[illumidata]

hi folks, extremely late to the party, but I picked up a pair of Blon bl03s a couple of weeks ago. My use case--I walk the dog an hour or so a few times a week, and it's been dawning on me that I really don't like listening to music on my airpod pros. I never really ventured into IEMs before. My home stereo setup is pretty mid tier, with Klipsch Heresy 2s and a Polk subwoofer out of a hand-me-down Onkyo receiver, and I have a pair of HD6XXs and Meze 99 Neos when I feel like using headphones.

I had a btr3 sitting around collecting dust so I figured I'd try using it with some decent IEMs under around $200 or so. But as I was researching, I kept running into references to the Blons, so I decided to try them out. But I also ran into Crinacle's ratings and noticed he had them rated pretty low, so I also ordered a Moondrop Starfield which he rated a lot higher to see if they worked better for me.

Well, I have been using the Blons nonstop and I returned the Starfields after a couple of days. I love the bass punch and the warmth. Contrary to what most people experience, I got a great fit with the included tips -- I wonder if they are adding different tips now after all the complaints, I know a lot of people recommend spinfit cp100s but when I got some (size L) to see if they made a difference with me, I found they were pretty much the same size and height as the stock tip I got in the box. I also use the stock cables but only after I ripped off the ear guide hook things with my teeth (I figured if I broke them, I wouldn't mind getting an aftermarket cable anyways). I like the fit and comfort with the cables over the ear but I found they feel more stable and less inclined to fall out with cable down, to the point where I wonder if they were originally designed for that use. I can wear them virtually all day without a break, and I even sleep with them in.

They were supposed to be my gear for taking walks but now I wear them constantly at home and have had no interest in using my other gear. I've used them to listen to all sorts of classical music and opera, indie rock, rap, modern pop, new wave, psychedelia, jazz, roots reggae, etc and they work shockingly well for everything I've tried so far. Amazing detail and depth, wonderful tonality. A lot of the classical and opera I listen to are live or pre-stereo era or former Eastern Bloc recordings that can be a little hard or edgy or boxy, and the Blons do a wonderful job of making these poor quality recordings very listenable, but they also sound great listening to recordings with great recorded sound. As a classical and opera fan, I notice the level of instrumental detail I get is very impressive.

The only real flaws I've observed is a slight lack of sparkle and magic on some of the very high, bell-like sounds like glockenspiels and celestas (but the tradeoff is that they're not piercing or painful), and occasionally when there's a ton of stuff going on, it can sound a little muddled.

So good, it makes me wonder how much better more expensive gear can be. It really is ridiculous how great these sound for how cheap it is, it even looks very premium in the gunmetal color I got, it looks like the dark chrome used on luxury car trim. I'm very curious if there's something that sounds exactly like the Blons but with their paltry flaws improved for less than like $300. In the meantime, I've ordered some balanced cables and a bluetooth DAC that can take them (the Qubelix 5k) to see if that makes any difference. Or maybe I just spent the money on these things because it just makes no sense to me how cheap this is for how good it is, and buying expensive accessories for it makes it feel more realistic to me lol.

I'm equally late, and wondering why on earth I didn't pick up a set sooner, but may be able to offer some (slightly off the wall) suggestions (for a lot less than $300 , in addition to @baskingshark 's summary above (the IT00 is a great set if you found Starfields not to your taste, definitely more vivid than Blons at the expense of a little of that unique airy smoothness that seem to be the BL03's defining characteristic), without making you feel like you're losing too much musicality (as an aside I think the Blons have noticeably smoother attack than a lot of sets in this range, which smooths the leading edges of the sounds they play to give them that analog vibe)

Firstly, your plan to get the 5k is spot on, the bl03s are very source sensitive (or very well able to reflect the character of the source), and seem to love power, so you should notice an immediate uptick in performance as soon as you plug them in.

Suggestion A: get a second set of the blons and mod them - there's a very well tested and "peer reviewed" process that alleviates the bass issue and adds some more extension to the treble.

From P186 of this thread (and the next few pages for follow up comments and variations)...

I got an even easier mod for you guys. It’s more precise, more consistent, and cleaner than just stuffing the nozzle with cotton.

The downsides to cotton are 1. it’s inconsistent to get a proper density and fill. And 2. small cotton dust and fibers become detached and fall onto the driver diaphragm. These downsides are not desirable at all.

This mod is made especially for the Blon owners that tried the nozzle mesh mod and feel the treble is a little too much. Or those that were afraid to try the nozzle mesh mod for fear that the treble might be too much.

There’s a guy on another popular audio board (which I cannot link to or specifically mention on HeadFi because that site is banned from discussion here). Anyways, this guy modded his JVC HA-FD01 (a carbon nanotube dynamic earphone) by rolling up an alcohol pad and inserting it into the JVC nozzle. This allowed the treble peaks to be tamed while not causing loss of detail. It’s like the best of both worlds; like having your cake and eating it too.

The resulting mod was extremely effective. So effective that a modded pair was sent to engineers at JVC in Japan for evaluation. JVC was so impressed with the mod that they actually created a whole new version of the HA-FD01 based around the modded filter. It was sold through Massdrop as the HA-FDX1.

I tried the same mod to the Blon, and all I can say is it’s basically Blon perfection.

To do the mod, you still need to remove the stock hybrid ‘sandwich’ nozzle screens, and obtain the $0.10 replacement plain stainless nozzle screens.

That is outlined here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-182#post-15531900

And yes, the proper size of nozzle mesh is listed at that link, as well as where/how to buy them.

Next you need to obtain a 2-ply alcohol wipe. The kind that you rub on your skin before an injection is given. You cannot use the 1-ply type, as they are way too thick. The 2-ply pads are basically a 3”X1.5” rectangle that is folded in half to make a 1.5”X1.5” square from the factory.



You can buy them anywhere and everywhere. Even get one for free from a Dr office, hospital, or health clinic. Or ask any diabetic, nurse, doctor, pharmacist, or paramedic. They will give you one for free, trust me. But you must open the wipe up and inspect it to make sure it’s the 2-ply type that can be unfolded.

Let me repeat that: Get. The. 2-ply. Type. Only.

If you can only one the thick fuzzy 1-ply type, then keep looking until you the 2-ply type.

Once you have your 2-ply alcohol pad, all you do is remove it from the package, unfold the wipe, and let it air dry on a table for a few hours. Then it’s all ready to use.

Next you take sharp scissors and cut the dried alcohol pad into a 4mmx12mm rectangle. Like this:



The size must be precise. You can play with the length some. Just don’t go longer than 18mm or you will dampen too much treble. And don’t go shorter than 12mm or it won’t really do anything noticeable.

Next, carefully roll up the filter, like this:



Then insert it down into the nozzle with sharp tweezers. It will ‘spring’ open and fill up the nozzle. Once inserted, it should look like this:



Here’s a closer shot.



Also, you don’t want to jam the alcohol filter down as far as it will go inside the nozzle. You want to insert it so it’s juuuust barely under the stainless nozzle mesh (once the stainless mesh is reinstalled). Look for a little shelf flange section that’s machined into the inside of nozzle; that’s what the stainless screen will sit on. You want the alcohol filter to be just barely below that little shelf flange part.



Also note that the center of the nozzle is not blocked in any way by the alcohol pad roll. All the rolled up alcohol pad filter did was make a more narrow opening, where the inside circumference of the nozzle is lined with the alcohol pad filter. The bulk of the sound from the driver is still free to come up through the hole in the center of the alcohol pad filter.

Finally, you install the new stainless nozzle mesh you obtained earlier.



And that’s all there is to it!

Enjoy.

Suggestion B: That said, there's an even easier and equally reversible mod that I've done to mine, which is to use a pair of these low density acoustic dampers in each nozzle under plain 4mm dust filters (once you've removed the originals with the built in fabric dampers)

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPMNszP

(the white ones,though it's probably worth picking up all 3 types to experiment with) as an alternative to the rolled swab method above.

Dust filters are
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mttSxwV (4mm)

Anyway, my 10c, and enjoy the Blon/5k combo

 

[howler]

Fascinating, thanks for the tips Baskingshark and Illumidata! Basking, it sounds like my upgrade path runs through those Tanchjim Oxygens, although the thick fat sound of the Blons is definitely something I'm greatly enjoying, so I wonder if I'll perceive it as a sidegrade. As for the iBasso, I do love the instrumental timbre of the Blons so I dunno.... and I definitely don't need anything more isolating, my wife keeps complaining that I can't even tell that she's talking to me, at least with my Mezes and Senns on, I could hear that she was talking even if I couldn't hear what she was saying.

Illumidata, those mods look very interesting. I already ordered a second set as backups in case they ever go out of production, at these prices, I may as well order another one for modding. Maybe I'll mod one with the cloth and another one with the sponge....

 

[Knightyear]

Just picked up my wife the Blon-BL03's and I'm blown away by the sound of these for the price of 26$. I did pop some Spinfit Cp100's on them and changed the cable - but those are easy mods for a fantastic sound. I find these GREAT intro IEM's for any friends or significant others that you may want to share the hobby with.

 

[Malfunkt]

My meandering review and long-term BLON BL-05S review is up. The BL-05S is the stuff of driams.

Review here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/blon-bl-05s.24625/reviews#review-26256

 

[JEHL]

Fit issues gone for good.

 

[Neweymatt]

Fit issues gone for good.

Sorry I can’t work out from the photo, which tips are those?

 

[JEHL]

Sorry I can’t work out from the photo, which tips are those?

AZLA Sednaearfit. L size.

 

[rayliam80]

AZLA Sednaearfit. L size.

These also solved my fit/seal issues too with the 03.

 

[Johnny2R]

I love my BLON BL-03s with KZ starline tips. The only problem I'm having is that the tips keep coming off in my ears. Is there some way of securing a tighter fit, or failing that, are there other eartips around as good as the starlines which grip the 'nozzle' better?

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I love my BLON BL-03s with KZ starline tips. The only problem I'm having is that the tips keep coming off in my ears. Is there some way of securing a tighter fit, or failing that, are there other eartips around as good as the starlines which grip the 'nozzle' better?

There are two ways you can get that -

1. Add a o-ring on the nozzle and put tips over them.
2. You can flip the tips via flip mod. Details about flip mod can be found here - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flip-tips-or-fliptips-prepare-to-have-your-mind-blown.906357/

 

[Johnny2R]

I had O-rings but the problem was worse with them. Surely the point of O-rings is to increase the effective length of the tip, meaning they fit better into the ear, but it does this by decreasing the effective length of the nozzle on which the eartips can grip. Or have I misunderstood the whole thing?

I may have a go at flipping the tips, that sounds an interesting idea.

 

[Barndoor]

Flipping tips tends to make them bigger, so less likely to stay on the blon.
Definitely worth playing around with as I use flipped tips on quite a few of my other iems.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I had O-rings but the problem was worse with them. Surely the point of O-rings is to increase the effective length of the tip, meaning they fit better into the ear, but it does this by decreasing the effective length of the nozzle on which the eartips can grip. Or have I misunderstood the whole thing?

I may have a go at flipping the tips, that sounds an interesting idea.

I have used flip tips on BL-03 and they definitely stay fine, at least for me. But, you can try. I'm currently using Soundwave tips on Blon - https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/aw/d/B07FDC5C6Z/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They not only fit well but also add necessary bite to the treble which was a bit light per my tastes.

 

[Okiba]

I agree with @baskingshark above about the strengths (and weaknesses) of the 03. If you want to stay blon and need better technicalities from a faster DD with the timbre of the 03 try the A8 when you get a chance - its a stepup in most regards. I do hope you enjoy the 03 though, what it does well, it does very well for the price.

So for the next upgrade, hopefully this time - I will actually buy something that CAN be used to metal (was sure that's was the one, but I shouldn't believe all posted in the internet - what exactly do I look at headphones when wanted them to be perfect from metal? more drivers?

 

[laleeee]

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