Santa Barbara is over, but her cause lives on! About a year ago I had a chance to review the “walnut silver and gold”, and along with it the overhead headphones Meze 99 Classics, which conquered the hearts of music lovers. And they’ve won tons of prizes at various Hi-Fi shows. So by changing from walnut to black, and from wooden earpads to plastic, the brand has made the new Meze 99 NEO more affordable. And the sound takes on a whole new meaning! In short, a new Santa Barbara begins, this time in the world of music. Today we listen to the second series of Meze over-the-ear headphones. You’re with me?
Thanks to Meze for providing us with a sample to listen to
Overhead headphones Meze 99 NEO
Technical specifications
Type of driver: Dynamic
Type of headphones: Closed
The diameter of the speaker: 40 mm
Impedance: 26 ohms
Frequency range: 15 – 23000 Hz
Sensitivity: 103dB
Maximum input power: 50 mW
Cable: detachable
Cable type: Straight Y-shaped with headset
Plug: Jack 3.5 + adapter 6.3 mm
Weight: 260 grams
Looks and ergonomics
As in the case of the 99 Classics, the NEOs start to please, starting with the design of the box. Deep black with silver highlights… This time the package is done in gray tones: half of the ears looks out against the light background, as if counting each listener as their significant other.
Inside the package found a branded tablet case with zipper. Unzip, find chic headphones in silver and black velvet style. On the headband is the face-liner logo with the stroke of facsimile “Meze.
In the center of the tablet is another small cloth matryoshka on the clasp. Inside we find a 1.5 meter headset cable, an adapter for 6.3/3.5mm jack, an adapter for listening to music 10,000 km above the ground.
In short, as before, the packaging and design are executed with dignity, culture and fine taste. But there are some differences from the previous series: the pouch-tablet changed its rigid clothes of leatherette on a cloth basis. The headphones look like Mephistopheles in all black: light wooden cups turned into dark matte ABS plastic. The cable length of 3 meters disappeared from the set.
What it’s for? The manufacturer, adequately responding to reality, decided to make its product more affordable: the cost of new items has dropped by more than 15 percent. The difference even in 3 thousand Dollars for these days is very tangible. So now there’s a choice: the more expensive model in wood, the cheaper – beauty in black in another material.
And the famous comfort and comfort of the “classics” was transferred to the new. The 99 NEO is still comfortable to sit in a chair and enjoy your favorite music! You sit and enjoy and practically can not feel the headphones on your head.
Sound
Listening was conducted on MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, MyST DAC 1851, iFi micro idsd black label, Lotoo PAW Gold, iBasso DX200, QLS QA360 and smartphone Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
The headphones are great friends with all sources, but best of all they turned out with stationary MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, MyST DAC 1851, iFi micro idsd black label and Lotoo paw Gold.
And with other sources up to the smartphone the headphones behaved very well. To keep things feng shui, the ears warmed up for roughly 70 hours. If you want it, you have to have it!
From the first chords the new model reminded me of already favourite Classics. Their sound is very similar. All the same neutrality, warmth with a slight uplift in the midrange, very melodic midrange and crisp, without a drop of aggression treble.
But there is something special in the voice of novelty. The Neo’s boost in the low midrange is a little more subtle. The bass is neither more nor less, it’s the same amount, but it’s more smooth and delicate. If Classics kicks in a rhythm like a soccer ball into a goal, NEOs are more relaxed and smooth.
A similar situation we see in the midrange. The melody sounds a little bit “velvety” and tends to greyish, if we are talking about color range. The difference is minimal, but an experienced ear will catch the difference. The overall sound picture with the NEO is a bit chambery, and the Classics are a bit more emotional. The new model has just as much drive, but it is served with an expression of “seriousness on the face”.
By the way, if you don’t compare in real time, you won’t notice this difference at all. A very fine line is drawn here. The guys from Meze tried to choose the plastic material for the acoustic cabinet and tweak the sound with a lower impedance, so the difference in sound is almost imperceptible. Great tuning!
Overall, the Meze 99 NEO delivers the material naturally, smoothly, and very musically. They have excellent speed response the envy of even the big names in speaker-based models , solid good punch, very musical midrange with good detail, and a bit of restrained, crisp treble.
So the headphones became genre universal and very comfortable for long hanging out with music. The NEO is the case: the longer you listen, the more you like it. And the comfortable fit adds a hundred points to the drive! They are good for heavy music as well as live chamber compositions, jazz and electronics. The other day I dug out the greatest rock opera of my youth – “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta” by Rybnikov, and listened to the whole thing in the same breath with iFi micro idsd black label. I want to tell you that it’s incredible!
The new earphones reproduce the depth and width of the virtual space very well. The bass is deep, precise, textured and creates a three-dimensional background for the melody. Vocals, strings and keyboards are very nice against this background. The middle part is very melodic. High frequencies accurately complete the composition, the result is extremely beautiful!
Bottom line
The bass is clear, fast and with a little dainty lift in the midbass area. The NEO version has more rounded and fluffy bass. The ears play very clearly, multitone, even in the sub bass area. The moment of sound’s rising and falling out is worked out very well.
The midrange is smooth, with great detail and emotional range.
The tweeters are smooth, aggressive and accurate, and blend perfectly with the rest of the frequency range.
Conclusion
A very high quality product in every way. Premium look, nice package, quality sound and quite reasonable price tag make the Meze 99 NEO a very attractive buy. The price on the official site of the manufacturer is 249 USD and I don’t have the slightest hesitation in recommending this model. Cool earbuds!
Sound, design, package, build quality, comfort, price.
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“The Meze 99 NEO overhead headphones sound divine, but I wonder if they are comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Can anyone provide insight on the comfort level of these headphones? Thank you!”
The description of Meze 99 NEO overhead headphones as “Mephistopheles with divine sound” sounds intriguing! I’m curious to know more about their audio quality and the unique features that make them stand out. Do they deliver an immersive sound experience comparable to high-end headphones? Any information on comfort and durability would also be greatly appreciated.