Looking for relatively inexpensive high-end portable closed-back headphones? The Meze 99 Neo should definitely be on your shortlist, especially if you enjoy a little extra oomph with your bass.
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Design
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Build
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Sound
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Features
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Value
There’s a pretty good chance you haven’t heard of Meze Audio. The Romanian-based high-end audio company isn’t as widely known as the large multinational audio manufacturers like Sony, Bose, or Bowers & Wilkins.
That’s partly because they’re still relatively new to the audio game, being founded in 2011 by industrial designer Antonio Meze, and partly because they only make one kind of product – high-end headphones and earphones.
By ‘high-end’ we don’t just mean expensive. Although, compared to what most South Africans are used to, these headphones definitely are. With Meze, we’re talking about the kind of headphones you’d plug into a good amplifier and Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) to listen to your vinyl collection. The kind of headphones that feature a frequency response graph on their webpage. Those kinds of headphones.
Meze was kind enough to send us a set of their 99 Neo headphones for review all the way from Romania. The 99 Neo, launched in 2017, is the slightly more modest version of the company’s 99 Classics, the widely praised walnut wood-carved headphones launched in 2015 which first garnered the company recognition in the audiophile market.
Built to last
The 99 Neo, like the 99 Classics, is a closed-back headphone featuring a pair of 40mm dynamic drivers. Like its other products, Meze focused on audio quality, comfort, and durability with the 99 Neo while swapping out the walnut wood earcups for a composite plastic to reduce the cost.
The high-quality materials used in its construction mean it should last longer than your average headphones. Adding to its durability, Meze has made the 99 series to be fully serviceable, meaning you won’t have to throw the whole thing away should something break.
Like its predecessor, the 99 Neo has a simple yet elegant design. The two earcups are joined at centre points by a springy metal headband. Beneath that and attached with stylish, branded metal connectors, is a PU Leather-wrapped suspension-style headband. This is the part that caresses your head and distributes the 260g weight of the headphone evenly over your dome. No need to remember your size or have to constantly adjust it, it will easily adapt every time you (or anyone else for that matter) put them on.
A pair of PU Leather-wrapped medium-density memory foam pads cushion the earcups against your head and over your ears. Unless you have abnormally large ears, then maybe not. They’re plenty comfortable although they aren’t all that deep so you might find your ears making contact with the inside of the cup. Thankfully that’s also padded so it shouldn’t cause any discomfort.
The stock pads provide decent sound isolation meaning they’ll help keep your music in and external noise out. This should help you avoid irksome stares from colleagues while you’re blasting My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion in the office. We would know.
The pads, the design, and the lightweight construction of the 99 Neo result in a very comfortable headphone that we could (and did) wear for hours while working, gaming, or listening to music on a flight.
Fault-finding
If we had to nitpick, there are only two small things we can complain about. The earcups are symmetrical so you won’t find any indication showing which is left and right. Instead, that’s printed in white on the silver 3.5mm connectors of the included cable that plug into the cups. The white paint on the silver connector can be a little hard to read meaning you’ll have to get used to identifying which way to put them on by remembering the inline controls are on the left.
Secondly, like all closed-back headphones with leather pads, your ears could get a little hot after a while. As we say, small things – and definitely far from being deal-breakers.
Like we keep mentioning, the 99 Neo is a high-end analogue headphone aimed mostly at audiophiles. While Meze does include a few extras with the cans, don’t expect much in the way of extra features.
There’s no companion app to let you adjust settings or connect to more than one device. If you want to do that, you’ll need to do it further up the signal chain. But if you’re considering buying a pair of these, you’ll likely already have dedicated equipment for that.
However, where the 99 Neo differs from other high-end headphones is their portability. You don’t strictly need any other audiophile equipment to use them because they’re so easy to ‘drive’. We’re not talking about going to the shops, we’re talking about their low impedance.
In audio equipment, impedance (measured in ohms) means the same as it does in any electrical application – the resistance to an applied electric current. We’re simplifying things a bit, but generally, the higher the impedance, the better the sound quality. The trade-off is that headphones with a high impedance will require more power to achieve a reasonable volume.
Sennheiser’s HD 800 S, for example, is widely regarded as one of the best neutrally-tuned open-back headphones available. Locally, they retail for around R32,000. Seriously. But their 300-ohm impedance means you’ll need to cough up a few extra thousand rand for an adequate amplifier and external DAC before you can enjoy their excellent clarity or enormous sound stage. You can forget about plugging them straight into your smartphone or laptop.
By comparison, the 99 Neo and its 26-ohm resistance will happily provide more than enough volume when plugged into just about anything. While they can’t contort themselves into a smaller package, they fair much better on the go than a lot of other high-end headphones. The hard-shell carrying case and aeroplane headphone adapter that our review unit came with make that an even more viable option.
The last of the ‘extras’ are the in-line controls found down the left side of the Y-cable we mentioned earlier. There is but a single play/pause button and a microphone inside but we found both to be hit and miss. The mic is passable for when you need to take a surprise call and have nothing else nearby and the play/pause button only really worked when plugged into a smartphone.
Warm yourself up, starting with the ears
Thankfully, any faults, downsides, or drawbacks we’ve mentioned are easily overshadowed by the 99 Neo’s audio quality. Not only is the overall quality great but they also have a rather particular sound signature.
Unlike mainstream headphones that come with an app, it’ll take a bit more work to adjust the sound of the 99 Neo. While it’s still possible, doing that is kinda missing the point. Part of their charm is their distinct sound which Meze has spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours designing, testing, and tuning. With the 99 Neo, that signature is warm – maybe a little too warm for some people – offers a balance of detail and musicality that we really enjoyed.
A warm sound emphasises the low and low midrange frequencies, where the bass and vocals live. This emphasis results in making those sounds that go doef doef stand out a little more. However, in pursuit of a warm sound, it’s very easy to overdo it where the low frequencies lose definition and become muddy or the highs are overly recessed to make room for more bass. Thankfully that isn’t the case here.
Across the rest of the spectrum, the 99 Neo sounds relatively flat albeit with a subtle recess somewhere in the upper midrange and a roll-off towards the top of the highs. Neither of these are negative qualities.
In fact, we suspect that recess in the upper midrange is a large contributor to the 99 Neo’s surprisingly wide sound stage. Having said that the sound stage is still pretty narrow compared to open-back headphones but it was definitely wider than we excepted.
Similarly, the highs tend to roll off, perhaps to assist in emphasising the lows, giving them a slightly dark sound. We’d wager most people would probably prefer this to overly present highs with a harsh, edgy sound.
Meze Audio 99 Neo verdict
We enjoyed our time with the 99 Neo and wholeheartedly recommend them to folks looking for relatively inexpensive high-end portable closed-back headphones. They’re well-designed and won’t make you stick out in public. The high-quality materials and construction mean they should last you a good few years and if something breaks you don’t have to chuck the whole thing away. And they have a warm, inoffensive sound signature that we think most people will enjoy.
They also make surprisingly good gaming cans, although we’re pretty sure that wasn’t what Meze was aiming for. They’re comfortable, the crisp bass response makes gunshots and explosions more impactful and cinematic, and their warm sound signature means they won’t be fatiguing over long sessions. You’ll probably want to buy a separate microphone if you plan on playing multiplayer, though.
If you want a pair for yourself, you can get them here for R5,000. Alternatively, you could order from Meze’s international store directly where the 99 Neo is currently listed for $200 (R3,800). But you’ll also have to fork out for import tax and shipping which could very well work out more expensive.