the Wicked pads.
Like I said, as long as they fit into the slots all the way around, I'm happy.

Dave

 

[dstarr3]

Yeah, unfortunately removing leather earpads and replacing them with velour earpads will unavoidably alter the sound. You could maybe try hybrid pads which have velour only where it actually touches your body, and while such pads will still alter the sound, hybrids might alter it less so than entirely velour pads.

This all said, while such drastic pad changes will alter the sound, there's always the possibility that the alteration is one you end up enjoying. "Altered sound" doesn't necessarily mean "ruined sound"

 

[twigfarm]

Yeah, unfortunately removing leather earpads and replacing them with velour earpads will unavoidably alter the sound. You could maybe try hybrid pads which have velour only where it actually touches your body, and while such pads will still alter the sound, hybrids might alter it less so than entirely velour pads.

Exactly the type I referenced above & have been happily using for a while now. And, no, they don't seem to alter the sound too much, if at all (to my ears).

This all said, while such drastic pad changes will alter the sound, there's always the possibility that the alteration is one you end up enjoying. "Altered sound" doesn't necessarily mean "ruined sound"

Well said.

 

[JonM78]

Yeah, unfortunately removing leather earpads and replacing them with velour earpads will unavoidably alter the sound. You could maybe try hybrid pads which have velour only where it actually touches your body, and while such pads will still alter the sound, hybrids might alter it less so than entirely velour pads.

This all said, while such drastic pad changes will alter the sound, there's always the possibility that the alteration is one you end up enjoying. "Altered sound" doesn't necessarily mean "ruined sound"

Depends on whether the altered sound is actually worse. It's always subjective of course.

 

[uptogood]

how can just removing the stock headphone earpads change the sound that much?

 

[dstarr3]

how can just removing the stock headphone earpads change the sound that much?

Well, consider the world of hi-fi speakers. A major component of the resulting sound quality from speakers is the room they're in. The size and shape of the room, the speaker placement and direction inside the room, the acoustic treatment of any reflective surfaces in the room, etc etc. With headphones, changing the earpads equates to essentially putting speakers in a whole new room. The difference could be subtle or it could be drastic, it could be beneficial or detrimental.

Suffice it to say, I would say it's best to expect that when you change earpads, it will affect the sound. Drastically or subtly, beneficially or detrimentally, that all depends on the specific headphone and earpad combination and it's impossible to generalize. But if you go into pad swapping expecting at least some sort of effect on the audio, you will more often than not have the experience you're expecting.

A common pad swap that a lot of Meze 99 owners have tried and enjoyed is something like the Brainwavz hybrid oval pads. They're not *entirely* velour like you specified wanting, but the pad surface that actually touches your head is velour, so they may still be adequate for you. And the earpads linked a couple posts earlier are similar.

 

[JonM78]

how can just removing the stock headphone earpads change the sound that much?

Sound waves act differently depending on the material used and the distance to your ear. Bass is highly dependent upon a seal so material like sheepskin or PU leather will improve the bass where as material like velour will reduce bass as there isn't as much of a seal against your head. Having larger pads that move the driver away from your ear will reduce mid and high frequencies typically. Even the foam inside the pads will have significant effect with sound. There's also the dimension (height and width) of the ear cup that can drastically change the sound.