[JonM78]

To follow-up, I have NO idea why another forum member recommended these pads unless he was confusing the 99s with another headphone. The TH900/610 are WAY too big (wide) and seem made for a large round headphone cup. Back they go & the search for a more comfortable pad that DOESN'T change their sonic signature slowly continues..........

I found that I went through so many different pads that didn't work with the sound of the Meze 99 even remotely that they all added up beyond the cost of just buying Dekoni Elite Sheepskin for Meze 99. They look good, they feel good and they sound better than stock.

 

[twigfarm]

I found that I went through so many different pads that didn't work with the sound of the Meze 99 even remotely that they all added up beyond the cost of just buying Dekoni Elite Sheepskin for Meze 99. They look good, they feel good and they sound better than stock.

Thank you! One of my issues is that my ears are up against the back of the ear cups using the Meze standard pads (23mm) which becomes annoying. At 22mm I feel the Dekonis would be worse in this regard. At 30mm the Brainwavz Sheepskin Ovals totally alleviated this and were VERY comfortable but, like I said in a previous post, changed the sound of the Noirs too much for my liking. IMO 25-26mm would be ideal for my particular needs.

Thanks again for the recommendation.

 

[JonM78]

Thank you! One of my issues is that my ears are up against the back of the ear cups using the Meze standard pads (23mm) which becomes annoying. At 22mm I feel the Dekonis would be worse in this regard. At 30mm the Brainwavz Sheepskin Ovals totally alleviated this and were VERY comfortable but, like I said in a previous post, changed the sound of the Noirs too much for my liking. IMO 25-26mm would be ideal for my particular needs.

Thanks again for the recommendation.

I thought the same regarding the depth but I do not feel my ears touching the drivers at all. I did an A to B comparison by swapping them back and forth several times to see if that's indeed what I felt. The standard pads are made of cheaper materials (PU leather, less dense foam) so I think they compress more and that allows your ear to actually touch the driver. The Dekoni pads maintain their shape, primarily at the rear where your ears are more likely to touch.

 

[twigfarm]

I thought the same regarding the depth but I do not feel my ears touching the drivers at all. I did an A to B comparison by swapping them back and forth several times to see if that's indeed what I felt. The standard pads are made of cheaper materials (PU leather, less dense foam) so I think they compress more and that allows your ear to actually touch the driver. The Dekoni pads maintain their shape, primarily at the rear where your ears are more likely to touch.

That's good to know & will keep it in mind if I decide to try a pair.

Thanks again.

 

[Tiger61]

Hey!
I really like the Meze 99 classics headphones. But my fairly protruding and large ears also cause problems when my ears touch the cup and get a little sore during longer listening sessions.
I first got the Brainwavz pads. They did solve the touch problem, but the sound of the headphones changed so much for the worse that I don't want to use them. In addition, the pads are a universal model and do not fit snugly into place, making headphones look ugly.
Then I got Dekon's sheepskin pads. They fit perfectly and are really comfortable. Although the thickness of the pads is 1 millimeter less than the original ones, they don't sag as much and then slightly eased the contact problem, but didn't eliminate it completely. And most importantly, the sound quality remained unchanged.

Now I have only one wish - Meze - make the replacement pads from genuine leather 30mm thick while maintaining the sound quality.

 

[twigfarm]

Hey!
I really like the Meze 99 classics headphones. But my fairly protruding and large ears also cause problems when my ears touch the cup and get a little sore during longer listening sessions.
I first got the Brainwavz pads. They did solve the touch problem, but the sound of the headphones changed so much for the worse that I don't want to use them. In addition, the pads are a universal model and do not fit snugly into place, making headphones look ugly.
Then I got Dekon's sheepskin pads. They fit perfectly and are really comfortable. Although the thickness of the pads is 1 millimeter less than the original ones, they don't sag as much and then slightly eased the contact problem, but didn't eliminate it completely. And most importantly, the sound quality remained unchanged.

Now I have only one wish - Meze - make the replacement pads from genuine leather 30mm thick while maintaining the sound quality.

Unfortunately I think the 30mm depth is probably the main contributing factor to their changing the sound so much. As I said in my recent previous post, I bought the Brainwavz Ovals in both sheepskin & PU leather and although they were (to me) much more comfortable than the stock pads (I'm using the Noirs with the standard pads) they changed the Noirs sound too much for me to use them. Regarding ear cup fit, as long as I can get the lip of the earpads into the slot all the way around the Noirs cups, I'm happy. They may not look "factory" but good enough for me (and yes, I'll admit I'm a little "anal" in that regard).

Oddly enough I did get another set of pads you may want to try - the Wicked ATH M50X pads. They come in a variety of materials/colors, some with & without "cooling gel" and they're relatively inexpensive. And they're returnable! I got a pair of the hybrids with cooling gel and I must admit am sort of impressed. They are 25mm thick (slightly thicker than the Meze standards) and DO NOT change the sound from what I can tell. And even though the measured ear opening of the pair I got was 65mm x 42mm, they are actually quite comfortable. And the cooling gel does make them feel a little cooler when they're first put on but they do end up feeling like "normal", non-cooling gel pads after a while.

Have fun earpad rolling. The 99s are wonderful headphones and worth the trouble investigating earpads that are "right" for you.

 

[twigfarm]

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.

 

[jleewachter]

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.

I really love the look of the Noirs. I kinda wish I'd bought those instead of the silver...

 

[drummerman1]

I like the silver version. We're all different luckily

 

[JonM78]

I really love the look of the Noirs. I kinda wish I'd bought those instead of the silver...

I got the Noirs because they were $199 for the same thing as the $309 Meze 99 Classics. If I could re-do it I would get the gold Meze 99 Classics.

 

[twigfarm]

I like the silver version. We're all different luckily

I got the Noirs because they were $199 for the same thing as the $309 Meze 99 Classics. If I could re-do it I would get the gold Meze 99 Classics.

I like the Noirs so much I'm actually thinking about collecting the whole set (Classics, Neos, what have you)! Maybe the next Black Friday sale (Classics were $209 & Neos were $129).

 

[Tenashus1]

I'm struggling a bit here. I have the classic 99s and I love them, but I hear so much about the 109s. I keep going back and forth wondering about jumping from the 99s to 109s. The look and comfort seem to be about the same on both, so the only difference would be the sound. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be trying the 109s this week. The Classic 99s just seem so sweet and easy. We'll see.

 

[twigfarm]

I'm struggling a bit here. I have the classic 99s and I love them, but I hear so much about the 109s. I keep going back and forth wondering about jumping from the 99s to 109s. The look and comfort seem to be about the same on both, so the only difference would be the sound. Any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated. I will be trying the 109s this week. The Classic 99s just seem so sweet and easy. We'll see.

I had the opportunity to break-in & give an extended listen to a new pair of 109s recently thanks to a friend. IMO, midrange is to "die for" but a completely different animal compared to the 99s (but there definitely seems to be a "family resemblance"). I love my 99s, especially for the $, but if I was going to step-up my game, the 109s would be it.

 

[drummerman1]

I had the opportunity to break-in & give an extended listen to a new pair of 109s recently thanks to a friend. IMO, midrange is to "die for" but a completely different animal compared to the 99s (but there definitely seems to be a "family resemblance"). I love my 99s, especially for the $, but if I was going to step-up my game, the 109s would be it.

The 109 indeed have a different signature. They may be more Hifi but also less fun. I went to the Bristol show ready to buy them after having read most reviews but changed my mind after listening to them with amplification ranging from $400 to almost $3000. What I would not argue against is their build quality which is simply superb.

The Meze headphone I did enjoy immensely during this session was the Liric. It was unfortunately out of my budget.

 

[Tenashus1]

I don't think that jumping up $350-400 for the 109s is worth it to me. I've got a number of good phones (6xx, bt990, bt700 pro) plus in ears and iems to cover me, and I love the comfort and fun sound of the 99s. So, I think I'm in good shape for now. A sound test of the 109s by Oluv on YouTube helped me to make my decision.