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

These cans look, feel, and sound way better than anything I've tried before. I'm no audiophile, but I listen to music for hours a day while at work, and I appreciate good sound reproduction and a comfortable fit. Over the years I have used the ATH m40x, AKG K371, and Sennheiser 569. They all had their strengths, but also their weaknesses, whether it was sound quality, fit/comfort, durability, etc. Those all felt like decent, low- to mid-range headphones that delivered adequate value, but the 99 NEO feels like it's in a class of its own. I think it delivers way more than the modest price increase over the other ones mentioned. I have nothing but good things to say about these. The packaging is sleek and sturdy. The included carrying case is robust. The design of the headphones is elegant, with a single piece of bifurcated spring steel that goes from cup to cup, and stylish cast aluminum brackets that attach the self-adjusting headband. The headphones are super light and fit me perfectly. The tension on the headband is just right, providing a snug fit, with even pressure around the circumference of the foam surrounds, but not so tight as to cause discomfort over time. After having all my headphones eventually break on me in ways that are difficult to fix, I love the fact that these are held together with fasteners rather than adhesive and proprietary plastic snap connecters. I also like that there is a mono input on each cup, so that there's ne need for a dainty (read: damage prone) wire to be routed from one side to the other via the headband. The only possible niggle that I could have would be the heat that can build up from the pleather on the foam surrounds, but there's no way around that; I enjoy the bass response that pleather delivers as opposed to velour. In all respects - design, build quality, weight, fit, comfort, sound, and value - I would rate these as the best headphones I've ever had.

So the first thing to report is that if you are looking for an analytical sound, either because you yourself mix, or because you are the sort of person that wants to hear the music exactly as it is represented by the people who made it, then these may not be the headphones for you. These are not "flat" headphones, the frequency response is indeed curved. If you want something that gives you an as close to neutral sound as possible, get some Sennheisers or what not and enjoy the music that way. What these are, are very well made, very comfortable, easy to repair, lightweight, and most importantly FUN sounding headphones. These are honestly what I feel like most people who like Beats think Beats sound like. Yes they are bass heavy, but like most review you'll find they don't blow out every other instrument because of it. You can listen to classic rock, jazz, orchestral music, etc. on here and not feel (IMO) like you're missing much. But where it thrives are in the genres that have a lot of THUMP and you're going to feel it. And indeed, because of that, these also are EXCELLENT headphones for gaming. If you have a desktop microphone and are looking for a fun pair of headphones to play games with, the imaging on these and the low range THUMP are both good enough that you can use them somewhat competitively, but also have fun listening to all the carnage around you in most first person shooters especially. For those wondering what I have to compare this too, I actually do have two pair of headphones normally used by folks who want a more flat analytical sound. MDR-7506s, professional Sony mixing headphones that have excellent vocal clarity for the price but are a bit lacking in the fun department because of it (they're just not made for it honestly, but if you are watching a movie or podcast or something they're still real good cans), and ATH-M50x's, the classic Audio Technicas. While a bit bassy for their reference style, they're still not as THUMPy as these Mezes. And out of the three? I know which one I'll be keeping hooked up to my PC the most. the Technicas and the MDRs might go with me on casual walks or to work, but for when I just want to have fun jamming or gaming? These are excellent. Only problem I have with these out the box is if you are going to plug them into a PC, make sure to get their 3m 3.5mm chord. The one that comes with the Neo is a bit short for desktop use, so you'll be tethered pretty close to your PC if you don't.

These headphones are very nice. They're what I was looking for. What makes them great for me: 1) Closed-back, so I have good sound isolation. Not noise-canceling (I need to be able to hear a little bit, at least if someone is calling for me) but strong enough isolation to not be disturbed by the chaos. 2) Good audio that doesn't strongly favor a specific type of playback. I use headphones for games, movies, shows, music, etc. 3) Moderate price, as I can't be spending a ridiculous amount of money on headphones, even if I expect them to be durable. 4) Durability, since each piece of the unit is serviceable. Replacing anything is possible should it break. (And the parts themselves look to me to be strong off the bat. I note this because I had an ATH-40 set where the hinge just died—a common point of failure, apparently.) 5) Style, as they just look really nice. A lot of over-the-ear headphones look bulky and ridiculous. These are extremely elegant. 6) Comfort, since they are light and fit very well during extended usage. (I will note that I have central air, so my home doesn't get hot and thus the pad material is generally not a concern for me.) I have a few notes (all related to the cable), not worth docking a star for: 1) I would have liked a cord that was not plastic/rubber above the split. The bottom section of the cable is nice. The top is not as much. (I may end up replacing the cable with something else in time and I doubt I would choose to service that part with an original replacement.) 2) The interface (2 very slim jacks) on the earphones is moderately annoying as it limits the replacement cable options. It looks nice but it's unfortunately not super practical. 3) I can't tell if it's the mic or the connection through an adapter (phone has a usb-c port), but the recording pickup from the inline is poor for me. Not a real problem as using it with my phone is not a typical use-case. Overall I am quite pleased (and I got the set on slight sale, so even moreso) and absolutely recommend this product if your desires are sim ilar to those I outlined above.

Look, I hang out on all the popular headphone sites and have been aware of the Meze 99 Neo for a long time now. I don't have a big collection of cans, but what I do have I really like (Deva, Fidelio X2, Thinksound ON2, ATH-M40x, and a few others). In consideration of my annual purchase to try something new, the 99 became available on an open box basis at a great price from Wired For Less (via Amazon) and I pulled the trigger. Beautiful to look at, great construction, and very, very comfortable. Headphone site reviews described the sound in a wide range, from balanced overall to a V-shaped sound. But each set of ears hears subjectively different, and that's why we must listen to headphones in the search for a sound we enjoy. Unfortunately, I had to send these back as there was something in the upper treble range that was just too bright for my ears and taste, and I have never thought of myself as treble-sensitive. Tried these on various pieces of equipment such as my Schiit stack, Hidizs AP80, Qudelix K5, and IFi gear, but it just never stopped being overly bright (some call it "clarity"). Bummer, as I wanted to really like these after all the fine reviews. I could EQ but have never really been that guy or in that camp. To me they should impress right out of the box, but the 99 NEO didn't quite get there for me. The seller was a champion though, and I would not hesitate to buy from them again. So much for this year! No new headphones. Maybe next year.

This is my first experience with Meze as a brand, and let me say out of the gate they deliver. The case is robust, the included cables, and adapters are nice, and most importantly the headphones are built incredibly well. Coming from a background of Beyerdynamic DT1770s, Audeze and V-Moda I can say that these are exceptional especially from a build quality standpoint. Now let's break down the main features and how the 99 Neos stack up: Comfort: I can't even tell they're on my head most of the time, I wear them around 10-12 hours a day, for work, gaming and production. Very lightweight with plush and forgiving earcups for someone who wears glasses. Sound: This is easily my favorite part about the headphones, the sound is so robust and lends itself to various genres including but not limited to Metal, EDM, Hip Hop, Rap and Big Band. All of the layers are discernable, the frequency response speaks for itself and they're very easy to drive, however I will always recommend a DAC/AMP if you want to unlock their potential. I haven't even bothered to EQ these yet out of the box and I'm not even sure if I want to, which is a big statement because I had to tune the DT1770s fairly heavily. Build Quality: I've handled a lot of things that are "Built like tanks" and these pair are no different. Plus Meze doesn't use glue or anything based on the literature so I imagine any service in the future will be comparatively easy. tl;dr For $200 USD I don't think you can get a better pair of headphones, and I've been on the search in this price point. I'd urge you to give these a try because I'd be willing to bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Ok so I don't use audiophile terms really, alot of them I'm not sure if I really even understand haha. I do own several headphones, somewhere around 50ish over the ears. I run them off my phone with a fiio a3 or I run them off my Yamaha home stereo receiver hooked to a liquid spark amp. Very modest indeed. The only details I'll get into besides sound is comfort because looks and build speak for them selves, they're awesome. The comfort is perfect, once on your head you forget they are even there. Unlike the jaw breaking force of the Sennheisers. Or the super loose fit of say the sph9500. Ok so now on to the sound! SOUND PART OF MY REVIEW: as I said, I don't really use alot of audiophile terms I am better at understanding sound by comparison to other headphones or speakers. So at $200 to $300 bucks you have some real heavy hitters. You have alot of great options. To name a few of them I'm guessing you either own or are trying to decide from. You have the Sennheisers 58x, 6xx, 600 and 650. You've also got the likes of hifiman 400i and 4xx the Phillips Fidelio x2hr and the Beyer 770,880,990 just to name a few I foolishly own over 3/4 of these so I feel as if I can speak with pretty good knowledge of what you can expect. So the star of the show, THE BASS! These to me have the best/most bass of the lot. Sub bass is great, snappy drum bass is great, low end grunt from guitars and other stringed instruments is awesome. Mid range is very warm and cozy with very little bass bleed, which is amazing for how much thump these have. The mids are only rivaled by the 58x and 600 variants. I cannot honestly say which is better they're just two different flavors but both equally delicious. The meze is warm and extremely present mixed with Bass where as the Sennheisers are getting very present with much less warrants from bass but so extremely accurate it's almost a religious experience lol. Now the high-end is where things become very difficult. The 99s do not offer the high quality antalitical effortless hight end of the Sennheisers or the planar hifimans but what you get in return is a rolled off super sweet relaxing hight end. Like a very good vinyl pressing compared to a CD if you will. So overall if you want accurate amazing time tested reference sound go with the Sennheisers, if you want hard to drive bassless but very good mids and highs go with hifiman. If you want overall performer with strong v shaped sound and amazing soundstage get the x2s. If your like me and love your bass, and want amazing mids, soundstage and comfort with easy on the ear treble get these meze 99 classic or neo! If I could only have one of these headphones it would be a real hard choice between the 58x and these meze 99s but I'm pretty sure I would take the meze 99. Best bass, best looks, best out of the box accessories and easiest to drive (nothing more than a cellphone required) I hope I was able to give something of an idea of what to expect from these.

If you are a bass head and you appreciate high quality sound these are for you. The first thing that I have done is purchased 20$ small ear pads from Meze classics - the stock pads are large and when you change to small pads it makes a huge difference and balance the sound. The mids and highs are going to be brought up and the bass will get a bit reduced - pad change is absolutely must be done. I don’t understand why Meze ships them with the large pads, they sound awful. Second thing I have done is purchased Meze 50$ balanced cable to use them with my Bluetooth dongles - this made another huge difference in sound quality. The cable matched my Sundara’s 2020 perfectly. Neo’s stock 3.5 cable is awful sounding - makes mid bass thicker and hides the high frequencies. I have 99 Classics and their stock 3.5 is a bit better sounding, but balanced makes a huge difference. I have decided to try 120$ Meze silver cable and it has improved Neo even further but I believe the cost difference doesn’t worth it specially with Neo. I ended up using the silver cable with my Focal Clear. If you must use them with 3.5 jack I would recommend to look for silver plated copper cable from other manufacturers. I used Neo for traveling, they isolate quite a bit of noise and I was satisfied using them during the flight, it’s not Bose or Sony ANC, but to me it was acceptable and I travel a lot. I use them with IFI Go Blue with 4.4 balanced cable and they kill my Bose, XM4 and AirPods Max on sound quality - night and day difference when you AB them. They are very bassy with insane kick that Ive never experienced with any other headphone or IEM, thick and satisfying lower mids, tamed highs and just right sparkle in upper highs with plenty of air. Neo’s mids and highs are more detailed comparing to Air Pods Max but APM has more textured bass albeit having no way near the bass quantity and kick that Neo gives you. Very fun and satisfying sound signature, just swap the pads and cable and you’ll love them.

I'm no audiophile, so I'll keep this short. I bought these twice, once as a gift, and once for myself. The ones I got for myself had a defect in the driver, and after contacting Meze, they sent me a replacement driver very quickly and it was simple as can be to replace it myself (only had to deal with screws, no solder). One of the best aspects of these is that they can be worked on and repaired without having to send them off somewhere to linger in a workshop for months before you get them back. I own a lot of headphones. Are these the best sounding headphones out there? No, but they do sound good and competently deliver audio, with a nice boost to the bass region without eating too much of the mids. That's mainly why I like them, for when I want to listen to something that benefits from some extra bass. I think they compete well in their price range for audio. Not the best, but very far from the worst. Where they are leaps and bounds above everyone else in their price category is the quality and build. They're very comfortable, but get a little too warm after a while (Meze needs to put out some different fabric earpads for these). They look and feel premium, and come with a great case that makes them perfect for travel.