::Disclaimer::
Meze provided the cable free of charge for the purpose of my honest review, for good or ill.
The 99 Series Balanced Cable sells for $99 USD.
www.MezeAudio.com
This will be very, very short, because there’s not a lot to say. This is not some special, braided cable with super pure materials. It’s not what you’d call an upgrade cable. Of course, Meze isn’t pricing it as such, either.
They’ve redesigned their basic Oxygen-Free Copper with translucent sheathing, instead of the Kevlar found in the stock cable. More than that, this cable is terminated in 2.5mm TRRS, for balanced audio players. So it’s their entry-level balanced option.
I’ll be honest, I prefer the Kevlar sheath. There’s something springy and unwieldy about the TPU coating, whereas the stock Kevlar draped nicer. Now, I’ll take a handsome braided cable over either solution any day. Way back when I first got the Meze 99 Classics I build my own cable, which closely resembles some of Meze’s newer creations.
However, mine required modifications done to the 99C just so it would connect. Now a days, it’s easier to simply buy one pre-built from the Meze Store.
Which is what I recommend doing. Even this springier TPU is unquestionably a solid product. It’s light, it’s sturdy, and it’s a quick way to get your Neos or Classics ready for Balanced playback.
How does it sound? Well, like I said, it’s not an upgrade cable. Any improvements/changes should mostly be attributed to the Balanced output of your source. If you desire to go all-out, try their 7N OCC Silver-Plated Copper, at double the price.
-~::Pinky_Powers::~-