both are great for comfort, the beyers more comfortable and maybe lighter. Can't remember if they had microphonic problems. My tonality preferences: I like it warm. I do not need upper mids and treble energy. My ear channel acoustics gives me plenty. The midrange thanks to the bass characteristics is also very powerful, but unfortunately, it’s not as pushed forward as the bass or treble, but for example, SMSL SU9, can fix that issue and make the Liric sound more evenly, because “flat” isn’t a good description for the signature of this setup. The vocals are realized in a very interesting way, they’re not recessed, but it’s also not too close, so I feel like Imelda May is singing her “11 past the hour” right in front of me, but not directly to my ears creating a very intimate stage, so I could feel like the listener, not the microphone. I’m also very impressed with how the Liric reproduces classical guitars in “Mettavolution” by Rodrigo and Gabriela. If my guitar teacher read this part he would lose all respect for me. He studied flamenco music and to be precise Rodrigo and Gabriela use flamenco guitar, which is a special kind of guitar but for simplicity and because classical guitars sound great as well, I wrote it. The guitars sound very detailed and powerful, I think that Meze Liric is one of the best headphones to listen to acoustic music. I also casually game and there I also like Beyer’s more. More accurate and more information. Probably because they give me more detail and are maybe more designed for a correct presentation in stead of a smooth one. You can expect them to present a refined listening experience. The audio quality exhibited by these headphones is a beautiful mix of musicality, technical brilliance and high precision.

Meze 99 Classics Wooden Headphones Meze 99 Classics Wooden Headphones

SOUND QUALITY: Here is the core. I burned them for about 15 hours. At 32 Ohm they are easy to drive with a mobile but will respond well to better sources. Meze claims flat frequency response and it’s not far from truth. 99C is fun to listen. Sound is balanced across all frequencies. Nothing over-powers. Comfort: I only own a handful of IEM/headphones, but these are the by far the most comfortable headphone. its very light weight, and the headband very nicely distributes the weight on your skull. Its earpads and very soft and it has very low clamping force even straight out of the box. If you are wearing in a hot environment then it will obviously get warm, but other than that its pretty comfortable. The earcups are soft and cushiony and when I put them on, my ears dont the insideof the headphone. But I have to say when you are listening to songs and if your hand or anything hits the metal headband or the earcups then the sound is amplified, but its not really that much of a problem. In the tour set a beautifully braided balanced spc cable was included, originally designed for the Meze Audio 99. It emphasized the brightness, which is not my preference, therefore it did not get the listening time what the aesthetic would have required.

Final Thoughts

We’re pretty spoiled when it comes to good gear and good headphones, but this is one is extra special… What a masterpiece.

Meze 99 Noir Closed-Back Headphones Massdrop x Meze 99 Noir Closed-Back Headphones

I have a lot of admiration for their approach to what happened. They said, "Yes, we used to do this, but now we make our own products and stand by them."Let me first start by thanking Andy for this opportunity to spend some quality time with the Meze Liric. It has been an absolute pleasure. They then charged people an arm and a leg for one of the worst-sounding earphones I had heard at any price. The structure of separate head rest and the steel band does at times move differently when your head shakes and it might just put you off sometimes. For me that was the only niggle i faced.

Meze 99 Classics Walnut Gold Wood Headphones - Meze Audio

Before I offer my listening impressions, I’ll start with a little about myself and other points of interest. I’m over 50 years old and have less than perfect hearing. I’ve been a music lover for as long as I can remember, and my preference leans toward the warm side of neutral. I’m a huge believer in the “my ears/your ears” axiom, and I believe the signal chain makes a difference. Feel free to liberally add as many mental IMOs and YMMVs as you want while reading.I would say one can hear that they come from the same house. This shall not lead to the conclusion that they have the same frequency characteristics though. In my mind, this was the first sign that things might have changed at Meze. Digging a little deeper before saying yes, I found the second leaving myself even more intrigued. Here's why.