[Vannak]

iems with a DD need to have a vented shell, that causes comfort to be better (less pressure build-up) in exchange for isolation.

With BA iems, they do not need to have a vented shell, so you are gaining isolation.

Friend
How about the moisture build up
Don't mind my asking

 

[JEHL]

Yeah the BL03 is a big no from me without a bit of power. DQ6 is better than the EDX, but put a decent cable and tips on the EDX and suddenly it's better than a stock DQ6 at the same money. Similar mild V shape, similar timbre (not on the level of the BL03 but very good nonetheless).
ZAX is actually as close to a perfect "one pair of IEMs for one pair of ears" as you could get. Whatever area it is you'll find a better set, but here's the thing - it does nothing badly. Get him to get the ZAX and get on with his life.

Edited to add - when I hear people talking about IEMs and using a phone as the only source, I wonder if perhaps those people might actually be better served by one of the many TWS sets around these days.

Meanwhile my BL-03 is the easiest headgear to drive in my house. Guess I must own nothing but cheap power hogs.

Meanwhile a neighbor gave me some earbuds which sound surprisingly nice aside from the lack of subbass, which is of course expected. But for some reason while my BL-03 needs around 40 volume from my Y9 Prime to get to listening volume. The earbuds need 70 to reach the same volume!

Is this normal for earbuds or did my neighbor give me some unusually hard to drive ones?

 

[Vannak]

Meanwhile my BL-03 is the easiest headgear to drive in my house. Guess I must own nothing but cheap power hogs.

Meanwhile a neighbor gave me some earbuds which sound surprisingly nice aside from the lack of subbass, which is of course expected. But for some reason while my BL-03 needs around 40 volume from my Y9 Prime to get to listening volume. The earbuds need 70 to reach the same volume!

Is this normal for earbuds or did my neighbor give me some unusually hard to drive ones?

Same here
Blon-03 way easier to drive compared to my other iems

 

[RikudouGoku]

Friend
How about the moisture build up
Don't mind my asking

Not related to the driver type at least.

It seems to be more related to how the nozzle filter system is designed.

 

[G777]

thanks for your input, i order them and will give impressions when got them

I forgot to mention that using foam pads makes them sound boomy and muddy, so unfortunately they sound best without them

Foam rings are an alright middle ground though.

 

[profusion]

@G777 I guess if they are not coming with foam rings I can cut them until I got some from Ali I searched silicone rings on Ali but never a chance of finding some?

PS why on the earbuds 3500 post tread no one made a review/post on them ?!

 

[Milner]

My first real chi-fi IEM's. Second song, so far so good....

 

[Tonymac136]

Same here
Blon-03 way easier to drive compared to my other iems

Oh they make a noise with very little drive. They really don't sound their best without a bit of power though. Power tightens them up quite a bit. Additionally, mine are a very early pair, later riders of the hype train tend to hear a tighter sound, with better soundstage and technicalities than those of us who bought it as "New earphone tuned by the same person as the *can't remember the name*", no name, nothing else to go on

 

[NeonHD]

Nothing to see here

 

[RikudouGoku]

EDIT: fixed issue.

 

[JEHL]

Oh they make a noise with very little drive. They really don't sound their best without a bit of power though. Power tightens them up quite a bit. Additionally, mine are a very early pair, later riders of the hype train tend to hear a tighter sound, with better soundstage and technicalities than those of us who bought it as "New earphone tuned by the same person as the *can't remember the name*", no name, nothing else to go on

So basically my Y9 Prime has a headphone jack that may as well not exist then?

This may actually need explaining too. If the borrowed EM266 clamp multimeter is of any reliability, my Y9 prime's headphone jack maxes out at 1V, which seems on par with what most USB-C dongles are capable of, including the venerable Apple USB-C dongle.

Unlike the dongle however. This headphone jack is VERY resistance screwed, showing around 38Ω on the multimeter, and even if I substract the cable and the multimeter's internal impedance, it would only go down to 37Ω (And yes, this number is NOT a typo). So if the headgear's load impedance doesn't measure ruler flat it may be significantly colored by the sheer output impedance.

If anything I'm even more thankful to choose the BL-03 over something with unknown impedance curve. Hybrids and pure BA gear most likely will get really screwed by the output impedance alone, regardless of how much power my cellphone would have.

And before someone questions the reliability of the multimeter to read resistance. The BLON BL-03 measures 31Ω directly from its pinholes and the Tripowin Zonie measures 0.3Ω if you substract the internal resistance of the multimeter. which I imagine it's a good but not great number for an aftermarket cable.

...I also wonder how much flak Crinacle gets from driving his IER-Z1R out of his Apple USB-C dongle for portable and even most daily use while he has the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label... And even going as far as saying the dongle sounds better than 90% of the DAPs.

 

[feverfive]

Hi fellow head-fiers, today I have a rather infuriating story that I want to share here about my rather unpleasant experience with Kbear (and Aliexpress). WARNING: For those who are "Kbear fans" or heavily support these earphone brands, I suggest you to stop reading right now as I'm about to say some rather harsh things about them. Last thing I want right now are people who get triggered by this post, or say unhelpful stuff like "bUt tHiS wAs NoT mY ExPeriEnce!!!!!!!1111".

So I bought an 8-core pure silver cable from these guys on Aliexpress, and do not get me wrong, they are AMAZING. It blows me away at what a silver cable can do to improve the sound.

BUT.... quite recently, I started having issues with the right MMCX connector as the sound kept cutting in and out when I moved it around. As an "Aliexpress veteran", I already know for a fact that both Aliexpress and the majority of sellers are absolute despicable horsesh!t when it comes to compensating their buyers. So initially I didn't even bother for a compensation.

But then I realize that I am buying from an official brand store. So I thought optimistically that maybe, just maybe, Kbear was not your typical trash seller and actually goes above and beyond to help their customers. I mean, they ARE the official store. Makes sense for an official store to offer best service, right?? RIGHT???

WRONG!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately I was yet again too overoptimistic, and was yet again betrayed like with every buyer-seller and buyer-Aliexpress interaction that I've had.

First of all, do not be mistaken. I actually tried my very best at writing a clear, concise, and friendly message to the seller:

LOL! It's so funny, because after writing such a level-headed response, what I got was a meager puny message from the seller, who basically said (in typical Engrish): "pls wait, we will deal with the dispute". And then I reconfirm with them whether the video was what they wanted. Again, the same reply "pls wait, we will deal with the dispute". Yup, sounds like your typical lazy AF seller who uses generic copy-pasted responses. In reality, I kinda knew that this response was to evade any sort of liability. They obviously weren't ever going to "deal with dispute", they obviously wanted to wait until Aliexpress comes in and stick the middle finger at me.

I wasn't too concerned because the dispute was still a long way. I have until 03/15 until Aliexpress steps in, which gives the seller plenty of time to resolve the dispute.

HOWEVER...... for some unbelievable reason that I will never understand, this mans Aliexpress decided to step in early on 03/08 and rendered the dispute as "Return Goods and Refund". They didn't even give me an option to accept or deny the solution, they just basically went in, forcibly shoved the solution into my hands, and left. Excuse me but WHAT THE F*CKKK?????

What kind of shiet a$$ shopping platform decides for their buyer without their consent?

Anyways, so I message the seller and I demand them to give me a refund through PayPal. This was their response:

Basically they try all the other responsibility-evading tactics.

"You should just return the item"
But the shipping will cost me half or more than what I paid for the item!

"But you opened the dispute"
Yes, but Aliexpress was the one that closed the dispute without my permission.

"So deal with the problem with Aliexpress"
I already did and they didn't help.

And of course, if all fails, they'll probably leave me on read. Just like all my tinder connections.

These f*ckin swindlers, I swear man. This is why I hate Aliexpress and resort to a tit-for-tat strategy if possible. If the sellers are selfish, irresponsible piece of ***s that pretend they aren't liable, then who is stopping their customers from being one too? Aliexpress is really the equivalent to a ghetto brothel.

As much as I would like to boycott Kbear, I know that this same experience will be true for most other chi-fi stores as well, so no use in boycotting. And they do make some quality products regardless. Basically, to sum everything up into two words: BUYER BEWARE!!!!

P.S. I apologize if I sound spiteful and BGGAR-esque, that is not my intention. It's just something that I really want to get off my chest. A rant if you will.

P.P.S. I initially thought about posting this in @NymPHONOmaniac 's no-BS group, but from my experience there, I have a hunch that I will get a lot of backlash (i.e. a lot of "to be fair" comments) for derogatory subjects like these (which is the last thing I want right now).

I made my very first AE purchase a couple months ago (literally, $6 for foam eartips). I've promised myself that I'll never order any single item from any AE store costing > $50.....now let's see if I can stick to that. I have friends with too many experiences like yours, and while I get that anecdotes aren't definitive, it's enough for a simpleton like me to engage in risk avoidance.

 

[NeonHD]

I made my very first AE purchase a couple months ago (literally, $6 for foam eartips). I've promised myself that I'll never order any single item from any AE store costing > $50.....now let's see if I can stick to that. I have friends with too many experiences like yours, and while I get that anecdotes aren't definitive, it's enough for a simpleton like me to engage in risk avoidance.

Yeah I can testify for sure that spending that much money on Aliexpress is a risky endeavor. Because if that item becomes defective, unless you're willing to pay $$ for shipping, you just lost a huge chunk of your money. And neither Aliexpress nor the seller will want to compensate you.

 

[WendyLi]

Hi friend, this is Wendy from KBEAR Official. We are very sorry for this! Let's talk via PM.

 

[WendyLi]

Maybe @WendyLi can come and help you. As this sounds really bad....
(you really shouldnt have to pm their representative on a forum to get help though....)

Hi friend, thanks a lot for mentioning me!