The use of wooden parts in headphones manufacturing is not something new. There are companies that have successfully used this material, including some well-known names such as Grado and Audeze. The interesting fact, in the case of 99 Classics, is that for a product with wooden ear cups the price is more than reasonable (in the €300,- region) despite the fact that wood processing, in this case, is not optimized for mass production methods. The wood used for the standard 99 Classics (the one shown in the photos) is walnut which comes from sustainable sources and passes a natural, "in-the-air", dehumidification process that lasts up to eighteen months. Basic formation of each ear cup is made by CNC routing and manufacturing a pair of them needs about 8 hours. Overall, the cups of the 99 Classics need, according to the company, 45 days to be completed, a process which includes, apart from the basic construction phase, sanding, lacquering and finishing. Although the walnut appears to be Meze's favorite material and it is used in all three of their current models, the 99 Classics are also available with cups made of maple (named, accordingly, 99 Classics Maple). Overall, the different wood and the use of different metal parts allow for three different finishes, two silver (99 Classics Maple Silver and Walnut Silver) and a gold (99 Classics Walnut Gold, the review sample).

Meze made the quite remarkable choice not to use any plastic parts in headphone headband and support structure which, in addition, is assembled only with bolts so that the disassembly and repair (if necessary) should be easy. The headband itself includes a metal strip which is self-adjustable in length, surrounded by a combination of memory foam material and PU leather lining. A steel/manganese alloy strip spring is used to provide the necessary tension which ensures correct fitting to the ears. The gold colored metal parts used to retain the various parts together are made of zinc.
For the 99 Classics, Meze uses 40 mm drivers which are supported by a synthetic material (ABS) structure. The 99 Classics are closed-type headphones and the ear pads are made of memory foam coated with PU leather. The ear pads overall diameter allows the 99 Classics to be considered as an over-ear design, i.e one that covers the entire outer ear. This approach offers good isolation from environmental noise sources (such as the traffic noise). According to the published technical specifications, the frequency response of the 99 Classics is 15Hz-25kHz, with a sensitivity of 103dB/1mW (1kHz) and a nominal resistance of 32 Ohm. The weight of the headphones is 260gr.
Meze has published a frequency response diagram which provides an idea of the voicing chosen for this model. The graph comprises a small and very gradual gain increase for low-frequency signals below 250Hz (approximately 3dB in its peak) and an attenuation of the lower part of the high-frequency band (between 2-5kHz) while the response above this point maintains a fairly constant behavior up to the 20kHz limit of the measurement.

The connection of the 99 Classics to the amplifier is made via a detachable OFC cable. This is terminated with a 3.5mm mini jack (TS) to the side of each ear cup and a 3.5mm mini jack (TRS) towards the amp side and is reinforced with a Kevlar jacket. The construction of the headphones is symmetrical and so the Left/Right channel side is determined by the placement of the plugs. These are clearly marked with letters (L/R) and, in addition, there is a tactile differentiation between the two plugs, so the user can identify the channels by touch only if he needs to. Meze offers adapters to facilitate connection of amplifiers with the standard 0.25-inch TRS plug and to connect the headphones to an airplane sound installation (3.5mm TS dual mono). Finally, for those who want to use the 99 Classics with a smartphone or a tablet, there is a second cable (of the same quality but with of shorter length) which is terminated with a 3.5mm TRRS plug. This cable allows controlling the device and to talk via a remote/mic combo integrated into the cable.

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