MEZE AUDIO | 2.5mm OFC Upgrade Balanced Cable for 99 Series | Silver-Plated OFC Copper | 2.5mm Male to Dual TS Mono 3.5mm Male Connector Plug | Cable Length 1.50m/4.9ft

These cables make a noticeable difference in clarity and sound more amplified. I am very happy the upgrade in overall sound quality.

Do you own a headphone amp with that strange little extra headphone jack, and you're wondering whether upgrading to balanced audio is worth it?So was I, and I dipped this $50 toe in the pool to see how it went!Short answer - hell yes, it's worth the investment if you can spare the money (but don't feel cheated if you stick with what you've got).I have the 99 Noir, into a Fiio BTR5 headphone amp, being fed via Bluetooth from an android box. I listened to a couple of minutes of song #1 on the original cable, then swapped to this one, then left it in for song #2 before reverting back to the original, and went back and forth sevral times until I got a good feel for the different experiences.First track, Inxs, Devil Inside, Dolby Atmos mix. It sounds incredible as is, wide and spacious but with heft. Swap to balanced and the difference is immediate. The bottom end doesn't just have heft, it has real weight now. Micheal Hutchence's vocals are super prominent and intimate, you can hear the emotion in his performance like never before. Wow.I Wish, Stevie Wonder. That sludgy bassline at the beginning now sounds like it's got purpose, huh, that gives me an idea.King Tubby - Country Gal Dub (from Dangerous Dub LP) - hell fire. This is a miracle - it does not sound like it was recorded on a paper cup and a bit of string! The sub-bass on this recording is phenomenal now, just seeps in through your bones while the the top end plays around effortlessly. This is an absolute treat.Ha, Ok, I got it. Last track - The Absolute, ft Suzanne Palmer - I Believe (Mark's Original Gospel House Mix). Curious, the main vocal sounds pretty compressed to begin with, but when it all kicks in you can tell the difference, and it's delightful. That bigass kick drum fills the bottom end, but the background vocals stay nicely prominent, and the keybard line that kicks in and gets lost on cheap equipment has all the room it needs to do its thing. The accuracy here is amazing, the cutoff on the keyboard line is so sharp it sounds like there are razor blades where the keys should be. Oh, Mark, I believe for sure :)Right - conclusion.If you bought a pair of classics / noir / neo headphones already, you appreciate the finer things, but not at any cost. If you're like me, they represent something of an optimal balance between design, cost, value and delivery. So, should you pay another $50 for this upgrade?Well...Will it make your classics sound 16.5% better? Uhm, you should go place an order right now, why are you still reading?Will it make your neo or noir 25% better? If you can afford it, absolutely. The quality being poured into your ears through this cable means your Mezes would still be a great proposition at $250, so if you love your cans, you owe it to them to make them the best they can be.Finally, is balanced worth the upgrade? To these ears, it seems like the difference between the local takeaway and a proper restaurant. Sure, you can go get a decent meal and it's fine, but the second you taste that Michelin goodness, you know exactly why you splurged.If you want Michelin Star audio, you know what to do.

Awesome high quality cable, i use it for my Hifiman HE1000 Stealth. Great sound quality and comfort when using headphones.

This product got excellent reviews; however, shortly after the return window closed, it was noticed that one of the cable connections was loose which caused one channel to cut out. After contacting Amazon support, we were told there was nothing that could be done since it was outside the return window timeframe. Be sure you use this product often after you receive it in case a problem occurs.

Just for educational purposes, and feel free to search the Internet to your visceral content, the high level difference between balanced and unbalanced or SE (single ended) cables are:SE or unbalanced cables share a common - or ground connection across your left and right connections to the headphones, and balanced has a Left +, Left -, Right +, Right - connections to truly separate the left and right connections to your audio drivers.Is this important? It depends on a few factors or variables.1. Does your audio player’s or headphone amp’s headphone output offer a balanced connection?2. Is it truly balanced inside of the device you’re plugging into? (There are clever tricks manufacturers may do to support a balanced output but literally is not truly differential balanced.)3. Does the output device provide better specification and amp output stage to make it feasible to change from SE to balanced output?4. Do you need additional volume because your headphones require more power than the SE connection can offer?There are other factors but those are some key ones before you dive into upgrading your headphone cable from SE to balanced.I happen to own more than a few headphones, and a few output devices that support SE, S-Balanced (iFi Audio’s method of connecting a single ended jack and provide the audio quality of balanced), and differential balanced output.With this cable into the Meze 99 Classics connected to a true differential balanced output, the headphones sound nicer. Cable material has some factors to that but I have a thing about cables and headphones, the difference is minimal between different metals or coatings on the metal itself. I’ve been in some of the top studios across the globe and they connect their million dollar+ consoles with a db25 cable that breaks out to 25 distinct 24 gauge wires punched down with a tool to a patchbay 2 wires plus ground wire per channel 8 channels. That’s being used to record HiRes audio so the thickness or material makes very little difference, but I digress.Back to these awesome cables, it is very well constructed, cable doesn’t get tangled up, sounds great and makes the headphones sound a tad better, and being connected to differential balanced output, I get more volume at the same setting as SE cables. I won’t get into how differential balanced amps can further reduce noise and artifacts from the DAC/Amp stages. It’s a definite improvement!So if you have the right equipment to connect a Meze 99 Classics headphone using balanced cables, try these out. They’re fantastic for its intended purpose.Hope that helps.