I have come to understand that every person likes a different flavor of sound so EQ is essential.
Once you hear it with proper EQ, you cannot unhear it.
I used to like the stock sound of the 99 Classics (everything stock from factory) and I have done so for a year. If you match it with the right equipment, you can definitely enjoy it without any hacks. But after I started tinkering with EQ for fun, I just cannot go back. Switching EQ on and off during songs, the change is mind blowing.
I personally don't find them bassy (as the majority seems to conclude) but instead I tinkered with various other frequencies that made them more enjoyable to my ears.
The thing is, I have tried all the EQ settings I could find online but none were good for me. In fact, the most common ones I found sounded horrendous to me. In the end, I found one that was kind of good and then brought it to my liking. I am now extremely pleased to the point that I plan no further changes or upgrades to my system as a whole.
Here are my EQ settings. I use FabFilter Pro-Q 3, which I highly recommend. It's one of the very few EQ plugins that supports extremely high sample rates (most other EQ plugins max out at 192KHz).
Band 1
Freq: 337Hz
Gain: +1dB
Q: 3.890
Curve: Bell
Band 2
Freq: 1350Hz
Gain: -3.10dB
Q: 0.210
Curve: Bell
Band 3
Freq: 1965Hz
Gain: +0.80dB
Q: 4.610
Curve: Bell
Band 4
Freq: 3736Hz
Gain: +3dB
Q: 4.210
Curve: Bell
Band 5
Freq: 6417Hz
Gain: +2.60dB
Q: 3.810
Curve: Bell
Band 6
Freq: 7494Hz
Gain: -1.80dB
Q: 3.840
Curve: Bell
Band 7
Freq: 7716.9Hz
Gain: +2.76dB
Q: 1
Curve: Bell
Band 8
Freq: 9418Hz
Gain: +2.50dB
Q: 0.530
Curve: Bell
Band 9
Freq: 20426Hz
Gain: No gain
Q: 1.725
Curve: High Cut
View attachment 192355
I initially had 10 bands but I ended up liking more the use of these 9 bands. Feel free to try them out and see if you like them. Perhaps you can use them as a starting point and then tinker to your liking. Keep in mind, these are meant to be used with the stock pads.
Happy listening!