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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-26 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
• MEZE AUDIO's biggest strength: Genuine walnut wood earcups and a fully replaceable, glue-free build — ear cups, headband, cables and drivers can all be swapped, so the headphone is designed to be repaired rather than replaced.
• MEZE AUDIO's biggest trade-off: It's wired only (3.5 mm / 6.35 mm), so there's no Bluetooth, no app and no active noise cancellation — just passive sound isolation from the closed-back wooden cups.
• Devialet Gemini II's biggest strength: Adaptive Noise Cancellation with Active Wind Reduction and Internal Delay Compensation, plus Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint pairing to two devices at once.
• Devialet Gemini II's biggest trade-off: It's a true wireless in-ear with a 22-hour battery figure, so it lives and dies by charging — and there's no wired jack at all.
• MEZE AUDIO is for you if: you listen at a desk, in a studio or at home and want one durable, low-impedance headphone you never have to charge.
• Devialet Gemini II is for you if: you commute, travel or move around and want silence, portability and no cable.
The Meze 99 Classics is a closed-back, over-ear wired headphone built around 40 mm dynamic drivers with a 15 Hz – 25,000 Hz frequency range, 103 dB sensitivity and 32 Ohm impedance. That low impedance figure is the practical headline: it means you don't need a dedicated amplifier to drive it. A phone, laptop, controller or audio interface will do the job, which makes it unusually easy to live with for a full-size wooden headphone.
The design leans hard into longevity. The earcups are genuine walnut, and because wood grain, age, color and texture vary, no two pairs look identical. The headband is vegan leather reinforced with a manganese spring steel outer band and is self-adjusting, spreading weight evenly across most head shapes rather than forcing you to fiddle with a slider. Meze builds it with fasteners instead of glue specifically so components stay replaceable — cups, headband, cables and drivers are all serviceable parts, backed by a one-year manufacturer warranty.
In the box you get a hard carrying pouch, a detachable 1.2 m Kevlar OFC cable with mic and remote, a detachable 3 m Kevlar OFC cable, a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm gold-plated adapter, an airplane jack adapter and a cable pouch. That's a genuinely complete kit — the mic cable makes it usable for calls and podcasts, the long cable suits a desk or couch, and the airplane adapter plus hard case make it travel-friendly in a way most wired headphones aren't.
Who should buy it: home listeners, gamers, podcasters, home-office workers and anyone who wants a repairable, battery-free headphone with a warm wooden character. Who should skip it: anyone who wants wireless convenience, active noise cancellation or an in-app EQ — this is a wired, passive-isolation product, and no feature list here changes that.
The Gemini II is a true wireless in-ear built for people who move. It uses a hybrid driver setup with a titanium-coated driver to reinforce bass, and Devialet's acoustic engineering is aimed squarely at clarity and detail. The spec that matters most for commuting is the noise control: Adaptive Noise Cancellation, paired with Active Wind Reduction and Internal Delay Compensation — the latter two are what usually separate a usable commute earbud from one that hisses or thumps in wind and traffic.
Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours of listening time, delivered via a wireless charging case that also accepts USB-C. The earbuds themselves are small and light — roughly 16 mm wide, 23 mm tall and 26 mm deep, about 6 g per earbud — and the case adds about 49 g. Four eartip sizes (XS, S, M, L), with M pre-mounted, give you a real chance at a secure, comfortable seal, which matters both for comfort and for how well the noise cancellation actually performs.
Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint pairing to two devices at once, so you can stay connected to a laptop and a phone and switch between them. Google Fast Pairing speeds up the initial setup, and touch controls are customizable through the companion app. The colorway here is Deep Forest, and the enclosure is silicone. Devialet backs it with a two-year warranty — though notably, that warranty does not cover loss or theft of the earbuds or case, which is a real consideration for something this small.
Who should buy it: commuters, travelers, gym-goers and anyone who wants one pair of earbuds to handle music, calls and noise on the move. Who should skip it: listeners who want a wired connection, a replaceable long-life build, or who dislike managing battery charge — there's no headphone jack here at all.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for noise cancellation → Devialet Gemini II. Adaptive Noise Cancellation plus Active Wind Reduction is the whole point of the product.
• Best for battery-free, always-ready listening → MEZE AUDIO. No charging, no case, no pairing — plug in and play.
• Best for repairability and longevity → MEZE AUDIO. Replaceable cups, headband, cables and drivers, assembled with fasteners rather than glue.
• Best for wired studio, desk or gaming setups → MEZE AUDIO. 32 Ohm impedance means no amp required, and the included 3 m cable and 6.3 mm adapter cover desk and interface use.
• Best for switching between two devices → Devialet Gemini II. Bluetooth 5.2 multipoint handles a phone and laptop simultaneously.
• Best for calls and voice work → tie, with a caveat. MEZE AUDIO includes a cable with mic and remote; Gemini II handles calls wirelessly with app-tuned touch controls.
• Best for a distinctive, one-of-a-kind look → MEZE AUDIO. Genuine walnut means every pair's grain and color differ.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the MEZE AUDIO 99 Classics — but only because it fits how I'd actually use a headphone: at a desk, for long sessions, without ever thinking about a battery. In my opinion it's the better long-term purchase because it's built to be repaired rather than replaced, and it needs no amplifier to sound its best. That said, I'd genuinely recommend the Devialet Gemini II to anyone whose listening happens on trains, planes and streets — its adaptive noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth and 22-hour figure solve problems the Meze simply doesn't address. These aren't competitors so much as two answers to two different questions.
Devialet Gemini II, clearly. It's wireless, pocketable and built around Adaptive Noise Cancellation with Active Wind Reduction. MEZE AUDIO relies on passive isolation from closed wooden cups and needs a cable, which is awkward on the move.
No. At 32 Ohm impedance with 103 dB sensitivity, they're designed to run from everyday devices like phones, laptops and controllers. That's one of their most practical advantages over harder-to-drive full-size headphones.
No. There's no headphone jack — connectivity is Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi, with a USB-C cable for charging the case, not for audio. If you want a wired option, MEZE AUDIO is the pick.
In my opinion, MEZE AUDIO. Its components — ear cups, headband, cables and drivers — are replaceable and it's assembled without glue, and it has no battery to degrade. Gemini II is covered by a two-year warranty, but that warranty excludes loss or theft of the earbuds or case. Check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding, since that's the one thing specs can't tell you.
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