99 Classics

🎧 High-end headphone listening afternoon at the best store in Spain: Studio 22 in Madrid. First, the disappointments: > FiiO FT3: Bad — compressed, like AirPods or worse! (€299 RRP) >Meze 109 Pro: Good and comfortable, but way too expensive for the level of detail they offer. Distorted bass. (€799 RRP) AND NOW, THE TOP 5 EXCELLENCE!!! 5️⃣ AUDEZE LCD-3: Dynamic and detailed, but far too heavy. (€2249 RRP) 4️⃣ Senn HD800S: Ultra-light and comfortable, huge soundstage, flat sound signature as you’d expect from Senn. (€1799 RRP) 🥉 Hifiman Arya Unveiled: The first planar magnetics that truly impressed me! Balanced, complete, playful. Fantastic. (€1599 RRP) 🥈 Focal Clear MG: Never disappoint; the magnesium drivers offer incredible precision, with the #1 bass performance of the day and detail across alllll frequencies. Supreme! (€1499 RRP) 🥇 Grado RS-2x: Grado have always been my favorites, and today I remembered why; soundstage, dynamics, and emotion like no others. Rediscovering the champions. (€649 RRP) 🎹 All powered by the amazing iFi xDSD Gryphon!! I honestly wasnt all that impressed with the RS2x until I heard them with the Gryphon. It gave them SR325e like energy while keeping everything else consistent and not sibilant. Amazing experience!!!!

Went to my local (1 hour drive, not exactly "local" but it is a local kind of hifi shop, just one that has million dollar Focal's and Bowers and Wilkins and Sonus Fabers just sitting around) hifi shop to try out the Meze 105 AER (€300/\~350USD) , However when waiting for a clerk to get them I saw these 105 Silva's (€500/\~580USD) on a stand and decided to do them head to head to hear the difference. He set up a Naim Uniti Atom and an iPad with Tidal for me and gave me the room with a comfy couch for as long as I needed, I tested these head to head with various kinds of music, everything from Ludovico Einaudi to Billy Joel to Alan Jackson to we are the fallen to whatever else to really get a good impression of these headphones. Now a little backstory, the reason I went down the "I want a new pair of headphones" Rabbit Hole was because my daily drivers were getting a bit boring (Senny HD600 and Focal Elegia) and I saw the Hifiman HE400SE for sale on aliexpress, from there on I saw how much better the Edition XS We're supposed to be and then I remembered I really liked the look of some Meze 99's I saw once but remembered I didnt like it's pleather earpads so decided to look if they released something new.. that's when I saw the 105 Aer's, they were alot more expensive than the Hifiman's but reviews looked promising. I had a day off today so went to that hifi store and the rest is history. Strange how a sale on a 140 euro pair of headphones can suddenly lead to a 500 euro purchase of some of the most gorgeous and most comfortable headphones i've ever seen and felt. Now, on to sound, Why did I choose the Silva's at almost double the price over the Aer's. First thing I noticed with the Aer's is that It's rather dark but still sibilant, I'm really sensitive to sibilance so I picked up on this quickly, it also didn't sound very "real" but did sound quite relaxed. It was extremely comfortable tho, the headband and earpads are perfect and it weighs practically nothing. Then I switched to the Silva's and something happened when I heard a Saxophone on "Your latest trick" from dIRE sTRAITS, It sounded like it was there, I could envision the Brass and it was like the Sax was right there shooting into my ear, better than even my Focal speakers do (that cost alot more), I quickly put on a song that I know is sibilant (We are the fallen - Sleep well my angel) and it did better on the sibilance than even my Focal speakers do, the Aer however really was struggling with the female vocal, the Silva did it effortlessly. Then I went onto "scenes of an Italian restaurant - Billy Joel" and I found myself smiling with the Silva's on, I rarely ever smile while listening to music but this time I was giggling like an idiot, The sound was all over and around me, it pulled me in and kept me there, it was tight, controlled and made me forget that I was listening to a piece of gear but instead made me listen to the music. To summon things up, I think what I said last there is the most important thing that I got from the Silva's that I just could not get from the Aer's. The Silva's allowed me to forget them, both sound wise and comfort wise, the Aer's could only do the comfort part. The Aer's are fine sounding headphones, Infact they sound great, but the Silva's are at the level where you finally start listening to the music again instead of listening to the gear, and that, that made me smile, it made me want to race home to my LP's and try out new albums I still haven't got around to listening to. The Silva's made me smile. And all else is history! If you made it this far, thanks for sticking around! Have an amazing rest of your day or night and enjoy your gear, but even more important, enjoy your music! See ya'll soon when my tube amp arrives supposedly tomorrow hahah.

So I've been looking at getting a decent pair of closed-backs for a while and I came across these headphones, I never had any Meze products before but I was roughly aware of their overall lineup, I then realized that these have only been out for a few months. After looking at a couple reviews I decided to snag a pretty much unused pair on ebay for £449 and for the price, these are absolutely the best headphones I've ever had so far. I have to admit that the looks played a big part in me getting these and in real life they look stunning with the British racing green frame and the ebony earcups, the look might not be for everyone but I was pretty much sold on them instantly. The comfort on these is out of this world, they're without a doubt the most comfortable pair of headphones that I've ever come across, they are very light overall due to the magnesium alloy frame, with amazing earpads that seal outside noise exceptionally well with ample space between the pads and the drivers. After spoiling myself with these, my HD660S2's now feel cheap and flimsy both in overall fit/comfort as well as build quality, I know they are different price points and completely different headphones but after using the Meze's, I now notice how much the Sennheiser's plastic creaks every time I move my head or adjust the headphones.. The overall sound in my opinion is great for the money, they feel decently wide to me for a closed-back with really good imaging, the bass is very tight and controlled with enough punch and on certain tracks it's just perfect, but I have to say that after getting used to them, they make my 660S2's feel a bit bassy.. The treble can be a bit sharp at times but again, I think that might be me being used to the 660S2's sound signature and after a little while I did not mind it. The mids sound good enough for me with plenty of detail and it doesn't feel veiled or muddy in my opinion. These are now my favourite headphones when it comes to just sitting down and enjoying some music, I get as much enjoyment out of these as with the Sennheisers but with way more comfort and amazing noise isolation, plus they're so light that I basically forget I'm even wearing them and can listen to music for hours on end. Would I have initially paid full retail price($799/€799/£799) for them? Probably not, as these are still my most expensive cans so far, but for the money I spent (£449), I am very happy with what I got and considering everything, I think they are worth the full price 😊

God, Meze just GETS aesthetics. I understand people who care solely about the musicality, but I really love that they emphasize the look. It's what got my attention when I purchased my 99 Classics.

Congrats on a nice collection. I currently "get by" with Meze Empyrean OG, Meze Elite, DCA Stealth, and the Sennheiser HD 800s. Might look into upgrading to a new amp and/or DAC but not looking to do so 'till it makes sense funds-wise.