[RockStar2005]

Just speaking from a practical point of view here. I have the Nighthawks which are exactly the same physically as the NightOwl and I have the Meze 99 Neo which is the same physically as the Classic (black plastic cups not wood). If I were doing the type of traveling you have described I would MUCH rather take the Meze. Compact case, sturdier build. I think you could even lie in bed with the Meze. The material used to make the cups for the Nighthawk/NightOwl has been known to crack or chip if dropped. I prefer to baby mine at home. The Mezes are also easier (for me) to put on and take off. With the Nighthawk I am always a bit uncertain where to grab them as I put them on and especially when I take them off. Whatever you are using as a music source should drive either of them.

Yeah that Meze hard case is the best! What a great bonus it was NOT to have to buy it separately too. No space wasted either in its design. It's JUST big enough where it needs to be and nothing more. Absolutely no bulk, unlike other cases I've seen.

 

[PinkyPowers]

That's good info -- appreciate it! I was first a car audio enthusiast, then a home audio enthusiast -- so I definitely understand staging (was a pain in my cars), and timing/delays (to help get the staging correct), and the balance of highs/mids/lows and so on. So I know what I like (for example, silk dome tweeters over metal because I like clarity but not harsh highs -- I like them rounded off and warm), and the reviews and all the information really helped me zero in on some good options for me. Another comment I have is -- the NightOwl has a 50mm driver vs. the 40mm driver in the Meze. Now in the car and home audio world, this would make sense on why the NO plays so much better in the lows than the Meze. I am not familiar with the science behind headphones, so I can't say that with a ton of confidence in this arena.

I think the Meze's will do the trick for me. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything major. I have my home and car covered for when I want to chill. However, I am traveling a lot more, and I miss enjoying my music at the hotel and whatnot. Not as worried about the plane as I'm either working or sleeping when flying, but I like to relax to some music at the end of the day -- and it's not fun if I am not enjoying the sound. So I needed to get something to cover me when I am not home or in the car.

I find both headphones excellent for travel, but the Meze is probably a little better for that.

Of course, when I'm traveling light, I have my favorite options for that.

 

[HungryPanda]

My very light traveling kit:

 

[Dobrescu George]

My very light traveling kit:

You can say "light" again

 

[Jase81]

So they got delivered yesterday afternoon. Got them from Meze's Amazon store, and Prime delivery for free on Sunday

Anyways, aesthetically -- these things are gorgeous! The wood + the silver, just looks incredible.

I connected them directly to my iPhone, and I have a subscription to Tidal. The sound is deep, clear and definitely not overwhelming. I was surprised how well they managed the sibilance as I didn't notice any. I personally notice it most on female vocals, and I didn't hear any. With respect to lower frequencies -- the bass came through with a nice dramatic flare. It kept up with quick bass sequences on the kick drum, and it gets pretty deep. The only thing I noticed is the low frequency extension isn't quite what I'm used to personally. However, that's a loaded statement because it's not fair comparing the headphones to what I have in my house or auto.

All this said, I am extremely happy with my purchase. Thanks to everyone here for all the reviews and info -- and thanks to Meze Audio for coming out with such a quality piece of equipment for a very affordable price.

 

[mbwilson111]

So they got delivered yesterday afternoon. Got them from Meze's Amazon store, and Prime delivery for free on Sunday

Anyways, aesthetically -- these things are gorgeous! The wood + the silver, just looks incredible.

I connected them directly to my iPhone, and I have a subscription to Tidal. The sound is deep, clear and definitely not overwhelming. I was surprised how well they managed the sibilance as I didn't notice any. I personally notice it most on female vocals, and I didn't hear any. With respect to lower frequencies -- the bass came through with a nice dramatic flare. It kept up with quick bass sequences on the kick drum, and it gets pretty deep. The only thing I noticed is the low frequency extension isn't quite what I'm used to personally. However, that's a loaded statement because it's not fair comparing the headphones to what I have in my house or auto.

All this said, I am extremely happy with my purchase. Thanks to everyone here for all the reviews and info -- and thanks to Meze Audio for coming out with such a quality piece of equipment for a very affordable price.

Enjoy! That walnut with silver is beautiful...and the sound as well...

 

[PinkyPowers]

So they got delivered yesterday afternoon. Got them from Meze's Amazon store, and Prime delivery for free on Sunday

Anyways, aesthetically -- these things are gorgeous! The wood + the silver, just looks incredible.

I connected them directly to my iPhone, and I have a subscription to Tidal. The sound is deep, clear and definitely not overwhelming. I was surprised how well they managed the sibilance as I didn't notice any. I personally notice it most on female vocals, and I didn't hear any. With respect to lower frequencies -- the bass came through with a nice dramatic flare. It kept up with quick bass sequences on the kick drum, and it gets pretty deep. The only thing I noticed is the low frequency extension isn't quite what I'm used to personally. However, that's a loaded statement because it's not fair comparing the headphones to what I have in my house or auto.

All this said, I am extremely happy with my purchase. Thanks to everyone here for all the reviews and info -- and thanks to Meze Audio for coming out with such a quality piece of equipment for a very affordable price.

Yes, the sub-bass goes decently low, but not amazingly low. NightOwl wins the game in that regard. Meze goes low enough to feel some of those sub rumbles, and that smooth tonality is just delicious.

 

[Dragonmilenario]

Game of Thrones + 120' projection screen + Meze 99 Classics = Epic Win!!

 

[chungjun]

I believe I am maybe two-steps behind on this discovery...

Initial setup:-

PC > iDSD (BL) > Meze 99c

and I thought "Hmm... we're there."

Then I tried...

PC > iUSB3.0 > iDSD (BL) > Meze 99c

Damn! Noise begone! And my ears can actually feel "clean" sound (if that's even possible). iUSB3.0 bought used and still in pristine condition and personally I find it quite a worthy addition. For starters, I used to experience 'crackling' noise when I am simultaneously working on my PC (say few browser) and listening to music (via Spotify), now I don't seems to experience these random 'crackling' sound whenever I add load to my PC processing (I have yet to stress test it).

 

[Alcophone]

I compared my Audio-Technica ATH-M50x to the Meze 99 Classics and the Focal Listen at Audio Vision SF. The 99 Classics would have been an upgrade to my M50x (solid bass, more comfortable, gorgeous, but don't fold as nicely), but the imaging on the Focal Listen just blew me away, so I went with them. I love the Listen, they have brought a whole new level of enjoyment to my existing music.

 

[PinkyPowers]

I compared my Audio-Technica ATH-M50x to the Meze 99 Classics and the Focal Listen at Audio Vision SF. The 99 Classics would have been an upgrade to my M50x (solid bass, more comfortable, gorgeous, but don't fold as nicely), but the imaging on the Focal Listen just blew me away, so I went with them. I love the Listen, they have brought a whole new level of enjoyment to my existing music.

Tell us more about the Focal Listen.

 

[jinxy245]

I did a quick demo of the listen at B&H...( a quick listen to the Listen?) I can say it's a very engaging sound. It was right next to the Sine, and I definitely preferred the Listen. There was no Meze to compare to, of course..I'd hazard a guess from imperfect memory that the Meze has a bit more in the mids, and the Focal (probably) has a bigger sub bass boost, but again nothing but memory here.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I compared my Audio-Technica ATH-M50x to the Meze 99 Classics and the Focal Listen at Audio Vision SF. The 99 Classics would have been an upgrade to my M50x (solid bass, more comfortable, gorgeous, but don't fold as nicely), but the imaging on the Focal Listen just blew me away, so I went with them. I love the Listen, they have brought a whole new level of enjoyment to my existing music.

I did a quick demo of the listen at B&H...( a quick listen to the Listen?) I can say it's a very engaging sound. It was right next to the Sine, and I definitely preferred the Listen. There was no Meze to compare to, of course..I'd hazard a guess from imperfect memory that the Meze has a bit more in the mids, and the Focal (probably) has a bigger sub bass boost, but again nothing but memory here.

Sounds like Focal listen could be pretty cool!

Have never heard it, but I'd be curious to hear one sometime in the future. Since it's supposed to have a good imaging, I wonder if they are going for a similar frequency response like 99C, or if they have an entirely different presentation by default.

 

[tienbasse]

I wasn't overly impressed by the Focal Listen.
Build-wise, it feels cheaper than the Meze, and although the Listen's stereo imaging is very impressive and it isolates a bit better, it felt a bit flat and shy in the mids for my taste, but others may find it pleasant.

 

[thehamubrglar]

Hi everyone, I made an account just to post here. I have been monitoring this thread for the last three months or so since I purchased my Meze 99 Classics in Maple/Silver. These headphones sound fantastic, a nice upgrade from the ATH-M50x (my ongoing, first love). Combined with the Fiio E10k DAC/amp I have been nothing but pleased by the audio quality as my "at-work" setup.

However, the Meze 99 earpad situation is a big problem for me. Let me start by clarifying, my ears and head are average shape and size. I had read about the small/shallow earpad issues prior to purchasing, but I shrugged it off because I didn't think it would be a problem for me. Well I was very wrong. When I first put on the headphones, they are extremely comfortable and soft creating a nice seal - I would actually say they are initially much more comfortable than my ATH-M50x with velour pads (I've never had any comfort issues with these). But after wearing the Meze 99s for more than 2 hours, they really start to kill my ears to the point where I want to get rid of them. I guess the earpads are so shallow that my ears are pressing against the drivers, or the pads are just barely too small for me in diameter so that they are creating unnecessary pressure points on the edge of my ears.

I initially had hoped that I would either get used to the new headphones or they would break in. Unfortunately after several months neither happened and I find myself really regretting my purchase regardless of how great they sound. I have done a fair bit of research on my options. I initially contacted Meze directly and they recommended that I purchase the "larger" black earpads offered on their store website. I did so but unfortunately I don't see much of a difference in the two pads and I have the same problem. From my understanding, there is now a third set of pads Meze manufactures that are used on the Meze 99 Neos, but I don't believe these are for sale individually yet. Now I have begun to research different third-party earpads that I can replace them with. Different varieties of Brainwavz pads are said to fit (although some more gracefully than others) but most (almost all) people report a significant change in sound for the worse once the pads are swapped.

Now I'm just not sure what to do. Do I take the $100 loss (even though they are in near perfect condition, minor marks/scratches from daily use in a cubicle) and sell them? It doesn't feel right sacrificing sound quality on $300 headphones, just so your ears don't hurt. I'm pretty bummed out that I have to choose between the two (comfort or sound quality). Anyways, just wanted to add my two cents and let everyone know I will be monitoring the thread for any updates on earpad replacements in the future.