It’s quite apt to associate premium price tags to superior quality. There's a great deal of instances that these rationale are exhibited in different consumer products and are indeed exemplified when the actual purpose has been served, however, there are also instances where this rationale can also be doubted yet in the audiophile world, there’s a high chance that these lower-tiered products are shrugged off and over-looked.
One such product is the BLON BossHifi B8 headphone which features real walnut wood ear cups (or so they say), protein leather earpads and a 50mm beryllium-alloy dynamic driver. The BLON BossHifi B8 headphone retails now for $70 which you can grab off
Linsoul Direct Amazon which provided the review unit.
The BLON BossHifi B8 is spec’d out with a 16Hz-20kHz Frequency Response, 16 Ohm Impedance, 106 dB Sensitivity and weighs 321g (without the cables). With little to no marketing presence and the usual absence of a distinct website, the BLON BossHifi B8 poses a lot of doubts to its actual build quality along with the authenticity of its claimed materials. I had my reservations for this particular set of cans and to have actually get to have them tested was indeed a learning curve. If you care enough to know if a $70 beryllium-alloy dynamic headphone is worth checking, feel free to read on.
Packaging and Build Quality
The BLON B8’s packaging already screams bargain right from the start. There was no unboxing experience except for the usual courier box and some bubble wrap. The accessory set as well was non-existent except for the must-have detachable cable with a 6.3 adapter, no airline adapter or a case as well. Those looking to lug this around would be feeling BLON’s decision to omit such accessories.
The sparse information BLON provided for the actual specifications of the B8 claims that it uses real walnut wood for its earcups and while I am no lumberjack, arborist or even a carpenter, I couldn’t verify this to an extent except when I pried out the protein leather earpads and examined the earcups themselves, there was a little slit on the plastic cover that separates the beryllium-coated drivers and the earpads which enabled me to see that the earcups overall thickness was wood all over, another reassurance is when you check the 3 vents on the upper portion of the earcups and you’d be able to see that it’s wood and not some paint, the question would really be if its walnut, that I can’t confirm.
The headband and the hinges are made of aluminum joined with hard plastic which sits flush on the head with its headband covered in synthetic leather and the total length lined with soft memory foam, it is not the thickest yet gives ample support and doesn’t induce much heat after much use, the protein leather earpads though warms up before the headband does, that’s a guarantee. The earcups swivels and rotates either vertically or horizontally allowing for an easy earpad rolling experience and storage, it doesn’t fold though. Another noticeable feature of the BLON BossHifi B8 is overall lack of rattling noise or a feel of loose parts in its build quality, it feels solid and sturdy when worn and used.
The stock cable is a 1.8m 3.5 to 3.5 gold-plated termination sheathed in black with a spring strain relief on one end and plastic on the other. There was no mention of the material used. Microphonic noise is tolerable although the cable length itself is an indication is that this is not to be used on the go. The 3.5 connection though was a welcome ease of mind for using a vast of portable-use-friendly cables.
Having continuously realviewed IEMs week after week have made me appreciate when I finally reached another headphone unit queued up on my realview line. I decided to pull out my meager set of cans, the ATH-AD900x, Sony CD900st and the Meze 99 Neo units to condition myself on the headphone ambience once again. The BLON BossHifi B8’s tonality sits comfortably on the bright sound signature and delivers it at a forward and aggressive approach. With a relatively easy to drive 16 Ohm Impedance, the BLON BossHifi B8 was driven with the Xduoo x3ii and having thankfully avoided the dreaded hissing issues, the Sony CAS-1 desktop setup off an MSI GF 62 8RE laptop via Foobar2000 v1.4 was also used for the whole realview.
The BLON BossHifi B8 tackles the lower frequency in a reserved manner. It is demure and lacks that punchy impact on its sub bass. Jerry Cortez’s “Around the Globe” in 16/44 FLAC showcased the sub bass lacks some well extended rumble. Bass decay leans on the slower pace while giving out a still smooth bass texture. I pulled Eminem’s “No Apologies” in 16/44 FLAC to test out a low-end delivered in a faster pace and still the BLON BossHifi B8 struggles, mid-bass slam is lacking. An overall average performance except that the BLON BossHifi B8‘s ability to retain the overall clarity of the other frequencies when bass hits dominate the spectrum is a nice approach.
Midrange
Coherent and distinct. The BLON BossHifi B8’s midrange exhibits great definition on its transparency and detail retrieval is also on point. The lower midrange doesn’t stand out much but has great body to it, allowing for an exceptional groundwork towards the midrange which doesn’t show any hints of hollowness or dryness to it. Susan Wong’s “Can’t You See” in 16/44 FLAC was a very engaging listen which complimented well with the B8’s upper midrange accurate timbre performance. You could hear me recommending the B8’s in its inherent midrange realism.
Highs
I’m a high frequency lover with a dose of treble side chicks here and there. I love my treble giving me head, hence the treble-head reference. The BLON BossHifi B8 didn’t disappoint on this aspect and with a claimed beryllium-coated diaphragm, I had high expectations so I wasn’t surprised one bit with how the treble had great extension while articulation was definite and accurate. Sibilance and harsh peaks ain’t making its way to your precious ears, not under B8’s watch. The treble bite on the distinct instrumental harmonics was always an obvious feature for the B8. The treble gives you head with subtle bite as an aftermath, let that sink in.
Soundstage and Imaging
In closed cans parameters, the BLON BossHifi B8 is rather wide sounding. Expansion of tones are rendered naturally with no signs of congestion, monogamous as they say. Imaging is distinct and instruments are easy to identify. There is a great sense of left to right and right to left panning especially when instrumental presence enters the frequency. Openness on a closed can, how ironic.
Given how earpads-rolling friendly the BLON BossHifi B8 is, it indeed warrants its own segment to highlight the overall performance and response it acquires when its stock pads are changed. The BLON BossHifi B8’s protein leather earpads are only great for short term usage as it creates a vacuum quite fast giving my head a great deal of sweat and heat, it might be that my hair is too long now or that the clamping force of the headbands are taking its toll on me but one thing is for sure, the stock earpads isn’t for me. I switched it with Yaxi’s earpads for the Sony CD900st which alleviated a great deal of the clamping force as it distributed the force on a much bigger circumference at the cost of an even thinner sounding low-end and a more striking treble. The Brainwavz lineup of the Perforated PU leather and stock PU leather along with the sheepskin resembled the signature shown by the stock pads minus the rather fast accumulation of heat, I personally enjoyed the sheepskin earpads from the trio with its rather smoother and silky feel allowing for a much more extended use of the BLON B8. I would also add a link off a
discussion from Massdrop regarding earpads swapping on the BLON BossHifi B8 for further guidance although I don’t personally vouch for what you would be getting there.
Claiming real walnut wood earcups along with parading a beryllium-coated dynamic diaphragm while being priced at $70 and being notoriously known to be CN made guarantees that the BLON BossHifi B8 almost dug its own grave. I happen to have the chance to pass by that supposed dug up grave only to find that its claims are mostly true(still can’t guarantee it's authentic walnut).
The BLON BossHifi B8 is a treblehead and bargain buyer’s dream with its solid and surprisingly well-built body and design. The sound signature it chugs out isn’t the best out there but at $70, it closely mimics the classic Sony MDR-CD900st (let the bashing begin) minus the Sony brand prowess. Throw in some Japanese branded Yaxi earpads or some trusted Brainwavz earpads and the BLON BossHifi B8 is a stellar headphone. Knock on wood.