Meze 99 Classics Walnut Gold Headphones (Gold & Black)

Product Information

The sound follows a similar flavor to what you get with the 99 Classics, which made our list of the best audiophile headphones, but the Neo's have a more prominent low end and a slightly lusher midrange. There is no monetary incentive for a positive review and despite receiving the headphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation. As the Meze Neo shares the DNA of the Classics, we guarantee that the Meze 99's are serviceable if any parts ever need to be replaced. I like the case; it’s good quality and molded to precisely fit the 99 Neo rather than just being an off-the-shelf offering.

However, they are warmed up a bit too much by the bass, especially when music provides a lot of "boomy" upper bass. Spaciousness, openness, positioning, transparency, refinement, delicacy, and an engrossing musicality of tone/timbre and texture are what lift the Meze Empyrean above its over-achieving and quite talented sibling. Sobre but eye catchy, mature but not boring looking, something that AKG would dream to achieve with there similar but cheaper headband find in model like the 701. Well, I guess because they are adequate to be drive by smarthphone as they are 26ohm and easy to drive, forgive me to never even care to plug it into a phone, i mean, i’m on headfi aren’t I? The noir's come with both the original and the "new" pads - i would consider both completely unusable for my head/ears.adapters, plus both a 1m cable with in-line remote for portable use and a 3m cable for plugging into a home system.

Just like fingerprints, wood grain is as unique, thus making each pair of Meze Headphone a one of a kind. They also have really great sub-bass extension with rather outstanding definition of sub and lower-bass notes.Mids of Takstar are little more recessed even if brighter and more clearly separated from the lows, where the NEO give extra pleasant warmest to vocal or instrument and do not have upper mids harshness like the PRO82. The ear pads could be a bit larger and deeper, but the padding is extraordinarily comfortable, even if it rests slightly on the (large) ear. Audiophile On is dedicated to bringing reviews of high-end portable audio products with an easy-to-understand format. Positioning, layering, and separation are very good and will together provide many “you are there moments. Every aspect is incredibly well thought out and far more pragmatic than the vast majority of portable headphones that struggle with at-home usage due to over-emphasis on portability.

Anyway, for a U shape headphone, I really find the vocal not recessed, just slightly veiled or coloured in lower mids by bass wich can even be benificial for some song like ‘’Comet Out your House’’ from Lali Puna that have synth bass and heavy electro kick well layered and a timbre registre of the signer that pair perfectly with Neo bassy soundsignature.

Further, there is nuance of tone/timbre, and transparency that come together to flesh out not only detail but emotion as well. The unique headband mechanism also grants the headphones with a very low centre of gravity, making them far more stable on the head than even the Oppo PM3 and strongly clamping Denon MM-400; they are one of the only headphones that have stayed put on my head when lying down. Their appealing combination of natural warmth and good insight, all-day comfort and classic looks make them an appetising option.

Unfortunately, it sometimes lacks the necessary precision and firmness, so that it sometimes grumbles grumpily instead of hitting hard. The flimsy-looking skeletal frame is surprisingly rigid, while their large padded headband does well to prevent pressure from building on the head. While these headphones are hugely listenable due to their pleasant tonality and comfort, they aren’t exactly natural-born entertainers. AMPING power need is just non benificial with this 26ohm headphone, they are extremely easy to drive wich is a very welcome aspect and underline the fact that Meze make the Neo for portable use.

In this way Meze Audio embodies a renaissance philosophy and ethic, and eye, that has, seemingly, all but passed from the world. Listening to my usual treble test songs, Radiohead’s “Creep”, “Paranoid Android” and “No Surprises” and Elton John’s “Rocket Man”, and the 99 Neo’s produced one of the better performances among my portable headphone collection.