I feel that the cotton inserts in the rear chamber contribute to cleaner bass, specially sub-bass. It’s more articulated and well defined but still too much. I EQ my Blons at -6dB for 64 Hz and 150 Hz for a more balanced sound.
Hello! I'm currently using a ZSN Pro and I'm thinking of "upgrading" to a Blon. Since most of you guys here have tested the Blons, I figured this is the best place for me to ask this. What Blon do you guys recommend for movies and mixing? I'm choosing between the Blon-03 and Blon-05. The Blon-05 is having a huge discount soon, only costing around ~$29 so I'm definitely tempted to go for the 05.
Hello! I'm currently using a ZSN Pro and I'm thinking of "upgrading" to a Blon. Since most of you guys here have tested the Blons, I figured this is the best place for me to ask this. What Blon do you guys recommend for movies and mixing? I'm choosing between the Blon-03 and Blon-05. The Blon-05 is having a huge discount soon, only costing around ~$29 so I'm definitely tempted to go for the 05.
The Blon 05 is not a good IEM. If you want to go for a Blon 05 then the Blon 05s is the one to go for. I have the ZSN Pro, which I like, but the Blon 03 has better timbre and a little more magic. The fit of the Blon 03 is not good for most people so a little mod and tip rolling can really help you get the best from the Blon 03. I still like it a lot even after having it for a long time.
Hello! I'm currently using a ZSN Pro and I'm thinking of "upgrading" to a Blon. Since most of you guys here have tested the Blons, I figured this is the best place for me to ask this. What Blon do you guys recommend for movies and mixing? I'm choosing between the Blon-03 and Blon-05. The Blon-05 is having a huge discount soon, only costing around ~$29 so I'm definitely tempted to go for the 05.
I wouldn't recommend any BLON for mixing purposes. The BLONs are all not neutral (most tend to be bassier) and hence they will colour the mix and this adds inaccuracies to mixing. Ideally one would want something as neutralish as possible for mixing purposes.
Additionally, most of the BLONs don't have that great technicalities and isolation compared to multi BA type IEMs. I would strongly recommend for mixing purposes to get a multi BA/hybrid. YMMV though. Actually, for mixing purposes a headphone will generally be better than IEMs as the IEMs are weaker in soundstage than headphones (in general).
Movies wise, the BLON BL-03 is quite nice due to the big bass. BLON BL-05 is not good, too shouty in the upper mids. BLON BL-05S (with an S behind) is the most technical of the BLONs so far, with a tamed midbass and better technical performance than the BLON BL-03. The recent BLON BL-01 is a marginal upgrade over the BLON BL-03 but needs amping. Do note that the BLON BL-03 and BL-01 have poor fit OOTB, so most folks have to resort to buying aftermarket eartips +/- cables for them, and they add to the costs. So they are generally $40ish if this is taken into account.
I wouldn't recommend any BLON for mixing purposes. The BLONs are all not neutral (most tend to be bassier) and hence they will colour the mix and this adds inaccuracies to mixing. Ideally one would want something as neutralish as possible for mixing purposes.
Additionally, most of the BLONs don't have that great technicalities and isolation compared to multi BA type IEMs. I would strongly recommend for mixing purposes to get a multi BA/hybrid. YMMV though. Actually, for mixing purposes a headphone will generally be better than IEMs as the IEMs are weaker in soundstage than headphones (in general).
Movies wise, the BLON BL-03 is quite nice due to the big bass. BLON BL-05 is not good, too shouty in the upper mids. BLON BL-05S (with an S behind) is the most technical of the BLONs so far, with a tamed midbass and better technical performance than the BLON BL-03. The recent BLON BL-01 is a marginal upgrade over the BLON BL-03 but needs amping. Do note that the BLON BL-03 and BL-01 have poor fit OOTB, so most folks have to resort to buying aftermarket eartips +/- cables for them, and they add to the costs. So they are generally $40ish if this is taken into account.
What if I WANTED to make sure a technically proficient gear is not necessary or even useful for the song I'm making? Would I want a BLON like headphone with less bass in that case?
I wouldn't recommend any BLON for mixing purposes. The BLONs are all not neutral (most tend to be bassier) and hence they will colour the mix and this adds inaccuracies to mixing. Ideally one would want something as neutralish as possible for mixing purposes.
Okay, I guess mixing is a lesser priority to me than movies
About the BL-01, does it need a lot of amping for a decent volume? I travel a lot and I usually only bring my phone with me.
What if I WANTED to make sure a technically proficient gear is not necessary or even useful for the song I'm making? Would I want a BLON like headphone with less bass in that case?
basically (well at least in my personal opinion) you can use any earphones /headphones/speakers to mix, provided you are really familiar with it and know how other songs would sound with that particular set.
one thing to keep in mind is that mixing takes time, and if an earphone is boosted in specific region (lower midbass in the Blon BL03, for instance) it will get fatiguing real fast, and ears have a bad habit of adapting to that.. in the long session you'll risk of boosting/cutting the wrong EQ, and using the wrong settings for effects and such..
so for me it's better to get the flattest/most neutral monitor as i could get. if I'm limited in gears, EQing it to neutral as possible is the next better choice.
try apps like Sonarworks, or Neutralizer on android to get a feel of how your earphones sound like near neutral.
No, the Blon 01 does playback just fine on a phone. Just need to up the volume a bit more than other iems. Using an apple lightning dongle to 3.5 mm, I listen with volume a bit over 50% volume.
Also, I personally don't have a fit problem with the Blon 01. I use AZLA SednaEarfit tips. The inner sleeve that fits on the nozzle is relatively long, which places the ear tip further away from the body of the iem.
What if I WANTED to make sure a technically proficient gear is not necessary or even useful for the song I'm making? Would I want a BLON like headphone with less bass in that case?
Why would you want a less technically proficient gear to do mixing/studio work? You would only be handicapping yourself. If you manage to get a good mix with a set with poorer technical performance, then all power to you. But personally, I wouldn't want to be missing out on microdetails, imaging, soundstage, clarity, instrument separation.
BLONs in general have great tonality and timbre, but when it comes to studio work, technical performance is one of my higher priorities and the BLONs don't do a good job in this area, IMHO. BLONs are in general more suited for chilling and just enjoying music, but not for critical listening or analysis of music. YMMV.
Okay, I guess mixing is a lesser priority to me than movies
About the BL-01, does it need a lot of amping for a decent volume? I travel a lot and I usually only bring my phone with me.
Amping is not about volume. If that were the case, one can just put some planar type headphones or hard to drive gear on a cheap smartphone and just jack up the volume to the max. It is more that without amping, you can lose dynamics, microdetails, soundstage. And sometimes the FR of the audio gear in question can be skewed eg too shouty upper mids/treble or not enough bass for example, if the source is not matched properly.
As for the BLON BL-01, it is definitely drivable from a lower powered source, but it may get shouty in upper mids when not amped, and the aforementioned dynamics and microdetails are lost without amping. Personally, I would recommend you to look at the other BLON siblings if you are not intending to get an amp with the BLON BL-01, as you would not be getting the full potential. Many other choices out there, and I can also appreciate that not many would like to get a more expensive amp than a sub $20 USD BLON BL-01.
Honestly it sounds like @ppGabe would be better off considering the KZ ZAX, perhaps, for movies and smartphone use rather than any BLON. I don't have a really good recommendation for mixing at this kind of budget though. I would be tempted to look to full sized open back headphones for that sort of usage.
Honestly it sounds like @ppGabe would be better off considering the KZ ZAX, perhaps, for movies and smartphone use rather than any BLON. I don't have a really good recommendation for mixing at this kind of budget though. I would be tempted to look to full sized open back headphones for that sort of usage.
Yeah, I'd not recommend any BLON for use with a smartphone. Even if said smartphone is an LG V Series like mine, it's just not up to it.
KZ ZAX is a good shout, DQ6 is easily driven by a smartphone if DD timbre is needed. Kbear KS1 is great if you want to pick up things like reverb really well but too V shaped for mixing ideally.
I don't have a really good recommendation for mixing at this kind of budget though. I would be tempted to look to full sized open back headphones for that sort of usage.
Yep, I've thrown mixing out of the question for this budget. Just expecting to watch shows and have fun listening to music now.
The KZ ZAX is honestly a bit too high for me to reach right now, I'm sure for the price it is worth it, but I'm not ready to make that kind of purchase yet. Soon
I am getting a little bit off topic here — this is the Blon discussion thread after all, but I think I'm leaning towards the KZ DQ6 now after hearing all of your opinions (which were really helpful!)
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