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DirtyBlueshirt
8
Oct 16, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
I want to provide a full review, but... Well, I kinda can
So, I was one of the unlucky people who received a set of headphones with mold. What I can say is Drop's customer service was fantastic! They reached out right away and offered a refund. I did look up and make the tough choice to spend an extra $100 to get the 99 Classics straight from Meze. So, what can I say? The sound of the Maze 99s are incredible. So warm and detailed at the same time. They're able to give you some moderate bass without sacrificing the rest of the details, muddy these are not! Now, since I know the audio profile, I can still give this 5 stars. For the price of the 99 Noirs, you get one less audio cable, no airline adapter, and the case is hard nylon instead of hard leatherette. With those compromises, I would still not hesitate to recommend the 99 Noir series. Meze's sound is fantastic, and their repairability is virtually unmatched these days... I mean all you need is a precision Philips bit, and you can replace every part on the headset.
Recommends this product? Yes
sam01
6
Oct 17, 2021
DirtyBlueshirtThanks for the info but you aren't reviewing this product which obviously is built to different standards to the classics. 5 stars for a mouldy unusable pair of headphones? Seems like thats a bit misleading for those that are looking to buy the Noirs specifically which have had on and off mold issues for a long time now.
DirtyBlueshirt
8
Oct 17, 2021
sam01I'm sorry you disagree with my review criteria. There's currently no way for we, the consumers, to know for sure what the quality control standards are between the 99 Classics and the 99 Noirs, so I am sticking to the observable facts of the set I received. What I do know is that after dissembling the 99 Noirs and the Classics, the build standards appear to be the same. Same drivers, cups, etc are used. The only difference from a build perspective appears to be that the Noirs receive a darker stain, all-black hardware, and different accessories. Based on this, I can safely assume that they have the same audio profiles and overall fit and build quality. What is happening AFTER assembly is definitely a point of concern, but because it should be a correctable issue, I eliminated it from my personal rating criteria. As far as "ongoing" mild issues, I see only two batches (around November 2020, and the most recent October 2021) where this was reported. This is concerning, but at the same time, other batches have gone out without reported issues. If I were to speculate, it sounds like the environment in which these were stored prior to shipping may be to blame, since they seem to be from about the same time of year. I don't know for sure, no consumer does. I'm genuinely interested in a root cause analysis from Meze and Drop, but I don't think we'll ever get one.
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