How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a lightweight, self-adjusting everyday headphone you can plug straight into a laptop, phone or console and forget about, choose Meze AUDIO; if you need a closed-back studio tool that ships with a headphone holder, an extension cable, a coiled cable and replaceable ear pads for mixing and monitoring work, choose Kellards HD 480.
• Meze AUDIO – biggest strength: a self-adjusting vegan-leather headband reinforced with a manganese spring steel outer band, plus a fully replaceable parts philosophy (ear cups, headband, cables, driver).
• Meze AUDIO – biggest trade-off: it is a wired-only headphone with a detachable 1.5 m cable, so there is no wireless freedom and the cable length is aimed at desk use rather than moving around a room.
• Kellards HD 480 – biggest strength: a studio-focused bundle that includes a 3 m coiled cable, a headphone holder with padded cradle and adjustable angle, an extension cable, spare recording ear pads and a protective case.
• Kellards HD 480 – biggest trade-off: the enclosure is plastic and the cable is coiled and removable but not described as swappable between a wide range of aftermarket options, so the setup is more fixed than the Meze approach.
• Who each is for: Meze AUDIO for the home-office, gaming, podcast and casual-listening crowd that wants comfort and repairability; Kellards HD 480 for the home-studio, mixing, DJ and recording user who wants a full kit in one box.
The Meze AUDIO 99 NEO is built around one idea: make a closed-back wired headphone that behaves well on almost anything you already own. Its low impedance — listed at 26 ohm on the spec sheet, with the marketing text citing 32 ohm — means it does not demand a dedicated amplifier to reach a usable volume. That single design choice opens up a lot of everyday scenarios: plugging into a laptop for meetings, a phone or tablet for music, a console controller for gaming, or a podcasting setup where you need isolation from the mic. If you already own a DAC, amp or DAP, the sheet notes the listening experience improves, but nothing about the design forces you to buy one.
Comfort is where the design story is most concrete. The headband is self-adjusting, using a manganese spring steel outer band to spread weight and pressure across most head shapes, and the headband itself is vegan leather. The ear cups are over-ear with a rounded shape, black faux leather, and the whole headphone is listed at 9.12 ounces. That is a genuinely light package for an over-ear closed-back, and it lines up with the long-listening-session framing the brand uses — home office days, gaming marathons, editing sessions.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants wireless. The sheet is explicit: wired connectivity, 3.5 mm jack, no wireless technology. There is a media control and a wired remote on the cable, and the noise control is listed as sound isolation rather than active noise cancellation. If you need to walk around the house untethered, or you want active noise cancelling for a commute, this is not the design for you. The 1.5 m cable is also on the short side for anything beyond arm's reach of your device.
Kellards HD 480: Who It's For
The Kellards HD 480 is a bundle, and it should be judged as one. The headline item is a closed-back professional studio headphone — the HD 480 PRO — paired with an Auray headphone holder with a padded cradle and adjustable angle, plus a Pearstone stereo mini male to stereo mini female extension cable. In the box you also get recording ear pads, a 3 m coiled cable, and a protective case. That is a complete workstation kit in a single purchase, which is a real convenience if you are setting up a home studio from scratch and do not want to hunt down a stand and a spare cable separately.
The engineering claims on the sheet centre on signal integrity. Advanced neodymium magnets are said to improve driver efficiency, lightweight voice coils are described as delivering dynamic performance, and multistage passive shielding combined with a vibration attenuation system is credited with maximum signal integrity and low distortion. A patented cable-coil structure is also said to block cable noise, which the brand ties directly to long mixing sessions. I would treat these as design intentions rather than measured results, but they point clearly at the intended buyer: someone doing audio mixing and mastering, recording and studio monitoring, home studio production, or live DJ and club performance monitoring.
The comfort angle is framed differently from the Meze. Instead of a self-adjusting band, the HD 480 uses angled ear cups that the sheet says optimise sound focus, with a comfort-focused closed-back design that "eliminates pressure points." The cable is removable and can connect on either the left or the right side — a genuinely useful detail for studio work, where cable routing depends on where your interface or console sits. Listed compatible devices include audio interfaces and mixing consoles, PCs and laptops, portable recorders and dictaphones, and smartphones and tablets, with the caveat that modern devices without a built-in jack need a suitable adapter.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants a grab-and-go headphone for casual listening on a phone. There is no microphone listed, no inline remote, and no wireless. The enclosure is plastic, which is a fair trade for a studio tool but not the material story the Meze tells. And the coiled 3 m cable, however useful at a desk, is not what most people want dangling from a phone on a walk. Warranty is listed as a limited 2-year manufacturer warranty.
• Best for long-session comfort → Meze AUDIO. Self-adjusting headband, manganese spring steel outer band, 9.12 oz weight, over-ear vegan leather pads.
• Best for repairability and long-term ownership → Meze AUDIO. Ear cups, headband, cables and driver are all described as replaceable, and the build uses fasteners rather than glue.
• Best for a complete studio setup in one box → Kellards HD 480. Headphone holder, extension cable, coiled cable, spare ear pads and protective case are all included.
• Best for mixing and monitoring work → Kellards HD 480. The design targets signal integrity, low distortion and cable-noise blocking, with angled ear cups for sound focus.
• Best for cable routing flexibility → Kellards HD 480. The removable cable connects on either the left or the right side.
• Best for plug-and-play on a phone, laptop or console → Meze AUDIO. Low impedance means no amp required, and the 3.5 mm jack plus included adapters cover most devices.
• Best for travel → Meze AUDIO. Hard carrying pouch, cable pouch, airplane adapter, detachable 1.5 m cable.
• Best for wireless freedom → neither. Both are wired-only designs; the sheet lists no wireless technology for either.
My Verdict
Yes, by design. The sheet lists gaming among its intended uses, and the low impedance means it runs off a controller, laptop or console without an amplifier. The closed-back design provides sound isolation, and the detachable cable includes a microphone and remote.
The sheet does not specify impedance, so I cannot say whether they need one. It does list audio interfaces, mixing consoles, PCs, laptops, portable recorders, smartphones and tablets as compatible devices, with a note that modern devices lacking a built-in jack require a suitable adapter.
For a studio, I would pick the Kellards HD 480. The bundle includes a headphone holder, a 3 m coiled cable, an extension cable, spare recording ear pads and a protective case, and the design is aimed at mixing, mastering, recording and monitoring.
No. The Meze AUDIO lists sound isolation as its noise control, which is passive isolation from the closed-back cups, and the Kellards HD 480 is likewise a closed-back design. Neither sheet lists active noise cancellation, and both are wired-only.
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