[gLer]

How did BLON go from a sleek, shiny, beautifully made IEM in the BLON-03 to this horrible cheap-looking lime green monster?

 

[jdog]

I have a bit of a different take on the BL05-S compared to the BL05. I must stress that a good fit with your tips is going to be very important with both, and I have had to extend the stems on my eartips to get a good seal, even using the inverted KZ Starline tips. I am not happy at all with the fit I get with any of the stock tips; I'm unable to get a deep enough fit, so I can't get a good seal with them. In my opinion, with good fitting tips, the BL05 is a bit brighter, but not sibilant, and the mids are more forward, providing a more open and wider soundstage. For me, with a good tip fit/seal, I still get the bass I want/enjoy. On the other hand, the BL05-S is a bit darker overall, and the mids are more recessed (almost too much for me). The soundstage is more boxed in and less open. The bass tends to creep too much into the mids for me. Overall, I find the BL05-S to be dull sounding. My impression is that your preference is going to depend on your source (I use a Shanling M2x with balanced cable) and the tips you use with these IEM's, but I prefer the sound quality of the BL05 to that of the BL05-S. Not to mention that the BL05 is a better looking IEM, but believe me, this would not bother me, if I felt the sound quality of the BL05-S was better....

 

[theredhood]

So I just received my blon bl03 and have bad luck. The left side sound cuts out and doesn't come back unless I bend the cable left or right. I tried swapping the cable sides so it's definitely not the cable. Anyone know a fix? I'm also in contact with the seller to see about a replacement.

 

[Howell29]

So I just received my blon bl03 and have bad luck. The left side sound cuts out and doesn't come back unless I bend the cable left or right. I tried swapping the cable sides so it's definitely not the cable. Anyone know a fix? I'm also in contact with the seller to see about a replacement.

Assigning the left shell to right cable & right shell to left cable seems to fix the issue for me. But always check polarity, and there's also a case where I made the 03's sound in opposite directions though still sounding in-phase due to uncareful swapping lol

 

[Slater]

So I just received my blon bl03 and have bad luck. The left side sound cuts out and doesn't come back unless I bend the cable left or right. I tried swapping the cable sides so it's definitely not the cable. Anyone know a fix? I'm also in contact with the seller to see about a replacement.

Switch the cable to the other side. Does the problem now happen on the right side instead of the left? If so, the problem is with the stock cable not the earphones.

 

[Vannak]

Switch the cable to the other side. Does the problem now happen on the right side instead of the left? If so, the problem is with the stock cable not the earphones.

Or try different cable

 

[theredhood]

Assigning the left shell to right cable & right shell to left cable seems to fix the issue for me. But always check polarity, and there's also a case where I made the 03's sound in opposite directions though still sounding in-phase due to uncareful swapping lol

Switch the cable to the other side. Does the problem now happen on the right side instead of the left? If so, the problem is with the stock cable not the earphones.

Or try different cable

I don't have another cable right now, but switching the right and left cable side was the first thing I did. Both right and left cable sides work perfectly on the right earpiece no matter how much I bend it. With the left earpiece, sound cuts out using both right and left cable sides unless it's bent at a certain angle. So I think the problem might be with the female 2 pin socket on the left earpiece.

Edit: So one idea I had is to slightly bend the left side cable pins so it comes into more contact with the metal in the socket, but I didn't want to do anything irreversible.

 

[Howell29]

I don't have another cable right now, but switching the right and left cable side was the first thing I did. Both right and left cable sides work perfectly on the right earpiece no matter how much I bend it. With the left earpiece, sound cuts out using both right and left cable sides unless it's bent at a certain angle. So I think the problem might be with the female 2 pin socket on the left earpiece.

Edit: So one idea I had is to slightly bend the left side cable pins so it comes into more contact with the metal in the socket, but I didn't want to do anything irreversible.

Did it work flawlessly now? Guess your set is worse than mine and yours is upon arrival too. Only heard that cutting sound months later.

 

[baskingshark]

So I've been using the BLON BL-05S the past week, have done some comparing to the fabled BL-03 and the not so well received BL-05 (non S), below are some quick impressions.

BLON siblings here. Not many folks have the BLON Cardinal (red coloured shell on the extreme left), and it is out of production anyways, so I'll leave comparisons out. Essentially it is just a BL-03 with better fit, isolation, better subbass extension. Timbre is similar to the BL-03, with similar midbass bump and similar mids. Treble is a tinge brighter with better soundstage and slightly better technicalities.



Vs the BL-03:
- The BLON BL-05S is different in tonality and tuning to the original BL-03, so they are not a true upgrade in a sense. Those wanting an upgraded version of the analoguish bassy warm tuning of the BL-03 best look elsewhere. The BL-05S has a tinge of warmth but is not as warm tuning wise compared to BL-03. BL-05S has a clearer treble but less subbass extension.

- The BL-05S has a more tamed midbass with minimal midbass bleed, with better technicalities (in imaging, instrument separation and soundstage and details). It fixes the slow and bleeding midbass of the BL-03 with faster bass speed. I find it more balanced than the bassy BL-03.

- There's a slight upper mids boost at the 2 kHz area, but it isn't that shouty as the graphs would suggest. The BL-05S can still get on rare occasions hot in the upper mids with boosted volumes (fletcher munson curve), but at moderate volumes, it is very tamed compared to most of the budget CHIFI out there. Female vocals are still more forward than male vocals, but not shouty.

- The BL-05S has better fit for sure, and better isolation, no need to mess with aftermarket tips.

- Both have very legit timbre as per their DD roots, but BL-03 has very slightly better instrumental timbre in terms of timbral accuracy.


Vs the BL-05:
- I think most will agree the BL-05 (non S) wasn't that well received in view of the overly shouty upper mids, and its mids were off tonally wise, so the BL-05S is a big improvement in this area. BL-05S's mids are more balanced, with the upper mids not being as hot (and the lower mids not being as recessed) as the BL-05 (non S).

- The BL-05S doesn't have as cold a tonality as the BL-05 (non S), and timbre sounds more natural than the BL-05 (non S).

- Fit and isolation is similar between the 2. Technicalities are slightly better than the BL-05 (non S).




Overall I think the BL-05S has made the BL-05 superfluous. The BL-05S is better in the 3 Ts: tonality, timbre and technicalities, no contest. So for those who are wondering between the 2, just skip the BL-05 (non S). The BL-05 (non S) will probably not be talked about now that BL-05S is in town.

As for BL-05S versus the BL-03, they are complimentary sets I feel, the BL-03 having slightly better timbre and having a warm bassy analoguish tuning. The BL-05S has better balancing in the mids and midbass, and it brings better fit and technicalities to the table. I think the BL-05S has fixed the 2 main issues of the BL-03 (ie crap fit and the midbass bloat), though it loses a bit of the warm analoguish bassy sound. One can consider the BL-05S to be the BL-03 MK2 that all BLON cultists are clamouring for, but the tuning is a bit different to really describe it as a direct spiritual successor.

So, third Oppoty's the charm. You can Belief that and never give up. Let music burn!!!!

 

[IEMusic]

Great comparison, thanks!

Perhaps we really should stop thinking/talking about an improved BL03 or a BL03 “killer”, but rather just enjoy the now legendary BL03 for what it is, flaws and all. When you mess with the formula to try and improve certain aspects, it seems that it destroys the magic as a whole. So while the BL05S is a technically better IEM, and a really good thing for BLON, will it have any magic of its own?

 

[Sam L]

Great comparison, thanks!

Perhaps we really should stop thinking/talking about an improved BL03 or a BL03 “killer”, but rather just enjoy the now legendary BL03 for what it is, flaws and all. When you mess with the formula to try and improve certain aspects, it seems that it destroys the magic as a whole. So while the BL05S is a technically better IEM, and a really good thing for BLON, will it have any magic of its own?

The blon 03 deserves to be called a legendary iem, but let's be honest, there was some luck involved along with the work of a good tuner.

 

[IEMusic]

The blon 03 deserves to be called a legendary iem, but let's be honest, there was some luck involved along with the work of a good tuner.

Oh certainly! I’m 100% in agreement on that point. The magic formula was very lucky, and that’s why no one has been able to truly duplicate it or improve on it. The tuner of course had a lot to do with it, especially since the Tanchjim Oxygen is also reaching lasting legendary status.

 

[jdog]

@baskingshark, Sorry but I still feel some may prefer the BLON-05 to the BLON-05S, especially if one prefers a more open, airier and wider soundstage... Just my opinion, but I wouldn't suggest that the 05 is superfluous based on your or a few other's impressions... It is quite clear that each of these (03, 05 and 05S) have different sound qualities from each other and I would imagine that some will prefer the 03 to the 05's, etc... I'd propose, each to their own tastes and preferences.

 

[baskingshark]

@baskingshark, Sorry but I still feel some may prefer the BLON-05 to the BLON-05S, especially if one prefers a more open, airier and wider soundstage... Just my opinion, but I wouldn't suggest that the 05 is superfluous based on your or a few other's impressions... It is quite clear that each of these (03, 05 and 05S) have different sound qualities from each other and I would imagine that some will prefer the 03 to the 05's, etc... I'd propose, each to their own tastes and preferences.

Fair enough, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Melt28]

What aftermarket cables are you using for the BLON3? I'm looking for Something with a 4.4mm termination.