Meze Audio is a high-end audio company based in Romania and they released the Meze 99 Neo 3 years ago. The 99 Neo is the low-cost version of the 99 Classics and it is currently priced at around $199. Although these are not new headphones, they are still considered a great choice for audiophiles on a budget. Let’s figure out why people love the headphones.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The 99 Neo comes in a hard carrying case along with a smaller pouch for the audio cable, a gold-plated 1/4″ adapter and an airplane adapter. The cable needs to be plugged in to both of the earcups. In my opinion, the headphones are quite bulky because the design is neither foldable nor collapsible. That’s not necessary a disadvantage if you are looking for headphones for home use. If you want portable headphones, these are absolutely not an ideal choise.
My first impression with the Meze 99 Neo is its surprisingly light weight. In fact, it is among the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever used. I can wear them for hours and I don’t feel any pressure around my ears or on top of my head. Very few full-size headphones on the market can deliver such a comfort. I love the spacious earcups, the soft memory foam earpads, and especially the self-adjusting headband. This is not my first pair of headphones with this kind of headband but the implementation on these headphones is superb.
Despite being lightweight and using plastic earcups, the Meze Audio headphones have very good build quality. Another advantage is that these are bidirectional which means you can wear in any direction. The design saves me a lot of time as I just need to grab the headphones and put them on my head; I don’t need to look for the front/back direction anymore. Notably, they still manage to block external noises pretty well without pressing the earcups against my head.
Audio Quality
The headphones feature a warm and naturally balanced sound sound but all frequencies are well managed so that nothing feels overstated. The bass is quite fast and punchy; The bass boost is just enough to make the sound warmer while not making it muddy. In fact, the Meze 99 Neo focuses on the lower mids rather than the sub-bass. If you love heavy bass, this is obviously not a good choice.
As soon as I worn the headphones, I got excited with their bright and open treble. The well-extended highs make the sound more enjoyable for a variety of music genres, moreover, they also contribute to the good soundstage, considering the fact these are closed-back headphones. The highs are boosted but there is no sibilance or any unwanted harshness.
The midrange frequencies are also a strength of the headphones as they sound really full and rich. The vocals hardly feel overwhelmed with the lows and highs. There is almost no distortion even when I crank up the volume. According to some reviewers, the 99 Neo sounds very similar to the 99 Classics, so you totally can get the Neo instead to save some money.
The Meze 99 Neo doesn’t sound better than more expensive Beyerdynamic headphones I’m using. However, it costs less than $200 and I really love its design and comfort. As a whole package, it is absolutely among my favorites in the price range. Therefore, we at TechWalls totally recommend the product.
