Unolord
100+ Head-Fier
No, you need a regular 0.78mm 2 pin or the TFZ/NX7 2 pin for the BL-01.
Blon in ear monitors impressions thread
- Thread starter FastAndClean
- Start date
No, you need a regular 0.78mm 2 pin or the TFZ/NX7 2 pin for the BL-01.
ShakeThoseCans
100+ Head-Fier
Listening to my brand new BL-05s now. Some impressions.
At first, I was underwhelmed by them. A few days ago. They didn't sound much different than the BL-01, whose tuning seemed more restrained and 'audiophile' than the previous BL-03.
I had issues with the BL-05s (the green ones, that's what I'm discussing here):
-I thought that the soundstage was circular and pedestrian
-I thought that some instruments were just too loud relative to others
-I thought that the 'magic' of the BL-03's exaggerated bass and weird treble was gone
I was testing them on rock-and-roll, and especially metal, which they were supposed to be good at. It seemed to me that the BL-05s didn't have sufficient bass for metal, not sounding as engrossing as it could be.
Well, they might benefit from some 'warming up.' First day, I had taken it from the -5 C metal mailbox and listened to it. But they've had some time to settle since then.
I've been comparing the BL-05s in my mind to my new Starsea, NA2, and NM2+, which are expected to outpace the BL-05s in technicalities. But after a few days, the BL-05s is giving me some decent performance in some unexpected tracks.
Here’s what I found them performing unexpectedly well:
-atmospheric synth, like the original recording of “Love on a real train” and its various remixes
-orchestral remixes, including those by high-school bands!
-high-end video game OST and remixes
It was mediocre or subdued with:
-actual orchestral, individual or small string performances, real OSTs
-It was kind of harsh, grainy, or even steely [let’s say lo-res except for soundstage] with pop.
-seemed a little ‘colourless’ with metal, as well. Whatever sound attributes are getting ‘rounded’ or confined with the BL-05 seems to be unhelpful in these genres. BL-05s has the speed and harmonics, and the electric guitar, and most of the soundstage but maybe not the bass for metal. Compared with V90. Guess it depends if you’re a basshead.
It sounds subdued with AC/DC “Big Guns,” Slayer “South of Heaven,” Alice in Chains “Them Bones.”
The overall character of the BL-05s seems to be that it is fairly coherent and musical, but rounding off treble and bass to 'safer' levels as compared with dedicated performers in those categories. This has positive and negative effects, depending on genre. I'll briefly discuss some characteristics.
Characteristics
-BL-05s is capable of rendering brass, saxophone, and woodwinds in a fairly natural way in its price category. Especially saxophone.
-Vocals are also quite natural, or at least pleasant. Especially orchestral/harmonic choruses. However, less-prominent vocals are sometimes lost in the background against percussion or even bass tracks. [Not usually, though, and not by much.] Key vocals are usually prominent enough.
-In small orchestral arrangements, guitars have decent timbre, and are sometimes foregrounded more successfully than with other IEMs.*
-The BL-05s soundstage is actually decent. Nothing spectacular or holographic for the most part. However…it can group bass and percussion sounds provocatively at the L-R poles while simultaneously placing bells and similar bright-sounding instruments ‘higher’ in the soundstage. I would say it is superior here to the BL-03 and BL-01.
It also produces an ‘ethereal’ quality with many synth and some string-heavy recordings.
-The dynamics seem average and nothing special at first. However, it’s in a tough fight with the T4 in the “Chilled Euphoria" rendition of “Love on a Real Train.” BL-05s evinces creeping dynamics that you slowly notice as sound builds on top of you.
-In detailed tracks, the BL-05s seems to round off extreme treble and bass somewhat, preventing them from being as harsh or peaky as they could be. It isn’t as bright or resolving with strings and other things as the TRI Starsea, but it’s always less fatiguing with high-quality recordings than Starsea or T4. For classical recordings and OST, some will find the BL-05s too rounded-off and constrained in its overall sound profile.
-To elaborate on the previous point, Starsea was more compelling with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Newly Expanded Edition)."
-The BL-05s just sounded unambitious. Sure, it was coherent. But it was kind of the 'let's sit in the warm bathtub' version. By contrast, the TRN Starsea went crazy in all the ways you would expect. BL-05s version was like a gentle Southern ball. Also the percussion was a bit overdrive in 'Surprise Attack,' but not as bad as it could have been:
The Starsea's strings are sweet-and-sour, it can more convincingly render different emotions from the same string section simultaneously. So I definitely pick the Starsea over BL-05s in this album.
-T4 and Starsea are far more analytical than the BL-05s, but the BL-05s still has good separation and can hold its own in imaging at times.
-Strangely, the BL-05s sounded comparable to my memory of how the TRN BA5 rendered YSSY’s Mandalorian theme remix:
Let’s do another comparison. There's an incredible rendition of 'Love on a real train' by some students:
Another comparison: an obscure Serbian video game called Underrail:
Some of my initial impressions remain, though. Where the BL-05s kind of falls apart for me is with pop music, from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack [in-game, with 3D audio headphone settings]. I also tried the BL-05s a few times with Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" from the music video on Youtube:
Just seems harsher or grainier than I would prefer. Steely, even.
Conclusion:
Overall, the BL-05s reminds me of the AM radios it is coloured after. Something that takes up a big chunk of the room's soundstage, but not all of it, and rendered in a pleasant and inoffensive soundscape unless your reception is poor [then it gets ugly.] And also there's a subwoofer or something providing more bass than Nana's kitchen radio ever did. It becomes very listenable, for long periods.
With a good recording, it 'rounds off' the sound so that it's not too piercing, too harsh, but individual instruments [especially pianos and some strings] and sometimes percussion can get beyond desired peaks or harshness. It may benefit from EQ? With a bad recording, it can bring out the worst of it. I use my BL-05s amped, foamed, and with high-quality sources, and it seems happiest there. With decent source material, it retains at least a basic coherence, and often highlights the instruments that are supposed to be. It's good with good sax, woodwinds, and basslines. Hit-or-miss on rendering acoustic strings, harps excel, surprisingly good with bells. Sometimes the sub-bass or percussion is very encompassing at the L-R poles, whereas the bells and treble strings seem 'higher' in the soundstage.
At first, I was underwhelmed by them. A few days ago. They didn't sound much different than the BL-01, whose tuning seemed more restrained and 'audiophile' than the previous BL-03.
I had issues with the BL-05s (the green ones, that's what I'm discussing here):
-I thought that the soundstage was circular and pedestrian
-I thought that some instruments were just too loud relative to others
-I thought that the 'magic' of the BL-03's exaggerated bass and weird treble was gone
I was testing them on rock-and-roll, and especially metal, which they were supposed to be good at. It seemed to me that the BL-05s didn't have sufficient bass for metal, not sounding as engrossing as it could be.
Well, they might benefit from some 'warming up.' First day, I had taken it from the -5 C metal mailbox and listened to it. But they've had some time to settle since then.
I've been comparing the BL-05s in my mind to my new Starsea, NA2, and NM2+, which are expected to outpace the BL-05s in technicalities. But after a few days, the BL-05s is giving me some decent performance in some unexpected tracks.
Here’s what I found them performing unexpectedly well:
-atmospheric synth, like the original recording of “Love on a real train” and its various remixes
-orchestral remixes, including those by high-school bands!
-high-end video game OST and remixes
It was mediocre or subdued with:
-actual orchestral, individual or small string performances, real OSTs
-It was kind of harsh, grainy, or even steely [let’s say lo-res except for soundstage] with pop.
-seemed a little ‘colourless’ with metal, as well. Whatever sound attributes are getting ‘rounded’ or confined with the BL-05 seems to be unhelpful in these genres. BL-05s has the speed and harmonics, and the electric guitar, and most of the soundstage but maybe not the bass for metal. Compared with V90. Guess it depends if you’re a basshead.
It sounds subdued with AC/DC “Big Guns,” Slayer “South of Heaven,” Alice in Chains “Them Bones.”
The overall character of the BL-05s seems to be that it is fairly coherent and musical, but rounding off treble and bass to 'safer' levels as compared with dedicated performers in those categories. This has positive and negative effects, depending on genre. I'll briefly discuss some characteristics.
Characteristics
-BL-05s is capable of rendering brass, saxophone, and woodwinds in a fairly natural way in its price category. Especially saxophone.
-Vocals are also quite natural, or at least pleasant. Especially orchestral/harmonic choruses. However, less-prominent vocals are sometimes lost in the background against percussion or even bass tracks. [Not usually, though, and not by much.] Key vocals are usually prominent enough.
-In small orchestral arrangements, guitars have decent timbre, and are sometimes foregrounded more successfully than with other IEMs.*
-The BL-05s soundstage is actually decent. Nothing spectacular or holographic for the most part. However…it can group bass and percussion sounds provocatively at the L-R poles while simultaneously placing bells and similar bright-sounding instruments ‘higher’ in the soundstage. I would say it is superior here to the BL-03 and BL-01.
It also produces an ‘ethereal’ quality with many synth and some string-heavy recordings.
-The dynamics seem average and nothing special at first. However, it’s in a tough fight with the T4 in the “Chilled Euphoria" rendition of “Love on a Real Train.” BL-05s evinces creeping dynamics that you slowly notice as sound builds on top of you.
-In detailed tracks, the BL-05s seems to round off extreme treble and bass somewhat, preventing them from being as harsh or peaky as they could be. It isn’t as bright or resolving with strings and other things as the TRI Starsea, but it’s always less fatiguing with high-quality recordings than Starsea or T4. For classical recordings and OST, some will find the BL-05s too rounded-off and constrained in its overall sound profile.
-To elaborate on the previous point, Starsea was more compelling with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Newly Expanded Edition)."
-The BL-05s just sounded unambitious. Sure, it was coherent. But it was kind of the 'let's sit in the warm bathtub' version. By contrast, the TRN Starsea went crazy in all the ways you would expect. BL-05s version was like a gentle Southern ball. Also the percussion was a bit overdrive in 'Surprise Attack,' but not as bad as it could have been:
The Starsea's strings are sweet-and-sour, it can more convincingly render different emotions from the same string section simultaneously. So I definitely pick the Starsea over BL-05s in this album.
-T4 and Starsea are far more analytical than the BL-05s, but the BL-05s still has good separation and can hold its own in imaging at times.
-Strangely, the BL-05s sounded comparable to my memory of how the TRN BA5 rendered YSSY’s Mandalorian theme remix:
Let’s do another comparison. There's an incredible rendition of 'Love on a real train' by some students:
Another comparison: an obscure Serbian video game called Underrail:
Some of my initial impressions remain, though. Where the BL-05s kind of falls apart for me is with pop music, from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack [in-game, with 3D audio headphone settings]. I also tried the BL-05s a few times with Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" from the music video on Youtube:
Just seems harsher or grainier than I would prefer. Steely, even.
Conclusion:
Overall, the BL-05s reminds me of the AM radios it is coloured after. Something that takes up a big chunk of the room's soundstage, but not all of it, and rendered in a pleasant and inoffensive soundscape unless your reception is poor [then it gets ugly.] And also there's a subwoofer or something providing more bass than Nana's kitchen radio ever did. It becomes very listenable, for long periods.
With a good recording, it 'rounds off' the sound so that it's not too piercing, too harsh, but individual instruments [especially pianos and some strings] and sometimes percussion can get beyond desired peaks or harshness. It may benefit from EQ? With a bad recording, it can bring out the worst of it. I use my BL-05s amped, foamed, and with high-quality sources, and it seems happiest there. With decent source material, it retains at least a basic coherence, and often highlights the instruments that are supposed to be. It's good with good sax, woodwinds, and basslines. Hit-or-miss on rendering acoustic strings, harps excel, surprisingly good with bells. Sometimes the sub-bass or percussion is very encompassing at the L-R poles, whereas the bells and treble strings seem 'higher' in the soundstage.
Last edited:
ShakeThoseCans
100+ Head-Fier
Chilled Euphoria
To follow-up on the "Chilled Euphoria" rendition of 'Love on a real train,' I meant to include the following details about the BL-05s here:
I was surprised at the quality and dynamics of the synth instruments, and the soundstage. Very chill. It feels very ambient, and I forgot I had IEMs on. I could fall asleep to this. No peaks.
This is actually a must-listen.
So how does the BL-05s perform with the original Tangerine Dream recording?
Unlike with many other IEMs, that characteristic synth beat that resembles a regular bell isn't piercing with the BL-05s. Sure, it's even more subdued with the stock CA16 [rolled-off treble].
OTOH the T4, Starsea, and NM2+ are giving me problems with brightness here. Not the BL-05s. It's just at the limit of tolerability for me. [I could still stand to roll it off a bit.] The other foreground synths are meaty and powerful, and the bass is somewhat deep.
vs BL-01
The BL-01 is largely been absent from my impressions. I already posted about it earlier in the thread.
But it would be helpful to compare it with the tracks I linked to above.
Some say that the T2+ is like that glass of clean water with which you cleanse your palette. There are IEMs that fit this category, and the BL-01 is one of them.
With the above-mentioned Chilled Euphoria remix, the BL-01 sounds fresh like a mountain spring. Raindrops falling onto glass. I have difficulty detecting the tuning - it sounds like an audiophile setup in an audio store or maybe a high-end medical office that's designed to calm you.
The BL-01's relative neutrality is a matter of preference. With the two tracks from Underrail, I find it is neutral and plain with 'Scientific,' and neutral and bassy with 'Gray Army Base.' There are elements missing from the soundstage as compared with the BL-05s, but you wouldn't know it from listening to the BL-01 in isolation.
It's also apparent that vocals are more prominent on the BL-01, over the BL-05s, in the tracked linked to above. The recording concerning the Apollo astronauts in the Chilled Euphoria remix was louder and clearer, as were the chants in 'Gray Army.'
The genius of the BL-01 is apparent with the students' orchestral version of Love on a Real Train. There is astonishing clarity and fairly realistic timbre.
The soundstage gets mushed together, tho. I don't get that sense of being flanked by clarinets that I do with the BL-05s, and I can't position the vocalists. Layering suffers.
BLON might consider releasing a follow-up to the BL-01 with a soundstage more resembling the BL-05s, which I would say is a success in that category.
To me, the BL-01 is 'cold' in these tracks, you're at the mercy of the original recording, and it's not the 'popular music' tuning we get so often.
To follow-up on the "Chilled Euphoria" rendition of 'Love on a real train,' I meant to include the following details about the BL-05s here:
I was surprised at the quality and dynamics of the synth instruments, and the soundstage. Very chill. It feels very ambient, and I forgot I had IEMs on. I could fall asleep to this. No peaks.
This is actually a must-listen.
So how does the BL-05s perform with the original Tangerine Dream recording?
Unlike with many other IEMs, that characteristic synth beat that resembles a regular bell isn't piercing with the BL-05s. Sure, it's even more subdued with the stock CA16 [rolled-off treble].
OTOH the T4, Starsea, and NM2+ are giving me problems with brightness here. Not the BL-05s. It's just at the limit of tolerability for me. [I could still stand to roll it off a bit.] The other foreground synths are meaty and powerful, and the bass is somewhat deep.
vs BL-01
The BL-01 is largely been absent from my impressions. I already posted about it earlier in the thread.
But it would be helpful to compare it with the tracks I linked to above.
Some say that the T2+ is like that glass of clean water with which you cleanse your palette. There are IEMs that fit this category, and the BL-01 is one of them.
With the above-mentioned Chilled Euphoria remix, the BL-01 sounds fresh like a mountain spring. Raindrops falling onto glass. I have difficulty detecting the tuning - it sounds like an audiophile setup in an audio store or maybe a high-end medical office that's designed to calm you.
The BL-01's relative neutrality is a matter of preference. With the two tracks from Underrail, I find it is neutral and plain with 'Scientific,' and neutral and bassy with 'Gray Army Base.' There are elements missing from the soundstage as compared with the BL-05s, but you wouldn't know it from listening to the BL-01 in isolation.
It's also apparent that vocals are more prominent on the BL-01, over the BL-05s, in the tracked linked to above. The recording concerning the Apollo astronauts in the Chilled Euphoria remix was louder and clearer, as were the chants in 'Gray Army.'
The genius of the BL-01 is apparent with the students' orchestral version of Love on a Real Train. There is astonishing clarity and fairly realistic timbre.
The soundstage gets mushed together, tho. I don't get that sense of being flanked by clarinets that I do with the BL-05s, and I can't position the vocalists. Layering suffers.
BLON might consider releasing a follow-up to the BL-01 with a soundstage more resembling the BL-05s, which I would say is a success in that category.
To me, the BL-01 is 'cold' in these tracks, you're at the mercy of the original recording, and it's not the 'popular music' tuning we get so often.
Last edited:
Agree with your impressions.
What source are u using btw? The BL01 and BL05s both sound fantastic when amped, but a bit meh from low powered sources.
I know the BL-01 is being hyped to the moon and back, I think it is an excellent set for $16 usd, especially in timbre and tonality. But it ain't a giant killer cause it falls short at the technicalities department for me (even when amped). But some might argue it is easier to find a highly technical chifi at that price than something with good timbre/tonality.
Last edited:
ShakeThoseCans
100+ Head-Fier
I was just going to say exactly that! I don't usually use the words "giant killer," but if the BL-01 got rid of some mid-range harshness and expanded the soundstage/imaging/layering, they'd have to call it the 'David.'
They've got the tonality down for those who care, so now it's time to up the technicalities. Who cares if it costs twice as much, that's pocket change. It would become seriously difficult to justify some of those $500-1,000 'audiophile' IEMs if there was a BL-01 with a competitive soundstage.
I'm using a Fiio E10K USB DAC headphone amp, which is pretty bargain-basement, but it's stronger than an iPod Touch. I have to dial it to at least 4.5 instead of 3 for the BL-01, but it gives a powerful enough sound for now.
I went back and tried the Wrath of Khan (newly expanded edition) again with the BL-01. I had pretty low expectations, but actually the BL-01 is addictive here. It lacks the soundstage I crave, but there's hardly any harshness, and yes, the tonality is excellent.
It reminds me of my early 2000s home theatre system, just with less 3D sound. Kind of like getting most of the sound from a big centre speaker 10-12' away.
Edit: Or maybe it's like having the big centre speaker directly behind me, with two small speakers at L and R.
They've got the tonality down for those who care, so now it's time to up the technicalities. Who cares if it costs twice as much, that's pocket change. It would become seriously difficult to justify some of those $500-1,000 'audiophile' IEMs if there was a BL-01 with a competitive soundstage.
I'm using a Fiio E10K USB DAC headphone amp, which is pretty bargain-basement, but it's stronger than an iPod Touch. I have to dial it to at least 4.5 instead of 3 for the BL-01, but it gives a powerful enough sound for now.
I went back and tried the Wrath of Khan (newly expanded edition) again with the BL-01. I had pretty low expectations, but actually the BL-01 is addictive here. It lacks the soundstage I crave, but there's hardly any harshness, and yes, the tonality is excellent.
It reminds me of my early 2000s home theatre system, just with less 3D sound. Kind of like getting most of the sound from a big centre speaker 10-12' away.
Edit: Or maybe it's like having the big centre speaker directly behind me, with two small speakers at L and R.
Last edited:
ShakeThoseCans
100+ Head-Fier
BLON needs to have two projects.
They need a real successor to the BL-03. We never really got the BL-03 MKII.
The BL-05S and BL-01 are impressive in their own right, but they are not simply a 'better-fitting BL-03.'
The other project is the 'David.' Improve the BL-01's shortcomings, and the mythical giant killer is here.
They need a real successor to the BL-03. We never really got the BL-03 MKII.
The BL-05S and BL-01 are impressive in their own right, but they are not simply a 'better-fitting BL-03.'
The other project is the 'David.' Improve the BL-01's shortcomings, and the mythical giant killer is here.
archy121
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2011
- Posts
- 1,324
- Likes
- 520
Can someone please confirm if these mmcx adapters will work with BLON 01
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BUzz96
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BUzz96
RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
Probably, but it looks like it will stick out a bit.Can someone please confirm if these mmcx adapters will work with BLON 01
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BUzz96
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Can someone please confirm if these mmcx adapters will work with BLON 01
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BUzz96
That’s gonna be like 3” long by the time everything is all plugged in
nc8000
Headphoneus Supremus
I use a similar one on my JH13 ciem though that one has a 45 degree or so angle on it. Iy does stick out somewhat
archy121
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2011
- Posts
- 1,324
- Likes
- 520
So I want a 2 pin 0.78mm a bend like this one ?
There are few other fitting with same seller on this link.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BPb7NO
nc8000
Headphoneus Supremus
After 50 hours of intense burn in of the BL01 I've now done some more listening. To me they share a lot of the Sony Z1R signature (both models). Very musical, engaging and fairly even. They are not detail or precission monsters but extremely enjoyable when just listening to music. They seem to work well across all genres. Amazing for their price and also build very well. Very pleased with the purchase that was done purely out of curiosity as I had absolutely no need for another headphone
nc8000
Headphoneus Supremus
So I want a 2 pin 0.78mm a bend like this one ?
There are few other fitting with same seller on this link.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BPb7NO
That is more like the ones I have
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
So I want a 2 pin 0.78mm a bend like this one ?
There are few other fitting with same seller on this link.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_BPb7NO
Well, ideally you want a 45 degree or 90 degree TFZ or NX7 to mmcx one.
The other option is a QDC to mmcx adapter, and then you spend 30 seconds with a nail file (ie emory board) reshaping the edges rounded. Then anything QDC will fit like a glove. A number of us have done that, and it works great.
ShakeThoseCans
100+ Head-Fier
My experience as well.
The funny thing about the build quality is that you can give someone you know the BL-01, let them try this shiny metal IEM with the hi-end tuning, and then ask them how much they think it cost.
They probably won't say $16.
Users who are viewing this thread
