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

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!

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 earsSound 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: YESDo 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: IndeedDo the electronic beats of Muse's The void, Icarus from Deus Ex, and Galestien's Global Entry Radio? Mmmm deliciousDo 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... geezGreat pair of headphones for my needs.