MEZE AUDIO | 99 Classics Walnut Silver | Wooden Closed-Back Headphones for Audiophiles | Gaming | Podcasts | Home Office | Wired Over-Ear Headphones with Mic and Self Adjustable Headband

Great headphones if you can afford them. I prefer wired headphones as I listen to High Resolution recording. Bluetooth won’t cut it for me. They are comfortable although being closed back you may experience sweating in warmer environments. I have these for in home use. Currently use connected to my home stereo unit equipped with a separate headphone amplifier. If connected to phone or iPad with I use a DAC amp. Nice design, lightweight, comfortable and above all great resolution of music detail with good soundstage. Lows, mids, and highs all reproduced with warm to neutral resolution. The next step after these would be audiophile quality costing $500 or more. Would buy again.

The build style of these suits my eye nicely, different than anything I've had before. The build does feel a little weak, I'll hope they hold up well, but they look very nice. Headband for my obscenely oversized melon adjusts just enough thank god & sits very lightly and comfortably. Pads can get warm, I have to air out every 20-30 minutes. Headphones come with two sets of cables, I'm not up to speed on the connector type names, but with two connection types & an adaptor, it's very likely they come with what you need & won't need an additional purchase. No balanced connection though, but for this price that's just not an option. Comes nicely packed and with a fairly hard sided case. Impressed with that as well. As for sound, holy mighty lord. I was shocked with the sound, you'd think these were $1k+ headphones. Very easy to power them compared to my Focal Clears. The mids & highs are unbeatable. I'm not pulling your leg, mids & highs cannot be beat, & again, this price? Wow. Bass is loud & full. Only drawback I can put on these is the bass though. It's muddy, lacks detail for sure & you'll notice that right away. I EQ my phones & I've had to pull back the bass just because of the muddiness. I love me my bass but when it's this muddy, I conceded & had to pull it back. However, pulling the bass back just leaves the sound amazing, you will appreciate it very much if you're pushing them with a good source. I use a Topping DAC & amp, eq'd with a Schitt. I might explore, experiment with different cables with hopes of clearing up the bass somehow, maybe a burn in will help as well. If successful, these will beat my Focal Clears by a mile. For audiophiles, I'd say the soundstage is rather narrow & closed in. Typical of closed backs I know. I actually prefer that sound myself. Separation is easily noticeable though.. If you're looking for a cheap, great value addition to your collection like I was, these are it. I'd venture to guess EQ'ing them is probably a need, you'll want the ability to adjust the damned bass.

I don't normally write reviews. Not an "audiophile", just a person who got few decades of experience with audio equipment and knows what he likes. When it came to headphones lately I use wireless, for convenience. Bose for the buds, Sony for over ear. I don't like active noise canceling because it distorts music to my ears, and only needed on a noisy plane ride or if you live in squalor. My solution to plane ride is a pair of silicone plugs and over ear headphones with a good seal, obviously closed back, and if you can't hear your stuff too well - crank up the volume. This isn't a review, this is a set up to give an idea why I bought Meze 99 Classic model. I was really looking into a good quality set for... GAMING. Yes. Something easily driven if wired without an amp, or a wireless set, because my Sony's omnidirectional mic picked up my desk fan, AC, and everything in between, and you don't want to be THAT GUY on Discord who gets ignored when you talk in a voice channel, because everyone lowered your volume. I watched countless reviews on a few sets and realized I might have to settle for a wired set, due to a list of specific qualities I was looking for. I tried multiple sets and was not satisfied for various reasons, latest one from Logitech, which came simply physically broken, with cracked plastic out of a brand new sealed box. I was tired, gaming was pure frustration, wife was nagging me to buy something because she wanted to give me money for it, since she was out of ideas for my birthday gift. I decided to get a separate USB table mic (I did and I might just write a review on it), and a pair of good quality headphones. I went to couple of stores in Manhattan, including B&H and Audio46, to listen to some AGAIN. After hours of listening of various models and watching countless YouTube videos I suddenly was suggested Meze. I listened to Meze Neo but something was off. Maybe the plastic cups sounded too harsh or fake, maybe its just me. Also I wanted that longer wire that came with 99 Classics and the look. More mature, more refined. I thought the gold accents were gaudy, but when in Rome... or Romania. You know. I ordered a pair. Sure, the company is not widely known. Sure, gold and walnut has that 1970s vibe. But, they hit some of my many bullet points: easily replaceable and repairable parts, none of that glue/hot glue mess, replaceable ear pads, light construction and comfy feel, super smooth wooden ear cups, removable non-kinky cable of right thickness and length. When I listened to music on my phone I discovered the Meze had excellent mic for calls, built into the wire. All this came in an attractive box with accessories and a very nice storage case with a Meze badge. Finally, the sound. They obviously have a slight U signature on the EQ, warm, not overly bassy, nor trebly. You don't look at 500$ + expensive sets if you just want some gaming/music/Tv apparatus. Most of them have studio like tuning which is FLAT, because they're made for critical listening and not "I just want to melt into my chair after work" situations. Most have higher impedance requiring DACs and external amps and equalizers, making you tethered to one spot and feeling like another chore. Not these Meze 99 Classics. I normally listen to soundtracks, movie or games, don't matter, classical music, electronic, classic rock and metal to the extreme. Remember, the better and more expensive your headset is - the better quality files or original source of recording you would require, because they will uncover every hiss and dip, every rough moment will be heard. On most of my old timey punk, thrash and death metal records the level of original recording is crap, so the better your headphones are - the better you'll identify the problems and whole experience will become less joyful. But I digress. Meze has a warm, U shaped signature, as I mentioned, decent seal on the cups and it hides the ugly moments in my crappy old mp3 vinyl and CD rips quality, allowing me to sink into the rhythm and nevermind the bullocks. Meze emailed me soon after I received these asking for a review, but I considered 300$+ set a sizable investment, so I've waited about 2 months before writing this. I use these phones every day for gaming, TV and music consumption. I wipe the cups and headband every night with a damp paper towel to get rid of my skin oils. I love the looks, feel and touch, I love the sound and looks of jealousy in my wife's eyes every time I'm handling them, because I LOVE THEM. Could I afford something more expensive? Yes. Did I find something that better suited my needs and discriminating taste? No, and wouldn't waste any more of my time looking. They're here and hope they last... MY PRECIOUS-S-S!!!!!!

They sound fine for the price. Reviewers often describe them as "bassy"... and they are, but it's not the best bass out there for a closed-back. Expect something muddy or dark, rather than punchy. They look premium, but they don't feel premium. You wear them, and you start hearing creaking and "metal" noises from the headphone structure, but they go away after some time when they loosen up, which is good. The accessories included are excellent, so no complaints there. Overall, they are a nice addition to any audiophile out there; they offer a rather unique sound.

So first things first this is going to be a bit long in the tooth but the TLDR version is as follows: For someone just starting to develop their ear for audiophile peripherals and devices who also happens to be leaning towards luxury stylings, this is an unbeatable package (that also doubles as an investment). These deliver a detailed and non fatiguing listening experience and damn do they look good doing it! I'm going to begin by explaining a brief background on my listening habits and what devices I have experience with. First and foremost I am by no means an audiophile, but I am becoming more interested in HIFI audio as time has gone on. My very first pair of headphones I ever purchased were the Auvio 33-290 (A very apt direct comparison to the Meze 99s if only looking at the contents of the boxes haha!). I seriously thought they were the coolest headphones ever what with the ANC (powered by two AAA batteries as was the fashion at the time) and a hard case as well as two cable attachments 1 for a hifi stereo and another for an airplane audio port (the perfect set up for an angsty teen who's family moved around as often as mine did). I used these as my daily drivers for years and I never even considered there being a better alternative. So you could imagine my surprise the first time I tried on a pair of first generation Bose QuietComfort QC1s. Before then I never realized a pair of headphones could simultaneously be quiet (the Auvios being all plastic and rather cheaply made rattled like crazy), comfortable (the plush memory foam on the Bose was a treat to my head after the abuse the earcups and headband padding had taken on my Auvios), and actually make music sound better (the first time listening to a pair of high end headphones after only ever listening to a set of cans from radio shack is really only something you can experience for yourself). Now all that being said I never did buy that set of Bose headphones because I didn't really care much about the difference in quality once I saw how much more expensive they were than my Auvios. Even though I didn't buy them, that first experience with a luxury headphone still stuck with me and eventually lead me to the Meze 99 Classics over a decade later. I can safely say listening to the Mezes for the first time took me right back to that same feeling I got with the QC1s! For starters calling Meze headphones high end or luxury is to almost understate the actual beauty of the headphones themselves and the overall presentation. From the logo on the form fitting hard case to the gold accents and walnut ear cups, everything on these exudes confidence and quality craftsmanship (hell even the zippers are satisfying). I'm going to break everything down to those three key areas I mentioned before: Quietness: These headphones have a spring steel headband which means they're extremely solid (no rattle to be found here). You also won't find any plastic on these headphones and every piece is secured with screws so all you hobbyists out there can tear them down and replace components as needed with very little fuss! The cord also is part woven kevlar and part rubber coated which also contributes to a nearly noiseless headphone (the most noise I've heard from them has been the earpads adjusting after slipping the headphones on, something that will change once they're broken in of course). This cable can of course be upgraded to a balanced cable should you aim for a more audiophile focused listening experience. Comfort: The first thing I noticed when I picked up the box was just how light the entire package was, something that was a great indicator of just how comfortable these were going to be for extended listening. You couldn't imagine my face once I was actually holding the headphones solo, it was like some sort of antigrav technology (hyperbole I know, but they're seriously light!). Then once I actually got them on I immediately knew I could never go back to a standard headphone band. Having a self adjusting memory foam headband coated in PLU with the lush earcups was a total treat! Again I have to express how weightless the package feels due to how comfortable it is! The fact that they don't majorly squeeze your head is a major plus as well. This is still yet another area that can still be improved further with the wide availability of differing earpads (I am honestly smitten with these ones though, the comfort and noise isolation is perfect for my tastes and I haven't noticed the pads contributing to any sort of increased base presence as I've seen mentioned in other reviews). Music Enjoyment: Again, I can't stress enough that I'm not an audiophile but that I do thoroughly enjoy music and have a pretty decent ear for it (don't worry though, I'm not about to go on about frequency response and things of that nature, better to leave that to the pros). So when I say that these improve the listening experience what does that mean exactly? Aside from the obvious comfort of the headphones themselves (a must for extended listening sessions) you also get a far more full bodied 3D audio experience from your music. This is a headphone that will seriously give you moments of amazement and joy as you're able to hear elements of your favorite songs that you might never have noticed before. If you pay attention you may even start to get this spatial awareness of where the different elements composing a particular song are coming from. It's really one of those experiences that will stand out to you the more time you spend with these headphones. That being said, you may be wondering if there's a particular genre that these excell at and so far I haven't found one that stands apart from the rest. I listen to A LOT of music encompassing many genes (I'd say my comfort zone is somewhere between punk and prog rock with a lot of new age jazz for some variety) and these headphones have truly improved the listening experience with every song I've tried them with. They can even take some crunchier punk recordings and still pump some extra depth into them without really making you notice that lowfi quality in a bad way. They're just really great all around headphones delivering depth that you would normally need open backed headphones to even scratch the surface. They handle these different elements all while delivering a really fun listening experience that isn't going to fatigue your ears and doesn't require anything more than the device of your choice to achieve. Final Verdict: Given that my most recent pair of headphones prior to purchasing these was not my old Auvios I must admit my world was not turned upside down in the exact same way with my first listening session, my enjoyment more so built over time. These days I use a pair of Sony WH-CH510s for music and a pair of Skullcandy Hesh 3s for gaming and travel. Neither of these are particularly high quality headphones, but they can still deliver a pleasurable listening experience without being overly expensive or fussy. The 99 Classics, on the other hand, are in a class all their own in terms of the quality and engineering in comparison to their cost. Not only do they look the part of a premium headphone but they sound incredible to boot and are fully serviceable. This all boils down to these being more of an investment for me personally as I'll be able to keep these operating for years to come and even upgrade certain components as my needs change. The fact that these headphones can hit so many marks at the $300 price point is truly a remarkable feat and something to be admired (especially in the wake of planned obsolescence). All in all, I'm overjoyed to own these headphones and if you find yourself looking to invest in a quality pair of headphones, I think these could fit your needs just fine!

Extremely comfortable headphones that account for the actual shape of the human head (which I wish I didn't have to consider such high praise but... it's unfortunately a very rare thing these days). The audio quality is so wonderful that these literally brought tears to my girlfriend's eyes when she was listening to some of her favorite songs. Given that "audiophile grade" headphones can easily be ten times the cost of these, you really can't beat the value Meze has on offer here, nor are you going to beat the quality of the materials or workmanship. These walnut ear cups are so smooth, they almost don't feel real (they are, just to be clear), and the cushions are so comfortable and soft that, combined with the light weight and gentle headband, you can absolutely forget that you're wearing them. The only downside, and please note that this didn't keep me from rating these with 5 stars, is that the cord transmits a LOT of motion noise (such as dragging against your shirt) up to the ear cups). So adjust your use case expectations accordingly. For me, these are "sit and appreciate" headphones which also see a fair bit of use when I'm at my desk. They're NOT "casually putting around the house" headphones because the noise of the cord moving pulls me out of my music. If you've never used audiophile grade headphones before and your expectation is that "more bass means more better" then you're going to be shocked to learn these don't boost the bass in any form. These provide a very balanced sound a lot more akin to the studio monitors the audio engineer who mastered your songs were listening in through -- and what that means for you, in practice, is that if you sit, listen, and appreciate your favorite songs, you're very likely going to pick up on details you've NEVER heard before. These are truly remarkable and well worth the investment.

Please excuse badly background cut photos. No one want to see all the crap I have on my desk, including me. These things are amazingly comfortable. I have a big head. Or rather, I have a head that hates headphones. Most importantly, I've tried stretching my old Audio Technica ATH-M50s in 5000 different ways to make them less like my head in a vice, and I finally had enough (not the sound, that was great) and finally did some review surfing from various places before I went for what was rated the most comfortable headphone). At this point, the sound could be excellent, but I don't want to wear them for longer than 2 minutes, what good are they? Are they comfortable: hell yes! Do they look amazing: hell the f-ings yes! Do I make my friends jealous: very probably. The wood is so good to look at and feels great to the touch. The metal construction is light but feels sturdy. Padding: fluffy clouds of awesome on my ears Sound quality: seems good to my non audiophile ears. But to me, it doesn't make the sound bad in the slightest, so that's cool. I don't have to fiddle with EQ or anything for it to sound amazing to me, and that's all I really need. It has decent bass, rich highs, but vocals and low frequencies seem to tone is more forcibly than others. If you want REALLY detailed specs on these cans, goto soundguys dot come's review and see their graphs. I'm not an audiophile, so I can only tell you "they sound good to me!" Isolation: Eh.. you're not going to tune out an SR-71 blackbird or a Concorde's engines with these, but honestly I wouldn't use these for travel as much as sitting and hope and not waking up my house while enjoying music. Still, it dampens the sound of my fans and computer enough. If you need more than this, you'll have to get some actual noise-cancelling headphones, sorry. Cables: Right and Left marked cables that go to the plug of your computer/device with a 3.5mm plug. Thanks for the left and right markings because honestly, I can't remember what side I'm listening to otherwise. Self adjusting suspension (those crazy arches over your head): they don't squeeze my brain. I'm happy with it. Cables: kevlar reinforced! is that overkill? Probably not. I abuse cords. So far so good. Mic: Honestly haven't tried it, I'm using these to listen to music not make calls. Technical stuff: These are closed back over the ears headphones, so your roommate isn't going to hear your stuff, but the sound quality will be different than open back. If you've never had open-back cans, you'll never miss it. Overall, I love these enough to keep them on my head, and that was what I wanted when I purchased them. All the sound quality in the world of "better" headphones means nothing to me if I can't keep them on my head. They will not noise cancel out your life, so you can hear when someone is talking to you instead of ignoring them because you're wearing a set of Bose Ultracomfort Noise cancelling headphones. Aesthetics is 5 stars. Sound in my humble opinion was excellent. Comfort better than anything else I've worn, BUT, they still have to be taken off after an hour or so and rub my ears. I am, however, very hard to please, and the fact I put them right back on again after should say they aren't horrible at all. My biggest ah-hah moment was when I heard instruments I hadn't even known were on tracks I listen to daily. Can I hear the growling in the voice of Raphael in Raphael's Final Act: YES Do I hear the strangely fascinating small sounds in the Harpy Song in BG3? YOU BETCHA! Can I hear the thump of fingers against the guitar in Nick Cunningham's Down Under: Indeed Do the electronic beats of Muse's The void, Icarus from Deus Ex, and Galestien's Global Entry Radio? Mmmm delicious Do I hear things sneaking up on me in games where they can sneak up on me: YES, I thought I was just deaf all this time... geez Great pair of headphones for my needs.

Updated review at the end - leaving the original first: Comfort: I have a fairly large head and it fits well. It is soft on the ears. It is warmer than other headphones I have used in the past, but not enough to make me think badly of them. All in all, very comfortable. Sound Leakage: When playing music, I can't hear any outside noise. When playing at medium levels, nobody else can hear the music I am listening too. I have not played them with really loud music to know if anyone can hear them besides the listener or not in that situation. Sound quality: I am not good at describing this, but I will try my best. I do hear details in the music in the mid and highs, but at the same time it sounds a little dull or muffled. It has a good amount of bass (more than many other headphones I have tried), but I can't hear as much details in the low end as I can with the mids and highs. I had high hopes for this based on all the audiophile reviews, but it surprises me that so many people like this type of sound profile. I expect headphones (or any speaker system for that matter) to sound as if the music and vocals are right in front of me. The Meze 99 Classics do not sound like that to me. The best example I can give is that it seems like the highs and mids (especially the vocals), are too far a way - like you are listening to someone else playing music through the wall of an apartment. I can hear each and every word and various subtleties in the music, but it doesn't sound vibrant or rich and certainly not sounding like it is being played right in front of me - like it does when you see a band live. I guess I would describe the sound I prefer as more open, vibrant or airy sounds and with good clarity and detail at all levels (mids, highs and lows). In summary, the Meze 99 Classics are comfortable, although warm, have good clarity at mids & highs - not the best I have heard, but really good for the price. I don't find the lows to have enough detail for my tastes. But the part that kills these headphones for me is what I mentioned above - the sound signature they produce overall feels muffled or fake to me. It must sound like the music is being played live right in front of me and Meze 99 Classics fails in that regard. And since that is the number 1 thing I look for, these headphones are not for me - even with their great clarify for the price. ***Update March 19th 2018*** I have been asked to specify what setup I was using to test these headphones to help people understand the context of my review. Also, since I have been using these headphones for a while now, I wanted to provide an update. To answer the question first. I bought these headphones for use with portable devices (tablets, laptops, cell phones, etc...). I had no intention of getting something that required an amp to get acceptable volume levels or require an EQ to produce the sound signature that I like. I already have a high quality setup for just pure home use for something like that. So I purchased the Meze 99 Classic to be directly plugged into and used with portable devices. That means I needed headphones that had a low ohm rating. The Meze 99 Classics, rated at 32 ohms, fit the bill for these types of source devices. Now after trying the Meze 99 Classics out on multiple source devices for weeks now, I found that some devices are adding a lot more color (not a good thing for my tastes) than others. However, the Meze 99 Classics sound colored & recessed to some level on all the source devices I have tried. Lets cut to the chase. Will you like these headphones for use with portable devices? I think that for most people, they will say yes. Because I think a lot of people in the market for better than average headphones will like the clarity of the mids and highs that these headphones bring. And I think most of them will be happy with the extra bass and most people won’t be bothered that these headphones sound “bass colored” at all frequency levels and somewhat recessed. However, there will be some audio enthusiast, like me, that having the sound colored is not acceptable. The bass should be there, I love bass. But for my tastes and others like me it is not ok that the bass bleeds into the mids or highs, nor is ok to us that it makes them sound recessed (muffled, in the background, closed, or however you want to describe that sound). If you fit into this category of listener, you will be disappointed by these headphones. To give a better analogy than when I said the Meze 99 Classics sounds like good music being played behind a wall, let me say this instead: At one time, I put a good audio system into my car, including an amp in the trunk and an EQ. I carefully selected speakers to get the clarity I was looking for and I made sure I had good woofers for clear bass with the punch that I wanted. I could hear details at all frequency levels and I could feel the vibration of that bass punch through the back of my seat (without any of that distorted rattling you hear in some bad setups) and without drowning out the mids an highs. Picture the mids and highs mostly coming from the speakers in the front of my car – where I was sitting - and the bass mostly from the back. It was in perfect balance. I can hear everything without anything overwhelming and drowning out other sounds. With the Meze 99 classics, the sounds is like the opposite car speaker setup – meaning like the bass is coming from speakers up in front of the car - closer to your ears - and all the mids and highs coming from the speakers in the back – making them sound recessed (in the background). Again this is more notable on some sources than others and maybe if you ran it through an amp and an EQ, you can fix that. But for the use I have intended – plugged directly into portable devices, the recessed and colored sound is there and that is not what I am after.