Some fun shots of this fun headphone… great commuting/walking/hanging out in coffee shops headphone. The case is small and the headphones look good on the head and are easily powered by my Pixel3 XL or iPad Mini 5. They won’t win any prizes compared to the Focal Elegia, but for an on the go easy to shove in a backpack set…they are easily better than beats or similarly priced closed backs in this range. The cable has pause/play, volume up/down and a mic… an easy peasy set, that looks good, can’t complain about that.
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These deserve to sell better than Beats, given what you get for the money. They won’t though. Marketing and the power of celebrity says they won’t.
I don’t own then but they do seem like great value and seem to get plenty of love. Mind you I haven’t heard new Beats either so perhaps I should just shut up. 
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I think that they are great, but, I don’t think everyone will get value from them…but if you’re on the go a lot, then they can be worth it if you don’t like IEMs.
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I demoed the 99 Classics – IMO they were technically and tonally similar to the AQ NightHawk Carbons. The NHC are open and a bit less fatiguing. However, very few products compete with Meze on style.
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Yes they seem quite good cans for on the go. If you like that sort of thing. I would always be wanting to wear iem’s in that case though. But as you say not everyone gets on with iem’s though.
Personally I wouldn’t want to wear over or on-ears outside whilst in public. I would feel uncomfortable. Thing is I don’t know why though. I think they look fine out in the wild so to speak. Just me being weird probhably.
And I agree with @generic they do look quite stylish. Especially considering the price. Nicer looking than Beats IMHO too. Considering the sound profile though these would not be my cup of tea.
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Meze 99’s are awesome! I have a set of 99 Classics. Beautiful to look at, great sound and a very reasonable price. And SO easy to drive. Sounds good out of an amp, or a nice DAP or my LG V30.
They are my third favourite headphone, but I can’t see ever selling them. For now, they are my “bass cannons”.
ShaneD
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^ Was about to say that the 99 Classics (which I have) sound to me like a less-technically-competent Nighthawk (which I have spent many hours listening to in store conditions over multiple days). I’m not a fan of either headphone, really, since while I like bass I’m not a fan of excessive warmth and how bloated both headphones can sound given the “right” synergy of music and gear.
The Noir are supposed to have the exact same tuning as the 99 Classics which would have made my getting these somewhat redundant, even if I do love the colour. I do agree that these make for great outdoor headphones, even if they’re far from great at sound isolation and aren’t extremely comfortable worn around the neck— I do appreciate the warm sound when listening at moderate volumes at school or in cafes.
P.S.
@TylersEclectic, the Noirs are supposed to come with two sets of pads, yes? I’m aware of some minor differences in construction, but do these translate to any change in sound?
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The 99s are closed, and that almost always means less technically competent than a similar open headphone.
I bought the NightHawk Carbons as a conscious and very different alternative to my Sennheiser HD-600s. They served their purpose, but I’ve come to recognize the limits of the drivers and have outgrown them. They are warm, but also add a bassy film over everything. In contrast, the 99s have pretty small cups and lead to air pressure fatigue fast (i.e., they didn’t sound bad at first but then lost detail and nuance).
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Yes they do change the sound, but I have stuck with mostly the stock pads, the other pair is shallower/thinner and overall smaller, which isn’t to my physical preference. So with all that said, I haven’t spent much time with them to give detailed impression of them. Josh Valour the YouTuber did a recent review and talks about the difference.
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Huh, so that’s the term for that. I’ve not had many headphones that sealed extremely well since the last time I really got a proper closed-back pair was the Sennheiser HD428 maybe a decade ago. I knew absolutely nothing about good audio at the time so everything sounded pretty good to me and I just wanted an upgrade to $2 earbuds, haha. Either way, thanks! Agree that proper closed backs are generally going to sound worse than fully-or-semi-open alternatives, useful as the isolation will be in a lot of settings.
I’m familiar with his channel, surprisingly. Laughed at his tearing into the Grado GS2000, but to each their own I guess— I’m a sucker for wooden cups but agree that they’re a bit pricey for what you get. Thanks! Checked the video out, more bass isn’t really what I was in the market for.
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The worst I ever experienced Ear pressure fatigue was with the HD820, but I determined it was related to the seal of the headphone… once I got that right I didn’t have an issue overall with it. Amazing what it can do to your enjoyment of a pair of headphones, especially if not ready for it.
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