Meze Audio 99 Classics

Hi, below you can find my detailed video review of the Meze 99 Classics

Overall, I think it is a beautiful headphone to have in the collection especially for rock & metal music.



Below, you can find the written review:

Very emotional vocals. Interestingly, RESONATING string instruments such as guitars, very pronounced. Natural sounding cymbals. Good imaging. Hefty bass response. Very suitable for classic rock, metal bands, OPETH for example as sitting between the two. Watching supernatural, or some blues. You don’t want to listen so complex elements such as an orchestral song most probably. The layering is not done with ease. You can tell them an all around headphone after listening it for 5 minutes but mark my words here.

Basic, classic tunes. Vintage albums with guitars, vocals and drums sound soo emotional and right.

It is very forgiving. You don’t regret to listen poorer recordings on the 99 Classics. It reminds me my beloved Klispch Heresy 4 speakers if you can believe it. I mean, i really think so. Very emotional vocals, very pronounced guitars and cymbals, very musical and energetic. With that, smooth highs and big & bold bass. I mean, heresy 4 in a very small room. Becaouse the bass here can be a bit boomy on some tracks. It’s not tight or very fast with controll such as you’re listening a very high-end speaker with a good damping amplifier. No, its like you’re at a live concert. With big woofers attached. But they are faaar from controlled nor tight.

Technicalities are no suprise. You won’t get impressed. There is no super high resolution or very good micro detailing. No sir. Very average layering. Good imaging though. Sountage depth is good. Also quite open and wide for a closed back that has this amount of bass.If you know what you are doing while choosing this headphone though, this only benefits the fun factor. You can listen old albums with poorer recording quality with no after regrets on the 99 Classics.

Initially i did some eq. 3 arrangements basically. I lowered the bass shelf especially around the midbass. I lowered the 2k-4k area. Especially 2k is so pronounced on these headphones. Btw thats what makes the vocals so emotional, along with the timbre of the wooden cabinet i believe. And i raised the upper treble just a touch.

Then i realised, this tune, this exact tonal balance is what makes 99 classics a, i mean, classic.

Guitars are really interesting on these headphones, they resonate somehow in between the cabinet. So pronounced and produced with weight, a sensible body. You can definetly feel the strings. Not just hear. Stringed insturements on the 99 classics reacts kinda like bass frequencies. You feel em. They resonate through this cabinet. Very hard to find experience.

Musical, emotional and in that sense, a natural sound. Not even close to a neutral sound. Different things.

The astetichs, looks: i mean what can i say. Beautiful. Timeless design. Feels Premium between every inch. Real wood, metal headband. Only plastic part is the little expansion mechanism in the headband. In order to be flexible, soft and light i suppose.

The headband and the earpads are not geniune leather.

They are comfortable though. 99 Classics is suprisingly light. Its just 260 grams. I would just wish them to be a touch bigger and deeper on the cups but it’s not uncomfortable by any means. I can give them 4 stars by comfort with ease.

The unboxing experience is beyond 300$ price range. The case is beautiful.

In the hardcase, you get a pouce. There are two different cables in the pouch. 1 is 3 meters long, unbalanced, 3.5mm cable and the other one is 1.2 meters long, again unbalanced cable with a microphone attached. How nice. You can stand out with this unique looks on the cafe talking to your love. I mean i will.

You can drive them through a balanced cable. Meze also offers their own balanced cable for the 99 series. Available to purchase with 2.5mm and 4.4 outputs. A little not cheap though looking very Premium.

I can also suggest lavri cables for pure silver options for his headphone. This is a sound that can really benefit from a silver cable.

You can drive them thtough almost anything but i gotta say, more power, more bass controll and maintained, preserved energy on the mid to high frequencies. Yeah you can plug them in to your macbook but something like this makes it more live.

Overall, the Meze 99 Classics deliver a timeless aesthetic and a captivating sound signature suited for music enthusiasts looking for a dynamic and emotive listening experience. While not without flaws, their unique character and musicality make them a worthy choice, particularly for fans of rock and blues music in my opinion.

Starting with the unboxing and packaging in general. The Meze 99 Classic is very well done with a nice simple but stylish box to the very efficient packing of everything inside the hard PU-leather case. You get everything you will need to start listening right away. Opening the very stylish case is the 99 classics with their beautiful walnut wood grained cups and plush pads and metal accents. The included cables are a 1.2m thread Kevlar OFC cable with microphone and remote for on the go, a detachable 3m thread Kevlar OFC cord, 3.5 mm to 6.3mm gold-plated jack adapter, airplane jack adapter, and a soft cable pouch.

Build:
The Meze 99 Classics are built and designed extremely well, everything has been carefully designed to be used for years to come and it has also been designed to be easily repaired if necessary, with a modular construction. I found the 99 to be very comfortable and the pads are plush but smaller than others, so larger ears might be touching the corners. Isolation is very good, but the wood might leak sound a little as most wooden headphones do. I t should be noted these are really solid wood, I've noticed being a lover of the wooden aesthetic that some claim to be wood but are just a veneer over a plastic or other type of ear-cup. True wooden like the C99 Classics, Sundara closed and the Sivga Robin are a refreshing sight for the cost.


Specs:
Transducer size: 40mm
Frequency response: 15Hz – 25KHz
Sensitivity: 103dB at 1KHz, 1mW
Impedance: 32 Ohm
Rated input power: 30mW
Maximum input power: 50mW
Detachable Kevlar OFC cable - 1.2m with microphone and 3m included.
Plug: 3.5mm gold plated
Weight: 260 gr (9.2 ounces) without cables
Ear-cups: walnut wood

My sound interpretations:
The Bass on the Meze 99 classics is full ranged and while powerful it isn't fatiguing or in the way. More of a great textured and deep bass with good weight and speed.
The Mids are rich and have excellent note weight and energy. the lower mids present with mild thickness and texture while the upper are more forward and instruments and Female vocals can be spicy in higher volumes and on brighter equipment. Male vocals are perfect in presentation and so lush. Instruments present well balanced with some neutrality.
The Treble is well extended with good overall details and a smoothed presentation, there was no harshness, and it has decent air and sparkle. The relaxed highs are definitely perfect for treble sensitive people.
The Soundstage is surprisingly wide with depth being just a little less in size. The field is very organic and has accurate imaging that handles most recording well. I could see these working well for casual gaming and movies.

Afterthoughts:
Starting from the Bottom to the top the Classics give a fun and smooth performance I find enjoyable. they have just enough details and technical abilities to set them above the rest as really unique and pleasant to my ears. The accessories and build quality are just the icing on the cake with this great set of wooden headphones.

Disclaimer:
I am posting this review as a co reviewer at Amplify, a hobby project founded by Mr. Sajid Amit, a veteran audiophile from Bangladesh . Our reviews are made for fun and to share our passion for audio with the rest of the community. This Unit was sent by Meze in exchange of our honest opinion. No external influence as always.
Our YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9EqdhwdpmxZxzNxEC42FOg
Our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/amplify.audiophile.show/

Meze 99 Classics Impressions
Meze is a Romanian brand and offers a limited number of offerings compared to its peers. 99 classics is not a new model. It was released back in 2015 and the only thing Meze changed thus far are the pads. Is the 99 Classics/Noir (noir is the drop version. Costs 110 usd less and has a less fancy packaging) still relevant years after its release? Let's dive right in.

Build, Comfort and Aesthetics
Simply put, a marvel when it comes to overall design, build and aesthetics. Looks like an art piece and there is no sign of hard cheap plastic anywhere (only plastic part being the elastic material used in the self adjusting headband system, that too being vv high quality). Ear Cups are made of CNC cut hand polished walnut and those are held together by steel arches over the self adjusting headbands. Everything is bolted/screwed on and nothing is glued together (take notes, Hifiman). They are also incredibly light at just 260 grams. Quite an achievement for cans made of wood and metal.
Comfort Wise, they are solid. The pads are a bit on the smaller side but I have larger than avg ears and never had any comfort issue even with my glasses on as the pads are super soft non sweat prone. Self adjusting headband system works perfectly and takes away the hassle of readjusting
All in all 10 out of 5 stars in B.C.A Dept.

Accessories and Packaging:
Great. Meze provides a high quality carry case made of EVA material that houses the headphones perfectly. Two cables of different lengths and adapters are supplied in a different pouch that can be perfectly stored in the EVA case as well. The outer packaging is made of hard cardboard material and opens magnetically. Overall luxurious unboxing experience that matches the luxurious looks of the 99 Classics
5 stars

Sound:
It will be wrong to pass any verdict without trying them out for at least 3 or 4 days. They sound good out of the box but if you are coming from highly technical bright sounding headphones these will sound a bit too dark and mellow at first. These are kinda the full sized version of final audio e4000 and distant cousins of Sennheiser HD650. Very slightly V shaped with superb natural timbre. 99 classic is the master of bass under 500 usd. It's not overblown or too forward. The bass decay & rumble is just perfect and that's the ultimate recipe of fun here. Midrange remains fairly neutral and natural (very slight coloration in the lower mids but not as much as the senn HD599, negligible) and the smoothness is the upper mids and presence region can be compared to Sony IER M7/M9. This can be a double edged sword. I actively look for this type of smoothness in iems and headphones while many find this sort of tuning boring and muffled. Thus if you are into energetic upper mids and leaner lower mids (will sound perceptively cleaner but tonality might suffer. Will be less organic/natural) then 99 classics are not for you. Treble is interesting. Just like the bass, Cymbal hits have the perfect decay in these cans. Vinyl ver. of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams (Search in YouTube, published by Rhino. Best version of this track IMO) are mad mad fun on these thanks to how the cymbals and bass sound. Treble extension and detail is good but loses some air in the top end resulting in a more mellow, less energetic treble. Big no for treble heads, big huge yes for those who crave chill fatigue free listening sessions.
The sound overall ticks all the boxes for me at this price point. This is probably my fourth most favorite headphone so far followed by Final D8000,Susvara and HD650.
5 star for me, 3 or 2 stars probably if you are in the different club

Technicalities:
These are pleasant sounding headphones for chill sessions like I mentioned before. Won’t win any awards in the technical dept.
Surprisingly though, despite being closed backs, they don’t sound that closed. Fairly expansive and wide. Imaging is impressively good tho. Perfect for gaming and movies. Explosions and gunshots sound visceral with authority. Instrument separation was avg in the beginning but I suspect there is some sort of burn in going on as they are sounding incredibly good with every passing day (or can be mental burn in). Details are not as good as open back headphones in this range (HD 600/650, Sundara, Beyers) but good enough in my book.
Oh and forgot to mention, incredibly easy to drive and sounds good out of everything. You can probably run them off a calculator lol.
All in all, Great headphones and completely worth the MRP in my opinion despite my initial doubts.