Meze 99 Classics Walnut Gold Headphones (Gold & Black)

I have 5 pairs of headphones topping out at £750 grados and if I had to pick only one pair it would be the classic. They produce a wonderfully natural musicality without losing anything significant over my more expensive cans.The classic is not a neutral headphone but given a digital input they retain the advantages of digital with a more seamless and natural sound and extremely deep, controlled and palpable bass. Difficult to explain but I always feel that my brain is working harder when I listen to high quality digital, whereas these headphones make sound seem easier to process and this just adds to the enjoyment. Highly recommendedGo for it if:You want a pair of home based headphones under £700.You have a good quality (not mp3) based digital system.You have a high quality analogue input with a solid state amplifier.You are finding your current headphones too brash, tiring and mushy at the bass end.You have an external headphone amp.Listen for many hours at a time.You want to listen at lower volumes.May be better options if youConnect them directly to a phone or portable player. Truth is the amplifier in the device just won't be good enough to let them sing, although it will drive them.Listen to low quality digital such as mp3 or free Spotify. The bass becomes overblown and vague.Looking for portability.You need very high level of noise isolation.You want a monitor like accuracy and balance. Neutral they are not.You have larger than average ears. Still worth trying but may not fit.You will use them in a warm environment.You are using a less that top quality valve amplifier. May be overly warm sounding.ProsMusicality. I know there are better headphones out there but when I listen through the classics I just forget about being analytical and get lost in the musicality. I initially thought that they lacked detail but I then realised that it is there. What the classic does is to remove the characteristic of digital replay to focus you on continually changing aspects of the music. Instead I just let the music flow over me and it was my decision as to what, if any specific aspect of the music that I wanted to turn my mind to. Don't think this made the music less emotional or musical, in fact it does just the opposite. They have a fantastic bass response that is tight, fast and very deep. However the bass is never overblown like the sennheiser momentum. The main characteristic is a seemless integrated flow of sound that is incredibly natural, the likes of which I have never before heard from a headphone. The sound stage has good but not exceptional width but the produce a great sense of depth putting you on the stage and this leads to a very intimate feel to the music. Sorry but I just can't fault the design compromises of the classic.Good at lower volume. Subjectively I find that I don't have to up the volume to get a sense of realism or additional musicality so I can listen at lower and safer volumes than with my other cans.Fatigue free. There is no sense of fatigue even after several hours of listening.VERY comfortable to wear for hours. They fit over the ears with soft ear cups and no excessive feeling of pressure from the head band. They are also comfortable if you wear glasses.Look pretty good.Detachable and good length cable. In fact they come with two cables, one with in-line controls.ConsBuild quality is ok and matches their price and I can't say they look more expensive than they. They also feel a little fragile, although I expect they are more robust than I give credit.Warm. The ears can get a warm, but not uncomfortably so in hotter environments.Not portable. Too large and fragile to carry around.Average to below average noise isolation.

I collect headphones, usually buying 3-4 pairs a year. These headphones interested me first of all because of the way they look - there are very few wooden headphones out there. The next thing that piqued my interest was the fact that all the reviews I could find were positive. So I ordered a pair.When they arrived, the packaging and general presentation are second to none. A hard case is a very welcome addition, and when it's contoured to fit the phones very well. One slight (and it is only slight) modification I would make would be to give a bit more room below the headphones when in the case, as you have to remove the cables or bend them quite a bit in order to zip the case closed when the cables are plugged in. But obviously, that's a very minor quibble.The headphones are about as comfortable as headphones can get. They self-adjust, and the headband is soft enough hardly to be felt, but sturdy enough to keep the headphones in place.The ear pads are comfortable as well, but bear in mind that if you're in a warm environment, they can get a bit sweaty. I'm looking at getting some replacement ear pads when the weather goes warm again next year (as at the time of writing, it's just turning towards autumn).The cables plug into both earcups - it doesn't matter which way you plug them in, as the headphones are symmetrical.You get two leads - one with an in-line control for android / iOS, which as an added bonus also let them work as a PS4 headset. An expensive headset, but a bonus if you have a console. The other lead is a longer cable, with no in-line control.If you move around while listening to headphones, it may be worth giving these headphones a miss, as there is an amount of cable noise due to the texture of the cable and the fact it goes into both cups at once.I haven't been able to find a replacement cable for sale, so be careful with the ones that come with the headphones.The sound of the headphones (at last!) is superb, for closed-back headphones. I can't say much more than that. They're not up there with open-backed headphones with regard the wideness of the soundstage, but what you lose in sound quality (not a lot), you gain in isolation and not irritating people nearby with sound leakage.Whatever sound you throw at these headphones, they will deal with. From quiet classical music to bombastic action movies, the sound is crisp and instruments distinct.After all that, apart from the very minor caveats detailed above, I cannot recommend these headphones enough.

Very very comfortable and the sound is superb. For the people who say that they sound thin or that something is missing i would recommend turning the volume up and getting a cheap amp (i use a hipdac2) cos whilst they are very easy to drive they sound a different beast with a half decent source and amp (YT music with dongle on phone sounds great but Amazon music through hipdac2 at my desk is a different beast).Excellent build quality and i love the fact that they are easy to repair / get access to if needed.Combined with the case they are great value - i used them for gaming as well - the inline mic isnt great but works enough to shout at people on Forza.Only downside is the sockets for the cables on the side of the earcups are narrow which means my other cables (ie my balanced cable dosn't quite fit in despite being the correct plug size)

It looks stunning on my Industrial-Style Reclaimed Wood computer desk, and when I use the headphones they have excellent sound quality, but if I move my head too sharply the metal frame of the headphones can make twanging noises, amplified by the headphones, which can be quite off-putting. Other than that they're excellent.