Meze 99 Classic V2 Review - It's Good Now

Meze Audio’s 99 Classic has been around for nearly a decade — warm, bassy, but always more style than substance. The new 99 Classic V2 isn’t just a cosmetic refresh; it’s a full acoustic overhaul that comes much closer to delivering on the "classic" promise of the original.

The look remains familiar: wooden cups, suspension-strap headband, and Meze’s signature comfort. But the little details beyond the surface level tell the real story here.

The new pads are larger and made from softer, higher-quality material, sealing noticeably better, though the headband may need to be slightly bent to account for fit on a given individual's head. There’s also a bass port now right next to the cable entrance, and under the pads, there's a completely redesigned baffle structure that really shows how far Meze’s engineering has come since the original 99 Classics.

The biggest change beyond the design is tuning and tunability. The pads clip on and can house a foam insert that provides a bit of damping and lends a warmer and smoother signature, while without the foam inserts the sound is clearer and more energetic. Because this is so easy, it really does feel like you're getting two headphones for the price of one.

Without inserts, the V2 is a slightly V-shaped tuning: strong, clean bass, articulate mids, and crisp treble with a mild emphasis around 8 kHz. With the inserts, it warms up and relaxes, closer to the old 99 Classic but still cleaner and better controlled. A small dip around 3-4 kHz slightly shifts the balance too warm, but thankfully this dip responds predictably to EQ.

My most interesting finding was that a particularly low-tech “paper towel” mod (replacing the foam insert with a circular cutout of 2-ply paper towel) ended up splitting the difference between both tunings in a way I really preferred.

One more underrated note is a massive improvement to passive isolation, which outperforms most closed-backs I've tried in this class.

Compared to the FiiO FT1 and AKG K371, the Meze isn’t the most neutral or the best value, but it feels far more premium than either and isolates far better. Most importantly, it’s enjoyable for me — something the original never quite nailed.

Want to learn more and see measurements of this headphone? Check out the forum thread attached to this article to see our measurements!