[Fat Larry]

I agree, anyone who was considering Believe either has an amp or used it as motivation to buy one.

The BL01 is more difficult because of the BL03. I think with power, the BL01 sounds like the successor but without, I struggle to consider it on par with the 03. The 05S was similar, it can sound a bit dull and flat but add some power and cable, it opens up, much more dynamic sound. For me the 01 is similar, it gets very dynamic, the soundstage widens, the bass is tighter, details appear.

I will be I interested in other's thoughts on the 01 unamped. I just kept thinking the 03 sounds better. Maybe there will be some unit variance where some sound better unamped. Mine was darkish and bassy out of the box, similar to Crinacles unboxing.

Interesting. I haven't tried any of my stuff amped... which is silly as i have two sitting within arms reach, a mixer and my Denon Hi-Fi amp. Just never occurred that i could use them as they're not headphone specific... anyway.

My unamped impressions are in the previous few pages if you want to take a look. Those were formed running directly out of my laptop. I would not say my set was darkish or bassy.

I would say clinical, smooth, lacking the warmth of the 03, a bit boring. Maybe you mean the same thing by darkish.

 

[paulwasabii]

Interesting. I haven't tried any of my stuff amped... which is silly as i have two sitting within arms reach, a mixer and my Denon Hi-Fi amp. Just never occurred that i could use them as they're not headphone specific... anyway.

My unamped impressions are in the previous few pages if you want to take a look. Those were formed running directly out of my laptop. I would not say my set was darkish or bassy.

I would say clinical, smooth, lacking the warmth of the 03, a bit boring. Maybe you mean the same thing by darkish.

Sorry, it was darkish out of the box, really bassy. Went away after a bit but when I read Crinacles write up, mine was similar right out of the box.

 

[paulwasabii]

I've been burning in my 01 since Wednesday, so tonight I gave them a serious spin. Man, I am seriously digging this set! The bass is definitely faster and tighter with slightly better definition, than the 03, but not lacking in impact. Mids are almost the same as the 03, but a bit less forward...but just by a smidge. Treble/highs seem a bit more rolled off, but I fixed that with EQ. Enjoying these much more now after about 50 hours of burn in. With regards to fit though, I still like the 03 better. Another weird thing I noticed though. The 01 is rated at 16 ohms and 102 db, while the 03 is 32 ohms at 102 db. That should make the 01 easier to drive but I've found the opposite to be true. I've got to turn up the volume on both my dac/amps more on the 01, than with the 03. Very strange because in my past experiences I've always found that lower impedance iems usually go louder with less power than higher impedance ones. Not sure what's going on here but I would definitely recommend an amp for the 01.

I should have read this earlier. Yes, my 01 is much harder to drive and recommend an amp also. Same on the bass, I prefer the 01 bass because it is a bit faster, tighter which works with my music. Mids are real close, can go either way 01 seemed more detailed, 03 if you like it thicker. Treble unamped seemed to be rolled off less, a bit more amped but smoother. Haven't spent as much time with it as you have.

 

[courierdriver]

Crazy awesome tune. Listening to this artist now with the 01, via phone to ES100 via LDAC with a balanced 2.5mm Rhyme cable. So freaking good!

 

[Slater]

So my unmodded Blon 03 taught me to appreciate larger tips than what I've been used to, which have been small Auvio and medium KZ Starlines for almost all my IEMs. I liked the sound of the small Auvio but often they slipped off the nozzle. The KZ starlines would stay on but I felt it increased the bass too much. I settled on New Bee foams for several months but I felt it could be better. In October, bored and doing some tip rolling, I tried some large generic dollar store (Daiso) ear tips that I've had in my ear tip box forever and noticed a mild uptick in sound quality in the soundstage and depth as well as pushing vocals a bit more forward but ending up losing some of the bass. I went on a shopping spree of Azla ear tips this past month and I've settled on medium-large (ML) Azla SednaEarfit (not short or light) for the 03.

These have no right to sound as good as though do. Especially when using my desktop amp. Though I enjoy a more analytical and less bass dense sound signature these days, these are like a mild fun sound signature now with the configuration and my ears. Vocals have the right amount of right richness that I prefer. Bass is nice and deep. I think I was getting a similar musical vibe with the small Auvio tips but now I don't have to worry about digging them out of my ear every time I use the 03. Maybe I'm just getting a really good seal now so I'm hearing the full potential of these and they're really glorious.

I agree. I absolutely love the SednaFit (non short). They are usually my first go to tip. Then FlipTips and Spiral Dots. Then after that, stuff like Auvios, Starline, Sony Hybrids, MH1, Tennmak Ultra foam, etc.

 

[paulwasabii]

I agree. I absolutely love the SednaFit (non short). They are usually my first go to tip. Then FlipTips and Spiral Dots. Then after that, stuff like Auvios, Starline, Sony Hybrids, MH1, Tennmak Ultra foam, etc.

Same here, I resisted paying $15 for a while but gave in. Still resisting on the shorts for my tws but will eventually cave in. Maybe for the TRN-T300.

 

[ezunyan]

Anyone tried C16 series cable from Nicehck with BL01?
Really interested in getting one of those, but can't decide which one to buy since they have 5 variants (copper, silver platted, 8:8 copper:silver, 4:12 copper silver, 12:4 copper:silver)

 

[Slater]

Just got my Blonanas. So now I've got BL-01 (old), BL-01 (new), BL-T3, BL-03, BL-05 and BL-05s. The 01 seems pretty good especially for the money. Better bass extension and a similar sound signature to the 05S, with much of the weight but slightly less detail and separation that is quite a bit worse. They're a bit trickier to drive than the 05S too, ES100 does the job but a smartphone doesn't. For the cash though, they're a worthy successor to the BL-03. Vastly improved technicalities and tonal balance, at the expense of some lushness in the timbre.

So which would you prefer between the 01 and 05S?

 

[Slater]

Mine are on a state to state usps tour..started in Atlanta, GA and At one point they were 30 minutes from me in Connecticut and then somehow the next day they were in Massachusetts. Left Massachusetts and are now in New Jersey. I would be pissed if it wasn't so hilarious.. It's taking longer for usps than it did for them to get here from China.. Smdh....

And USPS wonders why they are always losing money...

 

[wackygoose]

Yay, just received my babies bl 03

It is truly amazing for the price. I got purple version 2. The meshs seems to already be steel, the stock cable is ok but it embarrass/entangle a whole lot, the tips are trash, came in different sizes but I didn't bother trying another one, they fall a lot. I just put t400 foam and it sealed all right, I don't see why I would mod it any further.

People say ver2 stock tips have better sealing and yet I hate them, can't imagine how bad first version tips must have been

My LG G7 which has the ES9218P they advertise as Quad Dac, had no trouble powering them in external mode, in fact I had to turn volume down a bit.

I've been listening to some mqa blues via tidal > uapp and I can't describe how clear and detailed it feels, they might sound better than my over ear ath-Ws99, just can't beat the Soundstage and the bass impact

Two things I don't like even in the kbear cable is this curvy thing that forces me to put the cable over my ear and the kbear plug is so big I have to remove my phone case to plug it in


I hope my Blon BL-03 lasts for a long time

 

[Tonymac136]

So which would you prefer between the 01 and 05S?

You know, I've still not decided! I think the 05S edges it by virtue of sounding better plugged into a smartphone and... that separation. The 01 runs it closer than it has any right to though.

Both are "better" than the 03 by a significant margin, but the 03 will always have a part in my life because of the timbre.

At this juncture I'm officially a BLON fanboy though. Nearly at the point where I'll just buy anything BLON release and leave 4 non blons to everyone else.

 

[Tonymac136]

K thanks for the impressions. Seems most of the impressions say that the BL01 scales better with power. The question is it worth it to pair an amp that is more expensive than the BL01 just to unlock its potential? I know most of us in this hobby have some amps/DAPs lying about, but for newbies and the majority of the lay consumers, I think they would only have a smartphone TBH.

There was some similar uproar about the KBEAR BElieve (sensitivity 98 dB) needing amping to scale optimally, but BElieve I would consider to be midfi pricing, and most folks who do dabble in the midfi segment will probably know about appropriate source pairing and will have amps. But the budget segment that the BLON BL01 is releasing into is a very different market. I'm sure folks will still enjoy the BL01 with just a humble smartphone, just that it is a pity that maybe some lay consumers will not know the true potential of this set without power.

That's true of virtually any single DD set though. Even the KZ EDX (which achieves epic levels of volume through a smartphone) scales a bit with amping, not to mention tips and cable rolling, and the budget staples of Blon 03 and Tin T2 are vastly improved on the end of an amp to the point where I don't take them anywhere I'm not taking an amp or DAP.

 

[Unolord]

My BL-01's arrived in Vancouver on Nov 22 then took a week to get to the Toronto. Went to the nearest Canada Post depot on Nov 30 then sat there for a few days because they couldn't verify the destination address.

I had to log a ticket with Canada Post to give them the correct address. When it finally arrived today the shipping label is missing all of my first name and part of my last name. My street is there but the number is missing. Most of "Toronto" is faded and only the postal code is visible.

Like it got wet or the printer ran out of ink. The entire label is faded.

My KZ Zax which was also supposed to be delivered today now has a "processing error, possible delay".

Oh and W.E. decided not to ship my KBear Limpid so I had to open a dispute to get my $$ back since they also decided not to respond to my inquiries.

Oi vey...

 

[archy121]

Thinking to order the new 01 today via AE.

Wondering if cable upgrade can make a decent upgrade and whether to order same time.

Needs an upgrade cable ?

KBEAR Rhyme 8 Core Single Crystal Copper UPOCC good fit ?

 

[ShakeThoseCans]

I agree, anyone who was considering Believe either has an amp or used it as motivation to buy one.

The BL01 is more difficult because of the BL03. I think with power, the BL01 sounds like the successor but without, I struggle to consider it on par with the 03. The 05S was similar, it can sound a bit dull and flat but add some power and cable, it opens up, much more dynamic sound. For me the 01 is similar, it gets very dynamic, the soundstage widens, the bass is tighter, details appear.

What kind of amp are we talking about, here? Do you think a low-end headphone amp like the Fiio E10K or even the K1 will do?

Here's what I've got:

Fiio E10K DAC/AMP
Fiio K1 DAC/AMP
Apple USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter
VE Odyssey DAC/AMP

It'd be running out from various PCs. Even my Thinkpad X1 Carbon's headphone jack works pretty well with IEMs.