BLON x HBB Z300 IN-EAR MONITOR

Alternate title: How I Learned to Love Thicc

This unit was purchased from a fellow homie. Bless ya, you know who you are.

Introduction

Since the untimely disappearance of my Tripowin Leá and my failure to acquire a second pair, I was left without a comfortable IEM to relax with after a long day. The Truthear Zero filled in the hedonistic cravings of my darker self that craved bass texture, but was an uncomfortable listen and the stock tuning left a lot to be desired. I also unfortunately cannot steal my brother's Letshuoer DZ4s. So I was left with ordering the Z300s that were in my short-list (the other options were the Moondrop LAN, TinHiFi C2 and the Floaudio Lily - unfortunately unobtainium for me now). The pricing for a new pair however left a bad taste in my mouth, which is where the aforementioned savior came in. Thanks for letting me take this off your hands, even if it's not the colorway I would have preferred (insert smug emote here or something). So, is the Z300 still worth copping nowadays?

Well, kinda. You know the drill. If you like warm and thick, this will be up your alley.

Packaging

Refer to the image above. You get a box with a sleeve and the now-legendary acronym, now kind of half-jokingly used on the packaging proper once again. I gotta say that it was quite the oppoty, given this is a collab with a well-known audio reviewer. It's a simple package, with the IEMs in the inserts and then a cable and a small drawstring bag. Of course, tips and all that. For the price that Blon is asking here, I think it's very reasonable, even if the drawstring bag is basically not something I would recommend using in terms of protection, just in order to hide the IEMs every now and then.



Closer examination and ergonomics


GOLD! Yes, gold. The bling is real. And honestly, the bling might be the only con here, if you don't feel like you wanna rock a gold chain around your neck as well. The shells are very, very hefty and feel very well built. I have not had any concern with these so far. They fit very well into my ears (those that know me are aware of my mad-screwed fit basically forcing me to remain with smaller nozzles) and stay there also quite well. The weight of the shells may impact your long-term listening experience, if you're not affected by condensation like me, which for me means these are usually an hour-long listen, unfortunately. Outside that, the stock tips that you receive with the Z300s are a very much "whatever" type of experience. I personally use my clone 07 tips and they've been a good fit.

The cable is shockingly good, too. You can tell it's a little hefty just from the photos, and it's a little stiff, but I have honestly had absolutely zero issues using it. They use a QDC connector in case you want to swap the cable, though I don't see a reason why, unless yours is somehow damaged. It has no microphonics and the adjusting bit for your chin stays in place very well. I cannot complain about the cable at all, and neither can I really complain about the shells, either.

Sound performance

The Blon Z300s were connected to my FiiO BTR5 2021, Poco X3 (running Lineage 20) and my audio interface (M-Audio AIR 192). I have not noticed any issues with noise floor and all three sources ran the IEMs very well without needing much gain at all. I would not be concerned with amplification here.

Bass

Probably the stand-out feature of these. The bass has plenty of impact, feels a little thick and somehow, I don't find the mid-bass excessive. For those owning the Audiosense DT200 (unfortunately yet another unobtainium for me), the bass is very similar to that one. This is a very satisfying IEM under $50 in terms of bass, and I feel that so far only the Truthear Zero beat the Z300 in this range.

Bass rating: 80/100 (B+)

Mids

Combined with the mid-bass, the Z300 really offers a thick and engaging experience here. I like my mids clean, but this is far from something I'd hate. Vocals don't feel that great (Freedom by Blue Encount feels a little distant), but that might be the only complaint I can place here. I can't feel any honk. Overall, not done in any offensive manner and just solid.

Mids rating: 75/100 (B)

Treble

You can tell that treble is not this IEM's strong suit. The treble is...relaxed, and in combination with the bass and mids, this results in the Z300 sounding rather warm, bordering on dark. Some reviewers have noted a bit of sibilance in the treble, and I cannot hear it, so your mileage will vary. Regardless, this warm focus definitely impacts detail in a way. I think it's just right before it gets to the point of being dark, and if my condensation issues weren't here, I would easily have plenty of fun with these for hours. As you might have guessed, the Z300s aren't for a detailed, immersive listening experience, and moreso for instant gratification. Everyone needs a little bit of that every now and then. 1993 by Oliver Tree is just hedonistic enough for me to put it on repeat a couple times with the Z300. My rating may be controversial here as I love detail, but this is just relaxed enough that I can't help but enjoy it.

Treble rating: 80/100 (B+)

Technicalities

The Z300 doesn't do them in an outstanding way. Considering the way they're tuned, I'd say it's fine and reasonable, though imaging feels vague, and the soundstage is just fine. This isn't their focus and honestly, at this price range, asking for great technical chops is a little difficult. They're better than the Space Travels in this regard, but the Leá was better and the Zero is kind of equivalent.

Technicalities rating: 70/100 (B-)

Conclusion

I love these. When I'm having a bad day (surprisingly often) and I need that little bit of hedonism, these go in my ears immediately. They're fun, relaxing and help me forget my worries for a while. Absolutely a B+ IEM, bordering on A- on my end. 30-35 dollars I feel is fair for what you're getting here. We shall see if there's more oppoty for a future HBB + Blon collab, or if we should keep driaming.

Overall rating: 80/100 (B+)

Concluding notes: The Blon Z300 offers a very relaxing and easygoing listen at a reasonable price with excellent build quality and so-so technicalities.

Keep rating: 9/10

Oh yeah. If you don't want to wear your more expensive IEMs around and need a bit of that oomfph, these are great. Of course, they'll scratch up pretty easily.

thaslaya's star rating system:
☆☆☆☆☆ - Fantastic!
☆☆☆☆ - Recommended
☆☆☆ - There are buyers but not for me
☆☆ - Can't see the appeal
☆ - Product is a failure

Disclaimer:
This product was purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Gear used:
● LG v30+
● Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra
● Hiby FC4

Source:
Listening was done through Amazon Music HD or Ultra HD.

Introduction:
Hawaiian Bad Boy (HBB) is an audiophile YouTuber and reviewer. He has done quite a few tuning collaborations with different iem manufacturers. Most of his sets are very bass heavy and oriented toward the low end. The Blon x HBB Z300 contains a single dynamic driver and is indeed very bassy. It is currently priced at $35 on Amazon. Let's break it down and see what $35 can get you.

Build, fit, ergonomics:
The shells are constructed of metal and have a nice heft to them. They feel very premium and have a great durable build for only $35. They are available in 2 color options (gold or cobalt blue) and feature an artistic dragon design on each faceplate. The stock cable has a premium look and feel and is available in 3.5 or 4.4mm termination (I opted for 4.4). It's one of the nicer stock cables I've recieved with an iem under $50. There are 6 sets of silicone tips and a small carrying bag also included. Overall the accessories are adequate and about what I'd expect for the price tag. The nozzle length is on the shorter side which might cause fit issues for some. I did have to do a fair amount of tip rolling and settled on medium Penon Liquer orange tips for the best seal.

Sound impressions:
The soundstage has good depth but the width is just average. It could benefit from more width to have better separation and allow the frequencies room to breathe. They aren't great at detail retrieval or very resolving but to be fair that's not what this specific tuning was made for.

●Lows - The bass hits right away and seems to never let up. If bass is your thing then the Z300 are probably right up your alley. Sub bass rumbles deep and mid bass has good punch and impact. There is a fair amount of bloat and bleeding into the mids on certain tracks. It's not a very fast bass and has a slower decay that seems to linger. Usually I associate a fatiguing profile with too much treble but in this case the bass wears me down over time and my ears need a break. It's not the quantity but rather the quality. I enjoy big bass but it needs to stay in it's lane and not completely dominate the other frequencies. Even with more easy listening tracks from Adele and John Mayer, the bass is constant and never let's up.

●Mid - I was afraid the big dominant bass would push the mids back too far but to my surprise they aren't actually that recessed. Vocals are clear and positioned just a bit forward on the stage. There can be a hint of shoutiness in the upper mids at times depending on listening volume. The bass bleeds and muddles up the whole lower mid range.

●Highs - To be fair if you're listening to an HBB collaboration you're probably not interested in the best treble presentation. There are a few problems here. The highs roll off too early. The lack of extension hinders the overall presentation of the treble. It makes the sound more congested. Also, there is sibilance at times. Treble sensitive folk like myself will find the S's and cymbal crashes to be harsh on certain tracks.

Summary:
At $35 the Blon x HBB Z300 lies in a crowded tier. If you're a basshead on a budget these might be a good one to try. The build quality is very nice and competes with iems double and triple the cost. They deliver a big bass experience but don't expect the best technicalities, treble extension, or overall tuning in this price bracket. In my case they worked best with rock, hip hop, and chillhop. If the budget can be pushed higher to $50, I would reccomend checking out the Juzear Clear. In my opinion, the Clear are superior across all frequencies, have better technicalities, a more premium design, and one of the best stock cables under $100.

Sound signature: v shape with extended bass and tamer treble

Overview
The z300 is a single 10mm dynamic driver iem. It has impedance of 28ohms and sensitivity of 115db.

Box and accessories
iems
Cable, average quality
Eartips 6pairs, average quality
Pouch, below avg

Build, fit and comfort
The shells are made with zinc alloy with a smooth texture on it. This has nice weight giving it a premium feel. This has the typical iem shape with normal sized nozzle. The shell size is medium, so fits comfortably. Fit is breathable and stability is ok. Score 4/5

Tested with
Source: questyle m15, fiio btr5, 7hz 71
Eartips: stock, spinfit cp100+, Final E
Cable: stock
Tested with versatile genre of music

Sound
Bass
Overall bass performance is good. It has a bit slower and boomier kind of presentation. As its a bit on the slower side, bass notes sound mushy. Sub bass rumble is solid. Sub bass has that good physicality factor. Mid bass slam is good enough to satisfy bass heads. It has good quantity of bass with ok quality. Score: 4/5

Midrange
Mids in short is relaxed and warm. Mid bass does bleed into the lower mids as it has well extended bass. Male vocals sound warm and has good body. But female vocals seem dull and thin due to the over all subdued nature. Instruments sounds passable for the most part but seem to get lost like female vocals in some tracks. A bit more shimmer would have gone well in my opinion. Score: 3/5

Treble
Treble performance is decent. It is smooth. There are some peaks in the treble but it is tuned well, it does not come off as harsh. Although in very few tracks details might seem sharp. In general Z300 has good enough detail and air to go well with the overall laid back tuning. Score 3.5/5

Technical performance (score:3/5)
Soundstage: good enough
Imaging:average
Sound separation: average
Dynamics: good enough
Resolution: average

Conclusion
This is a solid choice for a good warm and bass heavy set. I personally really like HBB’s tuning thus I liked it quite a bit, must say he did a great job tuning this. This can be the true successor of blon 03.