Is the Fiio uBTR good enough to drive these? I'm actually quite new to this hobby and I happened to get the Blon Bl01's since they we're recommended to me. ( are they actually supposed to sound screechy at the high's or is it a Unit Variance thing? ) you could also say i'm one of guys running these through my phone lol. also, may I ask what tips you use these with? the stock tips fit but i'm not sure if they are "correctly sealed". Thanks!
One of the easy ways to solve the riddle is after you feel your getting a good tight fit try a home amp.
Meaning, word on the street is many are not getting a good airtight fit with the included tips. That would mean you simply have to go into a collection of tips looking for alternative tips than what has been provided with the IEM box. After that you need an adapter to just try with any (home) stereo amp around. Also desktop headphone amplifiers will create the desired power to know if that’s a solution.
There is no guarantee that a home theater amp will get you the answers. Your better off trying to find an older class A amp from the 1970s or early 1980s before the manufacturers went to cheap OP amps for the headphone out. Something like that as a short experiment will fill you in if loss of correct power will be why your hearing what your hearing.
I can say without a doubt the BLON BL-01 is no where near screechy after burn in with the right tips and right amp.
I’ll probably have to start testing the BL-01 with the collection of gear I have. Meaning I’m already optimally driving it, but I want to know if entry level amps like the FiiO Alpen 2 E17K will have enough juice to cure these issues.
As mentioned the riddle here revolves around many convoluted and varied ideas.
1) burn-in
2) mental burn-in
3) tips
4) music
5) cable
6) sound signature goals
7) device power and sound character the BLON is ultimately hooked to
I would say that each individual should consider their situation special. Meaning many phones are powerful. But in my history at Head-Fi, amping issues have been a giant source of confusion with people not understanding a product. The Sony XBA-Z5 needed juice to “wake-up”....the IER-Z1R becomes a different animal. The Sony MDR-Z1R, though easy to drive....moved to a whole different place after power was added, same as the MDR-Z1R.
There are already YouTube videos with enthusiasts explaining the BLON BL-01 needing power to come alive. They are the same people warning others not to spent more money on silver cables first for the $23 BLON BL-01. They are then telling their own story about finding more power to fix the issues and create an understanding as to what the BLON is at the end. So take note, if you don’t have power, getting an aftermarket cable will not cure the issue, especially from a phone.
Myself I simply switched to a 4.4mm cable and never looked back. I already know from experience how to note, that if I have to go to high gain on my devices and also push the volume high, then... yes, the IEM IS difficult to drive. I never tried it off a phone, but I don’t need to, I know the story. You will read the story here from here on out numerous times of how people are reaching success.
People will need to use their desktop amps if they don’t have a DAP and only a lower power output phone. It is what it is. You can’t really say that they shouldn’t release an IEM for $23 that needs power. I mean wouldn’t you think people would want a capable IEM for $23 regardless of how you had to drive it?
I will be getting the BLON BL01 in a few days time and I definitely appreciate all the input from the early adopters about the BLON BL01 needing power to scale better. So for sure I'll use an amp with it when it comes. I read a survey a few months back (have to find the link) that almost 80 - 90% of people use IEMs with a smartphone only (and not the LGV type smartphones). Us folks that use DAP/DAC/AMPs here are actually the minority. I do amp all my gear if they use dynamic drivers or planars (maybe less scaling is noted with multi BA types), once u have heard what a good amp can do, it is quite hard to unhear that. I also think sources give more returns than buying cables (sorry to cable believers).
The pity though is that a lot of folks buying gear at the budget segment truly don't use amps and may end up underpowering the BLON BL01 and will walk away thinking it is a crap set. If I had a friend entering the hobby and is looking at the $20 segment to start this audio journey, I would probably recommend him to get a less power hungry set that sounds very good with a smartphone, rather than telling him that "Look here, this is only 50% of the actual sound u will get now with your phone. U need to get a $100 DAP or amp to unlock the other 50%". Beginners will get scared of this money sink!
@https://www.head-fi.org/members/baskingshark.516219/
It’s a precarious event. Many believe the Sony XBA-Z5 was a failure due to people making judgments back in 2014 from using it un-amped. People, same as today have/had no clue IEMs would be depending on juice to fix issues.
And while the whole process is understood as damping factor with full-size headphones, I’m not sure what it would be called in IEM use? I’m not an electrical engineer. But what’s wild are the parallels in sound. Meaning under amped IEMs and under amped full size can result in most of the same artifacts in use. Obviously pure BA IEMs do not have these issues normally.
Amping adds soundstage
Amping adds PRaT
Amping removes cloudy and foggy lower midrange pace
Amping improves soundstage imaging definition
Amping can improve clarity
Amping adds realism and correct timbre
So that’s what I’ve found by listening, though of course I’ve never tried to under amp the BL-01. I simply already realize what these DD artifacts are from over the years and other IEM and full-size use. With full-size headphones it’s basically the power ability to control the movement of the driver. A common difficult to drive full-size is the 1996 AKG k701. I made the mistake in 1996 of buying a low power Woo Audio 3 and tried to get new k701s for it. It was an exercise in futility. Back then I started to realize the ingredient of power and what happens when a headphone is under powered. I’ve never read an engineer come on Head-Fi and explain how the damping factor in full-size is exactly related to trying to get success with big DD IEMs?
One of the easy ways to solve the riddle is after you feel your getting a good tight fit try a home amp.
Meaning, word on the street is many are not getting a good airtight fit with the included tips. That would mean you simply have to go into a collection of tips looking for alternative tips than what has been provided with the IEM box. After that you need an adapter to just try with any (home) stereo amp around. Also desktop headphone amplifiers will create the desired power to know if that’s a solution.
There is no guarantee that a home theater amp will get you the answers. Your better off trying to find an older class A amp from the 1970s or early 1980s before the manufacturers went to cheap OP amps for the headphone out. Something like that as a short experiment will fill you in if loss of correct power will be why your hearing what your hearing.
I can say without a doubt the BLON BL-01 is no where near screechy after burn in with the right tips and right amp.
I’ll probably have to start testing the BL-01 with the collection of gear I have. Meaning I’m already optimally driving it, but I want to know if entry level amps like the FiiO Alpen 2 E17K will have enough juice to cure these issues.
I have a series of answers. This is actually pretty simple. I should have included all this in my review of the BLON BL-01 but prior to writing my review I was in a heated argument with an engineer about the superiority of IEM and phone use being as good as or better than a DAP. Due to those struggles I simply decided to leave power requirements out of my review. I was reminded now here that it’s not fair to people to not explain what will happen with this IEM in phone use. So.....
I simply switched to a 3.5mm cable and used a 5th generation iPod and also used a FiiO Alpen 2 E17K and MacBook Air with Colibri playing 24bit files. Regular 320kbps on the IPod.
My answers:
Yes, the BLON BL-01 will sound thin from an IPod. I assume the same power would come from using an IPhone? What is happening is the BL-01 seems to show it’s uninvolved midrange up-front when being underpowered. There is this complete lush backdrop which gets left out of the signature when underpowered by an iPod.
Going simply to a low-cost FiiO portable amp totally showed how, even though not as optimal as my Sony Walkman in 4.4mm, it was the solution to this issue that people are meeting. The mids or treble was not screechy but uninvolved and thin still yet at lower volumes it was nice having all the bass and warmth from having a correct amp. In short, even with the Walkmans the treble and midrange are not spectacular, yet it’s this ability of everything else around the treble and mids to make a spectacular and listenable show. Somehow while the computer and FiiO were not as optimal as the Walkmans........it was nice and perfectly acceptable as expected.
So in short, it’s 100% imperative you use the BLON BL-01 with some kind of amp. People need to realize that the BLON BL-01 is a very capable and amazing IEM but it’s going to need to be catered to. It’s going to be thin and the opposite of the regular consumer mid-bass hump $20 IEMs. It will show a thin and stale unfriendly midrange along with it’s slightly compressed treble from a low power source. These issues will have people feel there is QC issues, when that’s not the case.
Don't know how much time you've had on yours, but I can also confirm that the 01 needs some hours to open them up. And even though they are specced at 16 ohms and 102 db, they actually require more power than the BL03 which is 32 ohms @ 102 db. Amping is a must. Once you get some good tips and some power, the 01 becomes a much better set.
All that nonsense about power, please stop guys. As long as you've got enough power to bring your earphones to loud enough level without distortion it makes no difference if your amp is capable of delivering 1 milliwatt or 1 terawatt. What matters is its quality as well as that of the DAC, etc... My goto playback device which is only USB powered sounds way better than some much more powerful devices I have but it can't quite drive properly a few earphones such as the Final E5000 or Pinnacle P1, and, besides, the BL01 isn't particularly hard to drive, not the easiest but nowhere near as demanding as the two I mentioned and hence perfectly fine with my USB powered DAC/Amp.
Amping and power is not just about volume. It is usually the amp that possesses timbre and colouration, changing the aural characteristics of any transducer to a greater extent than whichever DAC is used.
All that nonsense about power, please stop guys. As long as you've got enough power to bring your earphones to loud enough level without distortion it makes no difference if your amp is capable of delivering 1 milliwatt or 1 terawatt. What matters is its quality as well as that of the DAC, etc... My goto playback device which is only USB powered sounds way better than some much more powerful devices I have but it can't drive properly a few earphones such as the Final E5000 or Pinnacle P1, and, besides, the BL01 isn't particularly hard to drive, not the easiest but nowhere near as demanding as the two I mentioned and hence perfectly fine with my USB powered DAC/Amp.
Amping and power is not just about volume. It is usually the amp that possesses timbre and colouration, changing the aural characteristics of any transducer to a greater extent than whichever DAC is used.
Amping and power is not just about volume. It is usually the amp that possesses timbre and colouration, changing the aural characteristics of any transducer to a greater extent than whichever DAC is used.
Just to let you know that I am using an Xduoo X20 DAP with a Fiio A5 amplifier to drive the BL-01. There has been some improvement in the mids overnight but the treble is still somewhat thin. Mind you I have about 72 hours of burn in to go!
I’m now playing 24bit files from a Walkman in a cradle going to the TA desktop via an AudioQuest Carbon USB. Listening to some low end doom style metal in 4.4mm balanced from the TA. The TA does some DSD remastering upsampling as well is dead silent for the IEMs.
Don’t mean to argue with anyone as this setup could be a lot of placebo in action, but playback is flawless to me. It’s like using a flagship TOTL IEM. No issues at all. I’m happy too as prior testing proved to myself anyway how this IEM is slightly cranky as far as what it needs to gain top tier performance. I’m not saying people need to spend over 3K to make the BL-01 work. All I’m saying is it can improve and scale up. Many IEMs can scale up to a point but the BLON will greatly. My findings will be paralleled by others in the future, I’m sure. I’ve replicated what people may feel is build quality variables and have confirmed there is a good chance that if folks don’t like the sound they simply have to experiment.
If someone buys the Blon-01 for their phone and uses the stock cable and tips, with the unit variability, they may well be disappointed. Most will buy the Blon-01 to use on their phone and it's down to lady luck and enough power, whether they will be satisfactory. Whoever does a review of these for the public are committed to generally using the stock cable and tips, and have to review on the basis on the package people will buy. Here though, on Head-Fi, many like to upgrade or experiment a little with sources, cables, and tips to see how far an IEM can be improved. There may be an attitude that they only cost about $18.00, so what the point of spending treble that on a new cable and tips. For many of us here, and there are many, we have different sources, amplification, cables, tips and even mods, to get the best out of the Blon-01. For those of us who were lucky enough to get an 'as supposed to be unit', considering the many tales of 'unit variation', it is possible to raise these to fairly high levels of performance relative to their almost 'give away' cost. Having said that A/B ing with 'better' IEM's does show the limit of how far these can be taken, but for $18 these can be improved enough to put them in a rotation. They do have a unique sound.
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