Brainwavz Oval Micro Suede Upgrade Earpads for ATH-M50x Suitable for Many Other Headphones - Sennheiser, AKG, HifiMan, ATH, Philips, Fostex, Sony

I recently purchased the Meze 99 Classics headphones and was in fact thinking of selling them due to the discomfort while wearing. The stock earpads are just awful. They would press against my ears to the point where I couldn't wear the headphones for more than 15 minutes at a time.I did loosen the clamp force of the headphones by stretching out the spring steel headband which somewhat improved comfort, but the stock earpads would still give me that 'pinching' sensation around my ears after some time.However, these Brainwavz earpads (in addition to me stretching out the spring steel headband) has led to substantially improved comfort where now using the 99 Classics is actually enjoyable and I look forward to using them. So I'll now be keeping these headphones.The Brainwavz pads are also deeper, so if your ears touch the inside of the cups with the stock earpads, chances are they won't with these aftermarket ones.In addition to being deeper, these Brainwavz earpads are also thicker and have much more foam (and arguably better quality foam) inside them, which better disperses the weight and clamp force of the headphones around your ears and in turn leads to far greater comfort.The stock earpads also feel 'cheap', whereas the Brainwavz ones feel a lot more luxurious and premium.Aesthetically, the Brainwavz earpads, being larger, make the Meze 99 headphones look more 'substantial', imposing and 'heavy-duty', whereas the headphones look rather puny with the stock earpads.Although the Brainwavz earpads are not technically made for the Meze 99 series of headphones and are instead designed for the Audio Technica ATH-M50X, they fit the Mezes quite well (although installing them can be a bit tricky initially).The pads are available in several finishes - microsuede, velour, hybrid, perforated, pleather, etc. I purchased the Microsuede ones.I can wholeheartedly recommend these earpads.Shame on Meze for including such atrocious earpads with their headphones. I understand that they have to hit a certain price-point for their more affordable headphones, but still, the quality on the stock earpads is so poor that you would expect them with $50-$100 headphones, not $300 Mezes.I am not affiliated with Brainwavz in any way.This is just a PSA for current owners of the Meze 99 Classics/Neo headphones, so that they can enjoy these headphones with far greater comfort.

A great product with a good quality material used in it but it easily get the dusty. It really comfortable in your ears and it doesn't quickly warm your ears as a perfect fit for every ears size as it is big it is easy to install in your headphones.

This review is for the 'hybrid' variant. TL;DR they're a huge upgrade to my M40x headphone, in terms of comfort, sound quality and looks. Was undecided between the hybrid finish and the micro-suede, but upon trying it out, no regret. Price seemed high but it's got my headphones looking, sounding and most importantly feeling like new again, so completely worth it.REASON FOR PURCHASE:Bought this because the synthetic leather-like material covering the original earcups was thin and flimsy and started peeling/flaking off after about a year of moderately gentle use.OTHER ISSUES WITH THE ORIGINAL EARCUPS:- when left unused for a few weeks, possibly due to temperature, the pads on both sides would get stuck, and separating them caused slight tears which ultimately resulted in the peeling off as mentioned earlier.- during lengthy producing/mixing sessions, my ears would get hot and even sweaty (and I don't sweat a lot normally), so I'd have to take them off for a few minutes. Having used Beyerdynamic DT-990 and DT-770, I realised the so-called velour would help with that. Although the fabric on the beyerdynamics is different and much softer than on these, but it's still very comfortable.- I have large ears that kind of stick out, so the original earcups definitely felt cramped, specially compared to a DT770. ears would press against the inside of the earcups. after lengthy sessions, along with the ventilation problem, it got uncomfortable enough that I had to take off the headphone and massage my ears.REASON FOR THE 5 STARS:- Stays cool after long sessions, though I haven't tested in very hot weather yet. Still, at least this velour material won't stick to the skin like the leatherette stuff would. Ears barely touch the inside of the earcups, so it's very comfortable because of that, too.- Soundstage (sense of spaciousness, perceived separation of left-right channels) is vastly improved, because of the larger size. More space inside the earcups gives the sound waves room to hit/reflect off different parts of your ear, making it a bit more like listening to live music/speakers, as opposed to being injected straight into the ear-canal like with in-ear phones.- Many reviews mention a huge loss of bass. I experienced a very slight reduction (perhaps inevitable due to the larger size). I enjoy a healthy amount of bass, but I feel the M40X already has enough of it that a slight reduction doesn't hurt it much, and the huge improvement in clarity and sense of space makes it more than worth it.ON THAT NOTE: While changing the earcups, I noticed 2 things: one, that the fabric lining that covers the drivers is much thinner on these compared to the original pads. Second, the M40X originally has a separate, thin foam pad inserted between the drivers and the pads' inner lining. I felt removing this oval disk would probably let through more of the high-end/sibilance that some people have mentioned, specially with the thinner lining of the new earcups, so I kept it in and personally find the sound to be pretty well balanced, not harsh. People with other headphones might want to experiment with this as a kind of hack.Also, overall external noise isolation seems to be very slightly reduced. As in, it allows a tiny bit more external sound to leak through.