Meze 99 Classics

his...is an awesome all-around headphone.

I've met the predecessor 88 Classics, which I found profoundly meh. But this new Meze 99 Classic is a whole 'nother story all together. This is a great headphone.

Build Quality and Styling
In headphones there's usually a clashing compromise between form and function somewhere along the line—design desires and costs mitigated by engineering feasibility and performance requirements always seem to deliver a sense of compromise. Few companies manage this balance; Sennheiser and V-MODA come to mind as companies that toe this line well.

The problem with strong design is that it's also divisive. I love the look of the HD 800, but many think it's too weird in an alien way. I don't particularly like the look of V-MODA headphones, but I do see how beautifully well designed they are and how well form is integrated with function. Just not my taste. The 99 Classic also has strongly characteristic design, tasting of luxury and jewels. This is also not to my taste, but the 99 Classics is obviously tasteful. This is a sweet looking headphone.

More importantly, in all the headphones mentioned above, the design sensibilities are strongly integrated with the headphone's structural and acoustic performance. The 99 Classic is not only terrific looking, it's well built to deliver the goods for a long time.