Massdrop x Meze 99 Noir Review | Beats by Meze
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- The Meze 99 Noir is not an audiophile headphone by any traditional sense. These have a very traditional main stream tuning that is very Beats like. This makes them quite interesting to say the least.
(Thanks to CSkippy for the title idea)
Buy the 99 Noir here:
www.massdrop.c...
CAL (Better alternative):
www.amazon.com...
Cable that fits Noir:
www.amazon.com...
MiniDSP EARS Measurements: Note that the MiniDSP EARS IS NOT an accurate measurement device. Do not take these measurements as infallible, because they are flawed. There are some pieces of the measurements that are caused by flaws in the device itself such as a dip, peak, dip pattern from 4.5K-6K~ and some general imbalanced due to sealing issues.
imgur.com/gall...
Twitter:
/ maxsettingsyt
Want to loan me a headphone or contact me?
Email: maxsettings0@gmail.com
Where I get my music:
www.epidemicso...
I've had them for over a week now and they definitely are more for fun. I've used them out in my commute both public transit and walking. Nobody really notices probably because its quite common to see people with over ears in the downtown streets here. I find the emphasis on the low freq help drown out the the low humming sounds of public transit. But yes the bass is overwhelming if I use these just lounging in a quiet setting at home.
I’ve noticed with my set the bass that is muddy that only occurs with songs that are way over bassed up or poor song quality... for instrument music movies and properly mixed bass songs it’s actually an amazing headset for the money!
I have ordered noir because I don't have an amp, will these sound good without an amp dac?
@@withcare1234 yeah I think they have a really bass heavy fun sound and feel a little open for being closed cans but yeah they sounded great even out of my iPad!
Totally agree, running mine with either a shanling up4 or ifi go blu, love them .... super good for easy listening with great tracks....
Also your attitude hear about audiophile vs "normal" listeners is pretty dismissive, there are alot of bass head audiophiles... I think being an audiophile is about being able to discern between these different signatures and their appropriate use case, not "this signature isn't classic reference audiophile, therefore not an audiophile headphone" alot of ppl in the hobby seem to think that the moment the bass takes front seat it becomes muddy. Muddiness in my opinion is when the speaker itself starts to actually clip and distort, essentially ruining the track, if it's just bringing the bass forward and letting the rest take the backseat that by no means makes them "muddy"
Great review tho and thanks for the honesty (:
As someone who likes/enjoys bass, i have a question for people. Sort of food for thought.
In most reviews I’ve seen on headphones that are more bass focused, I’ve noticed that almost always people who don’t prefer bass headphones will say the bass “muddies” the sound. Whereas people who prefer more bass end up disagreeing, and don’t think the bass “muddies” the sound. Is it possible that people who don’t like the bass focus are sort of just overwhelmed, and see it as a distracting sore thumb? I have these 99 noirs and although it does muddy from time to time, most of the time I don’t notice it interfering with other frequencies. It’s just prominent.
I feel the same way Im always craving more bass for certain genres I just thing some music is ment for subwoofers and some can be fine without
Don't buy wood if you're afraid of patina. Wood is made to wear down.
Two things I forgot to mention in the review.
1. Imaging is okish. Sometimes it images decent enough, but when the bass starts going it clouds stuff up too much.
2. Box it comes with is just a cardboard box with standard product sketches and whatever else on it. Case just comes inside the box. No special presentation box or anything.
Beats by Meze is such an accurate description. Great review!
Dude, totally agree. Wanted them to be better than they are.
Quality headphones are NOT designed to be dropped. I'm pretty sure that's the company's thinking here.
They surely cant compete against the open back headphones you have reviewed.. But what about their standing amongst closed backs?? We have offerings from Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica, v moda, b and w etc in the sub 350 or 400 dollar category.. For a little lower price the 598cs and the m50s
DT770 sounds better, M50x is crap, my T60rp Argons eats them alive but they are the best closed backs until you reach like 1000$ thou they are power hungry beasts and not portable material. I bought 99 Noire to be my portable headphones and they are very comfortable, can swap cables, pads, wood cups and metal build also stand out. They obviously sound better on my big amp/dac combo, there is no doubt elevated bass shelf but it doesnt bother me at all I knew that fact before buying them :). If beats by Dre sounds like this maybe I should try them...nah its a joke 😅 If you have power to drive Fostex T50rp or T60rp and got patience go and order Argon modded cans from Ryan they outshine every closed cans below 1000$
Wow a true honest review.. Keep up the good work 👍🏾👍🏾
just found out about this channel and I am so glad that I did! VERY informative review, and answered everything I was curious about!!
any thoughts on the massdrop DT177x GO's? I am looking for a good closed-back headphone and don't feel like these 99 Noirs are what I am looking for since I listen to a lot of acoustic music.
I haven’t heard the 177X Go, so hard to say 100%. However, off the fact that it is based upon the DT1770, doesn’t help my confidence in them at all. Also the RAW frequency response graph they gave once compensated is not going to look good. So I am EXTREMELY doubtful those will be good. But we shall see.
@@maxsettings7884 oh wow i didnt know that! Reviews i read say that it is a great all-arounder / primary headphone... do you have any suggestions for a closed-back that can do well with acoustics (and bass, but that is secondary) ?
@@jasondellatolla Look at the AKG K553, or maybe the Fostex TR-X00. X00 is a warm headphone, but not too much where it clouds the treble too much.
Everything this guy said is opposite my experience. Its fun, but not at all as extreme as he describes. I have the fostex headphones he has too.
I use the opposite pads he suggests.
imgur.com/gallery/qasNzI1
Agreed. The bass isn't anywhere near the levels he's describing. It's really only noticeable when listening to songs that have obviously been setup for higher bass output. (EDM, etc.), for everything else it's about right where it should be. (realistically where it should be for that type of music as well, since that's clearly the effect they're going for) Do I prefer the higher quality bass output from X00 ebonies, or EMU Teak? Sure, they're also more than double the price.
Yeaaah, same. To people buying headphones, test each headphone before the purchase, some people hear different things, some people like different things. The best purchase is the one that makes you happy. A frequency response will show you each headphones specifics, but will not say if you will like them or not. That is why you should listen to more than 1 review, regarding ANY product. Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one.
This is the most negative review I've ever heard of these headphones and I've seen many as I'm considering buying them. I guess 1 bad review out of dozens is pretty good and I can always return them if I don't like em but... I'd rather just buy the right headphones first
@Fisher Man I did, really enjoyed them, they have punchy bass but not at all overbearing imo, very happy with them.
@@MaddSpazz2000 I hope I have similar exp as you have. I wasnt looking for something super analytical personally, but didnt want say "beats" like this guy is implying. Hopefully that is not the case. Otherwise I prob may return for the HD6xx's I was looking at as well. But jeez this review makes them out to be the muddiest pair out there!
I'm going to agree 100%, I don't hear or see anything that he describes in this review. I've been listening to mine for about 2 months now, 6-8 hours a day, and I absolutely love everything about them. I am also using the Meze balanced cable on a balanced amp, so maybe that makes all the difference.
@@Mike_Jones68 With or without amp? I guess using amp to power these low impedance headphones makes the sound muddy
@@withcare1234 i want to use in both situations. I am getting a helm bolt soon to use with my LGv50 while on the go. Amp have not decided, I have a vintage Mcintosh C32 being re-capped/serviced atm so I will run off that amps headphone jack, but will be trying maybe a thx789 in future for desktop. I am mainly going off Zeos' review of what worked good for these, obvi my C32 will be an interesting piece of gear to use whenever that is out of the shop.
Using Billie ellish as a bass test and saying it's muddy completely defeats the purpose, considering there's a good amount of distortion applied to the bass line, try songs by plastikman I suggest plastique has a killer bass line, then I usually use gwelly mernans for bass imaging as well as gyroscope by boards of Canada, use Fleetwood Mac to see Soundstage and acoustic performance, also explorations in sound and space album
Hey man, I'm looking to buy the CALs, but saw that there is a 2nd version. How does the 2nd version compare to the 1st? Zeos shit all over them without really explaining how the 1st iteration is better.
Still waiting for that CAL! review
Clean and high frequency gain is not the same thing. Saying that the Creatives are cleaner is beyond ridiculous.
Always wanted "fun"/bassy headphones but really on the fence about these. I remember trying out the Bowers and wilkins p7 and I liked those but was out of my budget at the time, I wonder if these are similar to that.
Been burned before by buying MH40 from Master&Dynamics which were generally liked by reviewers and also considered "fun"/dynamic...they were by far the worst ive bought, especially for the price I paid at the time.
Anyways, I appreciate the review
Any closed back headphone you like today? Best I've found are the Akg K371 for their sound.. any recommendations?
don't they sell extra cables on amazon?
Have you ever tried any T50rp modifications?
In defense of 99 Classics: If you play Billi Eillish-Xanny through a brick it would shake from all the bass that that song has. It is legit that ultra mega low bass boosted to fuck, and her voice, that is it, there is nothing more in that song
Love your videos mate, is it just me though, there is a lot more lispppp in this video?
Probably. Shot this one way too late at night LOL.
You nailed it with your straight forward review! I'm baffled as to why so many reviewers bend their words to try to make these sound like a decent buy. Words like "fun"? No, they are not "fun" at all, especially when you realize that some people were fooled into paying over $300 for the Classic 99 versions. I would be mad if I paid that much on a headphone that sounded this bad. Only way to redeem them is to put on the smaller pads and then equalize the heck out of them to take the bass shelf down and boost up some of the treble. After that they sound.... meh, maybe, sorta OK. Don't waste your money on these cans even at $200. You can do much better than these muddy bass, poor mid-range, no decent treble headphones. They are not "fun" in the least unless you think wasting your hard-earned money on poor sounding headphones is "fun".
Good point. I got them ans had buyers remorse. The only thing that made them better were changing the earpads to Dekoni sheepskin elites. They are much better but still not as good as some cheaper cans I own.
what kind of EQ settings do you use when testing headphones?
None. I review all headphones in their stock form. I am a purist and I don’t EQ my headphones.
Try those extra pads on the Cal... you're welcome.
@Solar Eclipse well sorta... the cals bass bleeds into the rest of the range and they become very hard to listen to after a while... those second gen meze pads fix this, and without any sibilance.
@Solar Eclipse yeah those get echoey, but still better than stock imho.
That new Billie Eilish album is an entire bass test for headphones. I recently bought some TH900 Mk2's and listening to that album was pure basshead bliss.
👀
But you should try them on tubes!!!
you must be fool to compare them to those Fostex headphones that cost a lot more or creative shit :) come on dude next time compare them to LCD X or Focal Clear
I added insulation inside the wood cup to tame the bass, still kicking but a lot less residual bass lingering and clouding the mids. Ez mods + reversible