Massdrop x Meze 99 Noir Closed-Back Headphones
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Massdrop x Meze 99 Noir Closed-Back Headphones
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Product Description
A regular fixture on InnerFidelity’s Wall of Fame, PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice section, and award lists around the world, the 99 Classics get a dark new look in the 99 Noir. Made in collaboration with Meze Audio, these headphones update the original medium-brown finish with a deep matte espresso and swap the gold hardware for more understated black ... Read More
4.5
94 Reviews
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fuzziekiwi
4
May 19, 2019
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SOUND: Fantastic headphone! I have owned and auditioned many headphones, but could never find a closed back with sound I REALLY liked. I currently own an LCD-2C, HD650, V-Moda M100 & XS, Sennheiser Momentum, Koss PortaPros. Very airy, smooth sounding headphone with a slight emphasis on bass, excellent imaging for a closed back, soundstage isn't as cramped as other closed back headphones (M50x, M100, Momentum). Treble is rarely ever harsh-I'm more sensitive to treble than most people I believe & tend to lean towards darker sound sigs. Vocals are my favorite part of this headphone, and it does every genre fairly well. This is the kind of headphone that can make recordings sound better than they actually are, rather than making them sound like nails on a chalkboard.
These sound closer to the Sennheiser house sound. If you enjoy the HD500, HD600 series but want a portable closed back (or something with actual bass extension) these are a steal. I also have JBL LSR305's and I personally think these headphones are the closest sounding to them in sound signature (smooth highs, mids, and good imaging!)- if you like that speaker you'll probably like these. Soundwise these are now my favorite closed back headphone! Very fun.
COMFORT: Unfortunately for me, I can never find closed backs that are comfortable for long periods of time because I wear glasses. These do have an issue where they put pressure on the tops of my ears and my glasses dig in. This is not exactly the headphones fault, as this has always depended on what glasses I have. My ears do not touch the baffle with these though, and I've had this issue with some other closed backs.
NOTES:
- Doesn't isolate noise very well
- These don't have a locking mechanism in the earcups like many headphones do (not a bad thing!)
- Easy to drive from a phone
- I wouldn't call these basshead cans, bass is slightly loose and emphasized but still nothing to complain about, on par or slightly less than the M50x (though I don't have them anymore to AB so take this with a grain of salt)
- People describing these as sounding wooly, are right (not a bad thing..)
- Easy to listen to for hours without ear fatigue
(Edited)
LordSmashington
0
May 16, 2019
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They look fantastic and they are comfortable as hell. Sound is starting to come alive in the right cup. Hopefully it just needs some run time to warm up.... sounds weird.... but let's see what happens.
(Edited)
Shane54NZ
26
May 16, 2019
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I've had these for about 2 weeks now and I absolutely love them. They don't isolate as tightly as my Allen&Heath XD2-53 (which are for club use), but they definitely keep me from annoying my colleagues, even when I give them the spores and crank up the volume.
The soundstage is very wide for a pair of closed cans - they're quite airy. At the same time, they have punchy bass, precise treble and warm mids.
They also look spectacular and don't hurt my ears/head even if I wear them for a few hours at a time (much unlike the aforementioned A&H cans, which sit to tight they squash my ears).
Overall, I am very happy that I dropped $200 on these.
ngbeslhang
0
May 15, 2019
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Overall pretty good sound, though your ears do get hot after a while (which is normal for closed-back headphones).
Athtel
288
May 15, 2019
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Not the highest fidelity headphones ever and a tad bass heavy. But, they make even poorly recorded/mixed music sound good. Listen to them through a HiFi system or straight out of your phone and enjoy!
Edit: I use them straight out of my iPhone 6s and they sound great.
(Edited)
momini
2
May 13, 2019
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The bass is so overwhelming in these phones that it significantly changes the music. Some songs I have been listening to for decades are barely recognizable. I had the neos and gave up on them for the same reason. I had hoped the noir would be better, but I am sadly disappointed. They are quite lovely to look at, but any music with a strong bass component is a mess.
Greig
7
May 12, 2019
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Great overall sound and can operate in Living room with partner not disturbed!
sabinok
1
May 12, 2019
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Punchy bass (quantity and quality).. good sparkle in the treble.. if there is a better "bang for the buck" headphone in this price range, I would sure like to know ... PS like the 99 classic the 99 Neo is just plain fun !!
Owaki
1
May 12, 2019
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This is gift for my best friend. Because I've same one (but bought from maker before) and it's loved sound well. I made dropped immediately the friend are looking for closed type headphone…
Pewgrim
12
May 12, 2019
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This is a "fun" pair of headphones...smooth with deep bass. I could listen to it for hours without fatigue and they are comfortable. Preferred the extra cups (smaller) that came with it (not the ones installed). Easy to drive. I liked it enough to buy a second pair.
(Edited)
gypit
4
May 12, 2019
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"All of life is a dispute over taste and tasting"...
I came to these via AKG 601s that I've enjoyed for several years. I was seeking more bass, and from the the numerous reviews (there are a heap on the Meze website) I figured "closed back" and that these would fit the bill. Thumbs up to Massdrop for prompt post, good tracking, nice packing and very reasonable shipping cost to Oz. Lovely looking phones, very comfortable (big head / small ears), but ...
The sound?... I really thought I'd love these cans, but THAT bass - woolly, loose - just not "right", and vocals that sound shelved down a couple of notches. I wondered if break-in was needed, and ran them for ~ 40 hrs on louder-than-usually-comfortable music -> no change.
Off to ebay, and I'm wondering re AKG 7xxs.
ashjwilliams
0
May 11, 2019
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Really enjoyable sound signature. Pleasingly warm & musical but elegantly detailed in the highs none the less.
IMO, make for a really fun and affordable alternative if you own other more neutral/precise headphones (i own, by order of preference : Focal Elear, DT 1990 Pro, Jays Q-Jays with Shure olive foams, HE4XX and HD6XX, so I think I lean toward more of a bit hyped bass, smooth mids and good treble detail).
Also, it's far more enjoyable to listen to than a Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Over-Ear that I also own, and I find it largely more confortable too (although it's less portable).
sinbad269
10
May 9, 2019
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Pros:
Sound and frequency response across the board is fantastic. Even with the pre-installed pads, the bass sounds clean and clear.
Build quality is top-notch
Comfortable, considering the size
Cons:
Clamp force is a little tight, but that'll probably get better with time.
The ends of my ears touch the driver wall.
The noise of the spring pad as it settles into position is annoying, but as with the clamping, I suspect this will ease with time.
The cable. It's good quality, but the braiding keeps it somewhat tangled and I also will never use the microphone integrated into it. Instead of a 2nd pair of pads, I'd have preferred a 2nd cable [or maybe even a somewhat better cable]. Alongside this, I also prefer cables that connect via 1 side, instead of connecting directly to both. This makes them ambidextrous for sure, but I sometimes hit the cable during use.
I initially wanted the HE35x's or the HE4xx's [they were going to take at lesat a couple months before being shipped and I needed a new pair asap], so that's what I was initially going for, but I'm still happy with these. I've had M50x's with velour pads, and Status CB-1's, where the pads started falling apart. The sound quality is the same or better than the CB-1's; which is interesting considering they're the best quality budget closed cans you can get on the market [except for maybe Monoprice Retro's - which are difficult to get over here].
If you're looking for a good set of closed-back headphones, that have excellent build quality and a removable cable, then look no further, although seriously consider options in a lower price-bracket [like the Retro's + pad change]
One last thing: I initially used them with a regular 3.5 - 6.5mm adaptor, but of course there's a 4th pole in the cable that I'd forgotten about and the sound was very odd. I'd heard things in songs I'd never heard of before, but it basically made the mids very hollow and bass next to non-existent.
MAKE SURE TO USE THE BUNDLED 6.5mm ADAPTOR.
(Edited)
kanelee
0
May 9, 2019
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The looks and built of the headphone is amazing. Larger pre installed pads have a heavy bass bloat that kills most songs to me, so I swapped to the smaller pads and it's significantly better to me. Bass bloat are less and things sound clearer.
However if you have a longish head and large ears like me...then this headphone is not too suitable. The self adjusting headband is extremely uncomfortable to me, my head definitely felt an amount of pressure and my ears felt like it was being garroted. My head stretched the headband to its limit and hence that's the result. So I removed the headband itself and things became significantly better to me lol.
(Edited)
RobotWoof
2
May 6, 2019
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Worst first:
My ears rub the foam pad over the driver a bit. Maybe some slightly thicker pads would help. Maybe I just have monstrous ears.
And then the rest:
Doesn't bother me much though. Other than that; great comfort, good clamp, soft pads, works fine with my glasses. The headband is great and you never have to adjust even if you lend them to somebody. Light but not too light.
Sound is sooo to my liking. Smooth and warm to dark. Excellent bass without overwhelming the mids and highs most of the time. Easy to drive, great imaging, sizable sound-stage, enough detail to feel good about your life.
Overall chill, relaxing, calm, and enjoyably pleasant. With bass.
Oh and they look as great as you think they do. You can wear these in public without people thinking you are an Eastern European mob boss.
(Edited)
pirk
8
May 6, 2019
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The look is amazing. The comfort is there. Got them for office use and happy with it.
The sound is not that convincing.
RHCP guitars disappeared in all the mud of the bass.
Vocals hiding behind the bloated lower mid.
The staging is very binary, either something is in the center, or all the way to the sides.
Still keeping them for occasional use in the office. But they sound way less exciting than AKG 7XX or Sennhs 6XX
coaxmetal
12
May 6, 2019
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I'm using these with an o2 odac amp/dac and they sound great. They are also very comfortable, even for long periods of use. They also just look great.
(Edited)
freshbakedbread
26
May 6, 2019
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I really wanted to like these... but ultimately, I sold them at a small loss. First off, they're one of the best styled headphones on the market. The walnut cups are just so cool. Sitting in my Eames chair made me feel like I'm totally cool (according to my wife, I'm not at all but I can pretend). Everything physical about these cans are cool right down to the great carry case... the build quality is exceptional except for one thing: the pads. They're thin and made of cheap pleather. I found them uncomfortable... but less so because of their material but because their thinness and the foam used inside. They just felt cheap and after an hour, started to become noticable. I didn't try the extra pads as they're even thinner. Clamping pressure is actually near perfect... I guess one can find aftermarket pads. I didn't because of the larger issue: the sound.
To me, they are not the refined cans many reviews made them out to be - maybe because they're not really true 99 Classics... I don't know. InnerFidelity loves the original 99's. Maybe these are more like the Neo's. Maybe. I found the sound very similar to the ATH-50's - lots of bloated bass, recessed mids, and decent highs. What bugged me the most was the bloated bass and sub-bass. They really got muddy with EDM and dub/electronic. For instance, snare drums had that thin, cardboard sound and lacked a rich swack that came through on my other cans. Overall, it depends on what you like and if the sound of the ATH-50's is what your after, these may raise that bar for you...
engineer177
10
May 6, 2019
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I totally agree with this. For $200 USD, they don't sound THAT refined to me. I expected to be blown away by the bass quantity and quality, but was left wanting more. The bass didn't feel as satisfying as the reviews made it out to be. Still decent if you want a relaxed sound with excellent build quality and comfort.
LordSmashington
0
May 16, 2019
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They are literally Classics. If you would have taken the pads off you would have seen the clearly marked "Classics" drivers. lol
Xombul
0
May 5, 2019
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The value for money is excellent. The amount of bass is a bit high to my taste but it can easily be adjusted with a dsp. The quality of construction is also very good. Using a silver plated balanced cable is a must to get the full potential of your Meze headphone. I warmly recommend it.
Thegingergiant
6
May 4, 2019
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Worth every penny, just swap out the memory foam pads for the smaller ones. Made them far more comfortable (even with my big ears). The other pads also tone down the base which can be a bit overwhelming with the memory foam pads.
downfortheL
1
May 4, 2019
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Really impressed with the sound signature and build quality. The 99 noir fills the role of a (relatively) portable closed-back headphone very nicely and is definitely worth it at $200.
(Edited)
ManzanitaBoy
7
May 4, 2019
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Save your money concerning the Meze 99 Noir's, and go for the Sennheser HD 58X Jubilees.To put it briefly, the 58X's sound very natural over the complete Hz range, while (to me) the 99's sound quite lifeless.
Thegingergiant
6
May 13, 2019
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In the audiophile world $200 is pretty much entry level. But what hi end and low end depends on perspective. So we are both right.
ManzanitaBoy
7
May 13, 2019
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You are spot on! The price of a headphone set is relative. For instance--the Noontech Zoros. $60. Fantastic sound! The Audeze LSD-3's. $1800. Fantastic sound! I might add--balanced phones are considerably better than single-ended.
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