Today we’re taking a look at a great product that’s both an audiophile device and an unique piece of art: the Meze 66 Classics headphones. Without further ado, jump over the break and let’s start dissecting the main attraction.
FSM EXCLUSIVE DEAL Meze is a Romanian-based luxury lifestyle audio brand that focuses on headphones and earphones. The Meze logo is pretty much a spin on the old Romanian record label ‘Electrecord’ ( see below ) which should tell you right away what you should expect when buying a pair of Meze headphones.
When you get a pair of Meze headphones, you’ll get a one of a kind product. You’re not going to find a pair of headphones identical to yours anywhere in the world. Why you ask? The headphones are made of ebony wood, and therefore no two are alike.
Packaging
Because the Meze 66 Classics are very foldable the box that they come is pretty tiny. The box snaps together with the help of two magnets.
On the back of the box you’ll get the specs for the headphones…
Opening up the box you’ll see two sets of cables tucked away in a ziplock bag, and the beautiful headphones nicely folded. Additionally, I had a few Meze stickers in the box which you might also get, but I’m not 100% on that since I didn’t get a sealed box from them.
Cables
Just like the headphones, the cables are all wood grain and completely removable. The jacks are all gold plated which is a nice thing but also a sort of a standard on any high-end audio equipment. The cables seem to be pretty sturdy, but they will send you 2 sets. Nice to have a spare cable, just in case.
If you’re looking for a mic, you won’t find one. No controls either. So basically you can’t make calls, adjust the volume and/or skips tracks while your phone is tucked away in your pocket. That’s a huge flaw, but to be honest it’s the only bad thing I can say about the Meze 66 Classics. Even thought they’re audiophile headphones, it would’ve been nice to be able to skips tracks and adjust the volume with a dedicated button on the cord but hey… they’re audiophile headphones. Also, I’m not hating on this but a 6.3mm gold plated stereo plug would’ve been a nice addition.
Meze 66 Classics
Taking the Meze 66 Classics out of the box, first thing you’ll notice is just how foldable and compact they are.
When you unfold the headphones the first time you’ll be a little bit confused. It’ll be like you’re playing with a transformer because the earpieces move 180 degrees on the X Y axis. If that’s a bit confusing, trust me that’s something that will come handy and you’ll understand what I mean if you look closely at the other pictures in this article.
The headband is obviously adjustable so it’ll comfortably fit everybody. It’s made out of plastic but covered with some sort of rubber-like material which feels great and doesn’t make the headphones look cheap at all.
The earpieces have an individually handcrafted ebony wood enclosure which helps reproducing a crisp but warm and natural sound. On both earpieces you can see the Meze logo, which might look a little bit ‘tacky’ in the pictures, but it actually adds to the classic and timeless design the company was going for. You can either go with a Satin finish ( the one you’re looking at ) or a Glossy finish.
The pads have a very very VERY high-quality leather feel and they are incredibly soft. I can honestly say that the Meze 66 Classics are the most comfortable pair of headphones I own. The earpieces sit on your ears rather than covering them and they are tight enough so they won’t fall off. Given the weight of the headphones and the super soft earpieces, prolonged sessions will be something you’re going to look forward to with the Meze 66 Classics. The headphones also do a very good job at holding out ambient noise, even though they have no active noise cancellation at all.
Now let’s talk about sound. The Meze 66 Classics are compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod or any other audio output where you can plugin the headphones’ jack. And they sound amazing out of the box even without a 24-hour burnout.
Give them a 24-hour burnout and they’ll sound even better. Well, they’ll sound as good as the quality of the audio that you’re feeding them. Play compressed audio or YouTube videos, you can’t expect much from them. But play FLAC or ALAC files, or even better, play a well engineered and clean vinyl record and you’ll be in heaven. Play a little bit with the EQ to match what you’re listening too and you’ll never want to take them off your ears. They sound clear, warm and natural.
I’ve tested them with all kinds of genre of music from soul to blues, Hip Hop, funk, jazz, electronica, spoken word ( mainly comedy records )… you name it. And they sound amazing even though in some cases I had to tweak the EQ a little bit. But that is normal!
If you really want to take advantage of these headphones you might want to take a look at a headphone amplifier. The headphones sound really good, but they can only sound as good as the soundcard of the device you’re using. Bridging the gap with a headphone amplifier will make all the difference. And you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on it, you should be fine with a $30 one like this one on Amazon.com
The Meze 66 Classics are available in both Satin wood finish and glossy finish for $149 straight from the source…
