Meze Audio 99 Neo Review: Your Ears Deserve A Treat

There’s a fairly good likelihood you haven’t heard of Meze Audio. The Romanian-based high-end audio firm isn’t as broadly referred to as the big multinational audio producers like Sony, Bose, or Bowers & Wilkins.

That’s partly as a result of they’re nonetheless comparatively new to the audio sport, being based in 2011 by industrial designer Antonio Meze, and partly as a result of they solely make one form of product – high-end headphones and earphones.

By ‘high-end’ we don’t simply imply costly. Though, in comparison with what most South Africans are used to, these headphones positively are. With Meze, we’re speaking concerning the form of headphones you’d plug into a very good amplifier and Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) to take heed to your vinyl assortment. The form of headphones that function a frequency response graph on their webpage. These sorts of headphones.

Meze was variety sufficient to ship us a set of their 99 Neo headphones for evaluate all the best way from Romania. The 99 Neo, launched in 2017, is the marginally extra modest model of the corporate’s 99 Classics, the broadly praised walnut wood-carved headphones launched in 2015 which first garnered the corporate recognition within the audiophile market.

Constructed to final

The 99 Neo, just like the 99 Classics, is a closed-back headphone that includes a pair of 40mm dynamic drivers. Like its different merchandise, Meze centered on audio high quality, consolation, and sturdiness with the 99 Neo whereas swapping out the walnut wooden earcups for a composite plastic to scale back the associated fee.

The high-quality supplies utilized in its building imply it ought to last more than your common headphones. Including to its sturdiness, Meze has made the 99 sequence to be absolutely serviceable, that means you received’t need to throw the entire thing away ought to one thing break.

Like its predecessor, the 99 Neo has a easy but elegant design. The 2 earcups are joined at centre factors by a springy steel headband. Beneath that and connected with trendy, branded steel connectors, is a PU Leather-based-wrapped suspension-style headband. That is the half that caresses your head and distributes the 260g weight of the headphone evenly over your dome. No want to recollect your dimension or need to consistently modify it, it’ll simply adapt each time you (or anybody else for that matter) put them on.

A pair of PU Leather-based-wrapped medium-density reminiscence foam pads cushion the earcups towards your head and over your ears. Until you’ve gotten abnormally massive ears, then possibly not. They’re lots snug though they aren’t all that deep so that you may discover your ears making contact with the within of the cup. Fortunately that’s additionally padded so it shouldn’t trigger any discomfort.

The inventory pads present first rate sound isolation that means they’ll assist hold your music in and exterior noise out. This could show you how to keep away from irksome stares from colleagues when you’re blasting My Coronary heart Will Go On by Celine Dion within the workplace. We might know.

The pads, the design, and the light-weight building of the 99 Neo lead to a really snug headphone that we may (and did) put on for hours whereas working, gaming, or listening to music on a flight.

Fault-finding

If we needed to nitpick, there are solely two small issues we will complain about. The earcups are symmetrical so that you received’t discover any indication exhibiting which is left and proper. As an alternative, 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 is usually a little exhausting to learn that means you’ll need to get used to figuring out which solution to put them on by remembering the inline controls are on the left.

Secondly, like all closed-back headphones with leather-based pads, your ears may get just a little scorching after some time. As we are saying, small issues – and positively removed from being deal-breakers.

Like we hold mentioning, the 99 Neo is a high-end analogue headphone aimed largely at audiophiles. Whereas Meze does embrace just a few extras with the cans, don’t count on a lot in the best way of additional options.

There’s no companion app to allow you to modify settings or hook up with multiple system. If you wish to do this, you’ll have to do it additional up the sign chain. However when you’re contemplating shopping for a pair of those, you’ll probably have already got devoted tools for that.

Nevertheless, the place the 99 Neo differs from different high-end headphones is their portability. You don’t strictly want every other audiophile tools to make use of them as a result of they’re really easy to ‘drive’. We’re not speaking about going to the retailers, we’re speaking about their low impedance.

In audio tools, impedance (measured in ohms) means the identical because it does in any electrical utility – the resistance to an utilized electrical present. We’re simplifying issues a bit, however usually, the upper the impedance, the higher the sound high quality. The trade-off is that headphones with a excessive impedance would require extra energy to attain an inexpensive quantity.

Sennheiser’s HD 800 S, for instance, is broadly considered probably the greatest neutrally-tuned open-back headphones out there. Regionally, they retail for round R32,000. Significantly. However their 300-ohm impedance means you’ll have to cough up just a few further thousand rand for an enough amplifier and exterior DAC earlier than you possibly can get pleasure from their glorious readability or monumental sound stage. You possibly can overlook about plugging them straight into your smartphone or laptop computer.

By comparability, the 99 Neo and its 26-ohm resistance will fortunately present greater than sufficient quantity when plugged into absolutely anything. Whereas they will’t contort themselves right into a smaller package deal, they truthful a lot better on the go than a number of different high-end headphones. The hard-shell carrying case and aeroplane headphone adapter that our evaluate unit got here with make that an much more viable possibility.

The final of the ‘extras’ are the in-line controls discovered down the left aspect of the Y-cable we talked about earlier. There’s however a single play/pause button and a microphone inside however we discovered each to be hit or miss. The mic is satisfactory for when it’s good to take a shock name and don’t have anything else close by and the play/pause button solely actually labored when plugged right into a smartphone.

Heat your self up, beginning with the ears

Fortunately, any faults, downsides, or drawbacks we’ve talked about are simply overshadowed by the 99 Neo’s audio high quality. Not solely is the general high quality nice however in addition they have a moderately explicit sound signature.

Not like mainstream headphones that include an app, it’ll take a bit extra work to regulate the sound of the 99 Neo. Whereas it’s nonetheless doable, doing that’s kinda lacking the purpose. A part of their appeal is their distinct sound which Meze has spent lots of, if not hundreds of hours designing, testing, and tuning. With the 99 Neo, that signature is heat – possibly just a little too heat for some individuals – provides a stability of element and musicality that we actually loved.

A heat sound emphasises the low and low midrange frequencies, the place the bass and vocals reside. This emphasis ends in making these sounds that go doof doof stand out just a little extra. Nevertheless, in pursuit of a heat sound, it’s very simple to overdo it the place the low frequencies lose definition and change into muddy or the highs are overly recessed to make room for extra bass. Fortunately that isn’t the case right here.

Throughout the remainder of the spectrum, the 99 Neo sounds comparatively flat albeit with a delicate recess someplace within the higher midrange and a roll-off in direction of the highest of the highs. Neither of those are unfavorable qualities.

In truth, we suspect that recess within the higher midrange is a big contributor to the 99 Neo’s surprisingly large sound stage. Having stated that the sound stage remains to be fairly slim in comparison with open-back headphones nevertheless it was positively wider than we excepted.

Equally, the highs are inclined to roll off, maybe to help in emphasising the lows, giving them a barely darkish sound. We’d wager most individuals would in all probability desire this to overly current highs with a harsh, edgy sound.

Meze Audio 99 Neo verdict

We loved our time with the 99 Neo and wholeheartedly advocate them to of us searching for comparatively cheap high-end moveable closed-back headphones. They’re well-designed and received’t make you stick out in public. The high-quality supplies and building imply they need to final you a very good few years and if one thing breaks you don’t need to chuck the entire thing away. They usually have a heat, inoffensive sound signature that we predict most individuals will get pleasure from.

Additionally they make surprisingly good gaming cans, though we’re fairly positive that wasn’t what Meze was aiming for. They’re snug, the crisp bass response makes gunshots and explosions extra impactful and cinematic, and their heat sound signature means they received’t be fatiguing over lengthy classes. You’ll in all probability wish to purchase a separate microphone when you plan on taking part in multiplayer, although.

If you would like a pair for your self, you will get them right here for R5,000. Alternatively, you could possibly order from Meze’s worldwide retailer straight the place the 99 Neo is at present listed for $200 (R3,800). However you’ll additionally need to fork out for import tax and transport which may very properly work out dearer.