Meze 99 Classics Walnut Silver Headphones (Silver & Black)

Product Information

These are the kind of headphones where you don't want a visceral, sharp bass but a smoother one that compliments the midrange's slightly warm tones. Classical tracks like Tchaikovsky and Brahms are displayed with all the grandeur and excitement you want.

The Bass on the Meze 99 classics is full ranged and while powerful it isn't fatiguing or in the way. Headphones like the NAD HP50 go supra-aural and take a thicker pad approach to alleviate the pressure from the pad overlap on the ear.If you do try to correct that range, you’ll have to make some rather extreme cuts in the most audible bands, which could lead to issues, depending on your source. Headband bracket made of metal; very unpleasantly microphonic and ringing when touched, which is a big factor of annoyance. It’s nowhere close being neutral or analytical, focusing more on a huge dose of fun and being just easy to listen to.

Those featuring a captured spy in the chair, Gestapo villain in a long coat and a nasty facial scar wants facts, facts, facts!

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. Overall, the Meze 99 Classics offers decent isolation from outside noise, and will quiet the world around you well.

It’s nothing too fancy but good quality; you get two sets of cables (of the same design but different lengths), an airline adapter, and a quarter-inch jack.

I know many people will be happy for a similar-sounding headphone as the Classics but with a bit more low-end grunt. Aside from that, Meze has included an airline adapter as well as a quarter jack adapter with the 99 Classics. Though the Meze 99 Classics and the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt were by no means embarrassed by this four times more expensive pairing. Clamping is tight but not overly so, certainly not AKG K518DJ ear grinder levels, but is accentuated slightly by the lack of upper ear room and pressure balance on the ears as a result.

Our aim is to change the perception of headphones as technical devices or as cheap plastic accessories and create a mature product to fall in love with. Sometimes this can lead to higher-pitched instrument sounds getting lost in busy mixes, or sounding a little quieter than you might expect. The material on the hard zippered cases is slightly different when it comes to texture and only the Classics includes an airplane adapter. Both are excellent-sounding headphones in their own right, and I would say that only slightly do the Classics have the edge in terms of refinement.Acoustic tracks such as that from Sungha Jung and Rodrigo y Gabriela sound wonderfully fun and lifelike. I like the foam used underneath as its memory quality holds shape around the ear very well and feels great over long listening sessions. Put them on, sit back and enjoy your favourite sound of plucked strings, upbeat grooves or thumping beats while still looking classy.