Meze - 99 Classics

Meze is relatively new Romanian company and 99 Classics is their much talked about model in several forums. They are carefully designed with choice of premium materials like wood and metal. Having spent about a week with them here is my opinion about them:

BUILD QUALITY, COMFORT AND AESTHETICS: I ordered Walnut and Gold model. The headstrap is self-adjusting. At about 260 grams, they are fairly comfortable to wear for a long time. Earcups and headstrap are clad in artificial leather. It's soft and seems durable but genuine leather would have been definitely plus point at this price point. Wires are detachable and made up of OFC reinforced with Kevlar. Connectors are metal with gold plating. Hardcover casing is also good but not portable due to size. Meze claims that every part of 99C is serviceable and replaceable.

Golden parts accentuates the look which sometimes feel overly done. However overall look is classy and goes by their name - "99 Classics".

SOUND QUALITY: Here is the core. I burned them for about 15 hours. At 32 Ohm they are easy to drive with a mobile but will respond well to better sources. Meze claims flat frequency response and it’s not far from truth. 99C is fun to listen. Sound is balanced across all frequencies. Nothing over-powers.

BASS: It’s well defined and controlled. Might feel bit excessive in quiet room but that’s a closed-back headphone.

MIDS: Mid tones give lot of details and instrument separation. Sounds of pianos and guitars are lifelike. Vocals too are presented well and in detail. You can hear every whisper and breathe. They appear a bit forward of soundstage.

TREBLES: Highs are soft, sweet and airy without being harsh.

SOUNDSTAGE: Its average for a closed-back. Nothing outstanding here.

OVERALL: Overall 99C presents a pleasant, mature and well-balanced sound. It’s fun to listen, musical, well-built and stylish.

I have tried Meze 99 classics with Pixel 3aXL, Asus ROG laptop and it was paired with IFI HIP DAC.I have listened to spotify premium and apple lossless. This review will be divided into my experience with Headphone Zone, accessories, build quality, comfort and sound.

Quick review: its a super fun, punchy headphone that will make everything sound enjoyable. Its pleasing on eyes and ears as well. It manages all that whilst being extremely comfortable.

you can read the long review, ad feel free to skip to the part that you wanna read or just click on "buy now", you won't be disappointed.

First things first, many people with whom I have interacted with were under the impression that these are made in Romania. Well, they are not, they are designed in Romania, but made in China(the only reason I have mentioned it as people thought they were made in Romania). Meze is a relatively small company but they are known for making some absolutely amazing headphones and earphones.(on a sidenote do checkout their latest headphone Elite, its stunning!)

Headphone Zone experience: I have ordered a lot of products from Headphone Zone and every single time it was a great experience. browsing through the website is a satisfying experience. Meze 99 classics were booked without a hassle and were delivered on time. My only problem with Headphone Zone is that its really difficult to get in touch with Headphone Gurus. Th enumber is ALWAYS busy and you guys NEVER call back. I have been dealing with Headphone Zone since a long time, and I am sorry to say but its a bit disappointing when you present your headphone Gurus as your forte.

Your delivery system works line a clockwork, everytime without any issues. And everyone should take a note that with Headphone ZOne you are getting genuine Meze products. If you ever visit Meze website from India, you will get a prompt mentioning that "It looks like you're visiting us from India, where you have a local distributor." and it will guide you to Headphone Zone website. so you will have peace of mind that you are in safe hands.

Accessories: It comes in a beautiful box and it inlucdes 2 cables, first is 1.2m Kevlar OFC with mic and remote and second cable is 3m thread Kevlar OFC. It also includes 6.3mm gold-plated jack and an airplane jack and a much needed HARD EVA carrying case. So it pretty much covers everything, except a balanced cable.

Build Quality: This headphone is an experience. Its a piece of art. Its designed in a way to soothe not only your ears, but eyes as well. One look at it and you would know why is it called classics. It has a metal frame, a fake leather headband, and walnut wood earcups and gold coloured metal piece holding the headband and eacups to the frame. TBH, I am not a big fan of loud things like gold like accessories, how, here everything is done witha good taste, and it sure oozes classic vibe. They also boast that Meze has not used glue, its all put together with screws so its easily repairable, and I believe you can order everything online. In the world of mostly metal and plastic headphones, 99 classics sure looks beautiful. If you wear it in front of people, they will most likely give it another glance. andin case if you are wondering why is it called so, its because the lengthy of the ear cup is 99mm hence 99 classics.
There are no left or right earcups, it is decided by the cable. The left cable has a lil ridge. so you dont have to read Rand L, you can pretty much understand it by just holding it.
and the hard carrying has a liitle piece of metal, about the size of a coin. Its in black and gold and has the Meze logo and the company name onit, that instantly sets this carrying case apart from the rest of the cases.

Comfort: I only own a handful of IEM/headphones, but these are the by far the most comfortable headphone. its very light weight, and the headband very nicely distributes the weight on your skull. Its earpads and very soft and it has very low clamping force even straight out of the box. If you are wearing in a hot environment then it will obviously get warm, but other than that its pretty comfortable. The earcups are soft and cushiony and when I put them on, my ears dont the insideof the headphone. But I have to say when you are listening to songs and if your hand or anything hits the metal headband or the earcups then the sound is amplified, but its not really that much of a problem.

Sound: The reason I got this headphone was because I was lookig for something nice and fun and I am more than satisfied! These are pretty easy to drive with an impedance of 32ohms and sensitivity of 103DB. You can easily use this with your laptop or smartphone, but I use it with IFI HIP DAC to ge the best experience. This wasn't designed for critical listening, and if you are looking for that, then these are not for you. If you are someone who is into critical listening, then you may not like these for sure. It has a punchy and warm overal...

I found the Meze to be very musical and enjoy listening to them for many hours, whether in the studio, listening to my mix work or enjoying listening to music. Amazing detail and frequency response with no mid band harshness or the brittleness of the high frequencies. I am very happy with my decision to buy them and thanks to Headphone Zone, who first introduced it to me by sending one demo piece across.

First of all my sincere thanks to Headphonezone for such excellent service. Within 1 days received the headphone. Raghav is spoiling me day by day. Day by day i am becoming poor.
Jokes apart here is my review.
Pros: Awesome build quality with classic walnut cups, warm dynamic sound, easy driving headphones with any audio source.
Cons: Earpads are little shorter, some times bass is overemphasized
Boy oh boy this headphone drive any audio source with elan.Very easy driving headphone. This headphone is perfect for rock music. Mid is so awesome. Bass is very good but sometimes feel overemphasized. Awesome treble. It is not easy to impress me with headphone. Even though Raghav brought those headphones in Headphone connect in Bangalore But never tried. After reading all the reviews in Head-fi, Headphonics, Headphoneguru,i became too curious to try them. Unfortunately only option is buying. I am not regretting for my decision. From the beginning itself i am fallen in love with this gear. The build quality is so classy. Nothing cheap about it. With metal,wood such a wonderful combination. After burning the headphone more than 60 hrs, it is opening very well. The provided cable is awesome, My only regret about 3.5 mm termination. Meze could provide the 2.5 mm terminated balance cable with this headphone. My all IEMs are terminated in 2.5 mm balance cable. Everybody is complaining about the narrow sound stage. A 3.5 mm unbalanced cable can not give wide sound stage which is only possible through 2.5 mm balanced cable . I think Meze took all the feedback from all audiophile sites and take the matter in their hand. they are now coming out with their own customize custom cable . 8 wires OCC copper cable with 2.5 mm termination and 2.5 mm TRRS to 3.5 TRS connector with just $149 and 8 wires OCC silver cable with 2.5 mm termination and 2.5 mm TRRS to 3.5 TRS connector with just $199. Custom cable will give awesome sound signature

First of all a great thanks to Headphone Zone to get such a great product within my reach and to Yash who helped me decide between Meze & VModa as a gift to my wife. Although a bit pricey, but worth all the money, every single paise. This is the best headphone I've had until now. You hear sounds which you might not have heard normally and it does let you hear how it was meant to be heard.
This is not a Bass heavy headphone and hence anyone looking for the extra boom might not like it, but if you enjoy music, you will love this headphone.
The ear cushions are great and doesn't press hard on the ear. And the whole thing is light on the head as well.
The structure of separate head rest and the steel band does at times move differently when your head shakes and it might just put you off sometimes. For me that was the only niggle i faced.
Overall a great experience and full satisfaction. Nothing less.