Usage and Testing:

 

For my usage and testing I used the Meze 11 Classics with my HTC One phone, ZuneHD and my computer and tablet as well as my PS Vita so they got a lot of testing in the time I’ve had them.

I listen to a wide range of music, mostly rock, classic rock and metal with some country and classical tossed in there as well with some bass heavy type music tossed in there like techno or house from DJ Scooter and music from artists like Die Antwoord and Gangsta Grass and yes even some ICP. So yes I listen to a wide variety of music.

Sound Quality:

Sound quality or sound is very subjective, some people love heavy bass, some people don’t. I personally like bass but not overpowering, enough that I can hear it and know it’s there but not the point that it drowns out the rest of the music and not to the point where the headphones are vibrating on or in my ears. I also prefer a lot of highs, or I should say I prefer very crisp and pronounced highs in my music.

The Meze 11 Classics offer a decent amount of bass, it’s very full and noticeable but it’s not overpowering at all, even at higher volume levels. For me it’s a near perfect level, but for those that like heavy bass, I don’t think you’ll care for these headphones. These headphones are certainly not made for the hip hop type of music where you’ll find very heavy bass. The bass level in these is excellent, it’s there but it’s not overpowering at all.

As for the highs, they are there, you can hear them but they’re not as crisp as I would like, the highs are sort of muted slightly in my opinion and for my preferences.

Overall the 11 Classics sound very good, they offer a very full sound in your ears but it’s a softer and more organic sound as that’s the nature of using wood for the housing.

One thing I did notice is that I heard things in the music I listened to that I never really noticed before when I listened to it through my speakers. The Meze 11 Classics do a very good job at bringing out or emphasizing all the sounds in the music and they do it in a nice balance.

 

Microphone / Controls / Call quality:

There are no controls on these headphones, but there is a microphone so you can make and receive calls. The Meze 11 Classics are primarily headphones and being a headset is a secondary or function for convenience sake only I think.

I personally don’t like taking calls in stereo, but that’s me, but if I’m listening to music and a call comes in it is nice to not have to unplug my headphones to take the call. The microphone seems to work fine from my uses of it, I had no complaints while talking on it and calls were clear on my end.

 

Cord:

The cord is very nice, it’s braided for strength and durability and it’s more than long enough that you could wear your phone or MP3 player most anywhere on your body and still be comfortable.

There is some line noise with the 11 Classics but it’s only present really when you move the cords closest to the earphones themselves. I can shake my head quickly and the cord noise is very minimal, it’s only noticeable when you grab the cords and shake them. So you can walk or even run with the 11 Classics and the cord noise should be very minimal even noticeable at all I would think.

 

Noise Reduction:

Noise reduction is passive in these headphones and it’s there but at low volumes you can hear outside sounds. This is good and bad of course, it depends what you’re doing. I have to sit at karate class for my kids for about three hours once a week and there’s a lot of other parents there and the majority are women of course and they’re very chatty and they can get loud especially when you’ve got twenty or so in the room. Personally I don’t care what you’re doing on the weekend, who’s doing what with who or whatever other gossip, it’s not my business, I just don’t care, so out my headphones come. Noise reduction gets really tested in this environment and I found that at lower volume levels they reduced the outside sound but it was still annoying as you might imagine so I had to turn up the volume to drown out the chatter.

So yes they do reduce noise but not as good as I would prefer.

The be fair, nowhere is it mentioned in the specs or features about noise reduction, but I have to mention it as it’s an important part of any headphones.

 

Comfort:

Obviously the 11 Classics come with three different sizes of earbud covers, so you just have to find the right size to fit you comfortably, but that’s only part of it.

The first thing you’ll notice about these earphones is the weight or lack thereof, really these are feather light.

I wore these for hours at a time and once I put them in I really didn’t even notice them. They’re great for wearing for long periods of time basically.

 

Build Quality/Design:

When I first got these I thought the build quality was excellent and for the most part I still do, but they are made of wood which can be an issue that I found out.

I have to say first that I am very careful with my stuff, I take care of my things, I keep everything in cases, I get screen protectors for my devices when needed and I don’t just throw things around. I appreciate what I have and I like what I have to last a long time so I make sure things are taken care of that I own.

Wood is a natural substance that can expand and contract greatly depending on temperatures and the weather as I’m sure everyone knows. Wood also isn’t perfectly uniform, there is a grain to it and wood can split under the right conditions and apparently I found the right conditions as I noticed there is a split in the left earphone now. This wasn’t here originally and my only conclusion is there was weakness in the wood used to manufacture these. It’s cold here now so my thinking is possibly that subjecting them to cold and hot or warm extremes might have caused this to happen.

 

This shouldn’t taken as bad build quality or a reflection on Meze, it’s wood, it’s just how it is, it happens. Yes this most likely would never happen with plastic or metal, but that’s not the point.

I should note that I didn’t really notice a difference in the sound really right now, but if the split gets larger I could see it affecting the sound quality.

 

The case that they come with is very nice and padded and it’s semi-hard so it will protect the 11 Classics while they’re in there and in your bag or wherever.