When talking about single DD iems people like to mention its excelent coherency comparing to usual BA sets yet almost noone shares phase response along with FR. The fact that BA iems use multiple drivers and primitive crossover circuits automatically means that phase should be in trouble unless set is tuned to perfection. Add here different type of sound generating mechanism used in BA and DD. It's obvious why most of the people after long experiments with multiple sets at the end return to DD.
Not sure what you have heard but the best DD can certainly keep pace with even brand name armatures as far as detail is concerned.
Also, both types can sound metallic and that can come from a metal housing and/or sound tube and even the cable construction and not need be the driver itself. Belsing and other cheapies did have that esp. in the KZ implementations but you can't label armatures as a whole "tend to sound metallic".
You can have very good timbre in a multi-BA iem as well. But I think that kind of tuning on a multi-BA or hybrid is harder to find at lower price points I think. It probably takes more r&d to tune multiple BAs for coherency and timbre than it does a single DD.
I have Westone Um3X - triple BA in plastic housing and i doubt they used belsing armatures in them 10 years ago when i bought it. But as a drummer myself i can assure you that cymbals sound artificial with metallic overtones.
I gotta agree with @kukkurovaca , I've auditioned some multi BA sets that had quite comparable timbre to DDs, though they were in the $1 - 2K price range. But even for the most expensive multi BA I heard (QDC Anole VX), the timbre was excellent but not as natural as the BLON BL-03 in the area of decay, though of course it thrashes the BLON in every other department and in technicalities for sure.
A lot of the budget/midfi multi BAs I've heard or owned had a bit of artificial timbre for acoustic instruments, and it didn't sound as natural for stuff like toms, cymbals and bass kicks, where the multi BAs had a bit of lack of air after the drum hits. I think this is due to the different mechanism of the transducers though. Though it may not be an issue of bellsings vs knowles/sonions but more of tuning? Some TOTL sets were recently caught with their pants down using bellsings, and the users of these affected TOTL sets are quite happy with the sound and timbre, despite them using bellsings.
I know where @Spiralman is coming from, I have some of his counterpart older multidriver multi BA westones (eg westone 3) and they do sound a bit artificial and splashy for cymbals. But @Spiralman, the newer westones I used (eg Westone W30) have seemed to fixed this splashy cymbal issues, I think the technology of multi BAs and DDs are catching up and the line between the 2 transducers is getting more blurred by the day.
What is the meaning of "better"? Depends on a large amount of variances that are personal to each individual and their preferences and the music type listened to.
I personally prefer KC2 and BQ3 to Blon. I don't even listen to them(Blons) because to me they are not better then most everything I already have. That said they are very good and sound very natural. Totally understand the hype.
Better is what you believe and you gave me the correct answer. I'm asking for personal preference. I don't need to know about dips in sound tuning, etc. Lol.
Thanks for the good answer. I've deleted the Blon thread from my account as the 01 is lackluster compared to other iems I have like the BQEYZ KB1.
Better is what you believe and you gave me the correct answer. I'm asking for personal preference. I don't need to know about dips in sound tuning, etc. Lol.
Thanks for the good answer. I've deleted the Blon thread from my account as the 01 is lackluster compared to other iems I have like the BQEYZ KB1.
Are the benefits of tuning a single D.D general or is it in this case due to the specific choice of a CNT D.D by BLON? Is it manufactured by themselves or which company manufactures CNT Drivers?
Well I think it is objectively way easier to tune a single DD. I came from the car audio world, and it's a known fact that the more drivers you add, the harder the system is to tune. Ideally if you could have a single driver with enough dynamic range to get your target response, you'd have an ideal system. But that is never the case (especially in car audio), so 2 & 3-way systems are most common in high-end setups. But the more drivers you add, the more you need to deal with time alignment (which changes based on driver placement & frequency), bleed-over between drivers that can amplify or cancel out (dampen) certain frequencies, etc etc.
Well I think it is objectively way easier to tune a single DD. I came from the car audio world, and it's a known fact that the more drivers you add, the harder the system is to tune. Ideally if you could have a single driver with enough dynamic range to get your target response, you'd have an ideal system. But that is never the case (especially in car audio), so 2 & 3-way systems are most common in high-end setups. But the more drivers you add, the more you need to deal with time alignment (which changes based on driver placement & frequency), bleed-over between drivers that can amplify or cancel out (dampen) certain frequencies, etc etc.
I agree with you, I just recently completed my car audio system with a 2-way front active stage (tweeter and mid), and between my DEH-80PRS and the 4-channel HCP-4D I had to do so much testing and tuning with time alignment, EQ, phase correction, low-pass/bandpass/hi-pass crossovers, etc. This did not even include my dual 12" subwoofers into the mix yet.
In the end, I still feel that it is not at 100% of what it actually can be, so I have lots of respect for companies that actually do R&D into how their driver(s) are tuned.
If I threw this exact same setup into my other car without changing any of those adjustable parameters, it would definitely not work; I really don't understand when people say "It's using the same (size) driver but in a different shell, so it should still sound the same."
So I'm last on the Sony magic roundabout and ordered the "New Original Sony MH755 Stereo In-ear Earbud Headphone" on Ebay UK. I went for the orange tips. At £5.89 and delivery this week I'm happy. The thing for me is...... am I buying it in it's own right........ or am a buying it for tips for the Blon 03. How does it compare to the Blon 03. Anyone have memories or thoughts on the Sony ED12
Yep. I've had the Tin 2 pros for quite a while and it's a bit 'chalk and cheese' to compare. The Blon 03 does not have the elevated treble of the Tin T2 pro. The Blon 03 is level up in naturalness, timbre and rhythm. But I am very much a fan of the Blon. I do like the T2 pro though and I found the elevated treble fine for my ears.
Yep. I've had the Tin 2 pros for quite a while and it's a bit 'chalk and cheese' to compare. The Blon 03 does not have the elevated treble of the Tin T2 pro. The Blon 03 is level up in naturalness, timbre and rhythm. But I am very much a fan of the Blon. I do like the T2 pro though and I found the elevated treble fine for my ears.
So I'm last on the Sony magic roundabout and ordered the "New Original Sony MH755 Stereo In-ear Earbud Headphone" on Ebay UK. I went for the orange tips. At £5.89 and delivery this week I'm happy. The thing for me is...... am I buying it in it's own right........ or am a buying it for tips for the Blon 03. How does it compare to the Blon 03. Anyone have memories or thoughts on the Sony ED12
I've got both 750 and 755 and a couple of 750 bought just for tips.
The Blon is better. Much better. But you can't know what the hype is about without finding out for yourself. If my experience is anything to go by you'll listen to the 755 a few times and then take the tips off for the Blons. You'll put a pair of generics on the 755 and then listen occasionally, but I think the 03 and 755 are similar enough to render the 755 mostly a curiosity. YMMV of course.
I've got both 750 and 755 and a couple of 750 bought just for tips.
The Blon is better. Much better. But you can't know what the hype is about without finding out for yourself. If my experience is anything to go by you'll listen to the 755 a few times and then take the tips off for the Blons. You'll put a pair of generics on the 755 and then listen occasionally, but I think the 03 and 755 are similar enough to render the 755 mostly a curiosity. YMMV of course.
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