[raymanh]

Just my BL03's. I really like them for the price. The only issue was the stock tips were terrible, as most know. I took off the biggest tips from my MH755's and am using them now, but now I don't have tips for the Sony's.

What other tips can I get that work well? The MH755 tips fit well, the bore size is very tight. It pushes onto the Blon nozzle, and then tightens in the indented groove around the nozzle and sits up against it. I would like something that is a bit longer however.

 

[baskingshark]

Just my BL03's. I really like them for the price. The only issue was the stock tips were terrible, as most know. I took off the biggest tips from my MH755's and am using them now, but now I don't have tips for the Sony's.

What other tips can I get that work well? The MH755 tips fit well, the bore size is very tight. It pushes onto the Blon nozzle, and then tightens in the indented groove around the nozzle and sits up against it. I would like something that is a bit longer however.

There's a few options to get a better fit with the BLON BL-03:

1) Use a longer nozzle ear tip, eg Spinfit CP100, CP 145. CP145 is more neutralish, CP100 is more V shaped.

2) Consider doing spacer mods:

Spacer mods here if you are interested (pics included, credit to these folks), YMMV:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1745#post-15176790
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1841#post-15260691
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1774#post-15201197

3) KZ eartip reverse mod:
Slater's reverse KZ starline mod: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flip-tips-prepare-to-have-your-mind-blown.906357/ (credit to Slater).

4) Modify cable:
The BLON's stock 2 pin cable is quite stiff at the earhooks, so sometimes it yanks the IEM out of the ear. If u are adventerous, u can cut the plastic earhooks open or use a hairdryer to mould the earhooks to your preferred fit.

5) Use an aftermarket cable that isn't so stiff at the earhook.

6) Use BLON BL-03 cable down instead of over ears.
Some even wear the BLON cable down (swap the earpieces) after cutting the plastic earhooks (which is what I do to get a better fit).

 

[JEHL]

So it looks like left unit unglued itself and now I struggle to keep it together...

Wonder if it's worth modding something before gluing it back together.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Just a reminder to the newer guys.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-220#post-15648829

Be careful so that you dont block the bass vent on the BL-03.

 

[TheVortex]

Just a reminder to the newer guys.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-220#post-15648829

Be careful so that you dont block the bass vent on the BL-03.

That's why I don't use cables with that connector

 

[MVVp]

I just checked the cables I use and have posted about a page back, and they do have a tiny opening in the connector, which corresponds to that vent.

 

[JEHL]

Also maybe a bit unrelated except for the above but... How do I put my left BL-03 back together. It keeps coming apart.

 

[Fat Larry]

Try some T8000 glue. Nice and gentle that it wont damage anything but strong enough to hold ok. At least thats what ive found on my mh750 housing.

 

[JEHL]

So i managed to glue my left BL-03... But before that I stuffed its inside with the same material I used to improvise the mesh filter mod... If anyone ever saw the pictures I left of that that is.

Not sure if call it an improvement or not. It PROBABLY is, for once the subbass is less audible but just as tactile if that makes any sense.

I wonder if it's worth to willingly unglue the right BL-03 to perform the same mod I did on the left one.

Whatever channel mismatch they had already. I made it bigger.

 

[JEHL]

I went for to the original mod with the nozzle cotton padding and couldn't be happier. There's mode detail, a better sense of ease and delivery of timbre, smoothed-out highs (it really needs it). A down side of this mod seems to be the increased focus on bass bleed into the lower mids.

Here's my contribution to the mod.

• Inner chamber dampening (done)
• Modding the driver rear mesh (proposed)
• Modding the front port (proposed)

Opening them
It was super easy to open my pair. Just insert an x-acto knife along the bottom of the IEM. Don't use the tip of the blade, align the long side of the blade with the line where the two half join. Gently make your way through and release the remaining sticky glue.



Rear driver mesh
Here's an idea. What would removing the driver's rear mesh do to the sound? I didn't go for it. Any ideas? Who's willing to do it?



I added some cotton padding to the inner chamber. It feels like there's less bass bleed into the lower-mids. Notice the remaining sticky glue on the aligning pins that join both halves.



Nozzle
Since I retired my Tin T2's, I decided to take out the metal mesh and apply them to the BL-03s. They don't fit exactly but with the help of the rear side of a brush, I managed to push the mesh inside and create an inverted dome. The Blons require 4mm grills, I guess the T2's are 5mm.





Modding the frontal port
My last thought is to poke a hole in the mesh behind the front port. I wonder if it'll further contribute to less bass bleed. I find them very bassy. Good bass but often feels like too much bass. Facilitating some venting through this hole could affect the sub-bass more than upper bass. Thoughts?

This is more or less what I wanted to try on my unglued BL-03. I'm not confident about poking the back mesh of the driver however. Seems like I may risk poking through the voice coil since I don't know the driver's internal structure. Or worse. The membrane itself.

I took a listen the best I could through the back of the driver.

And yes I didn't wait enough for the glue to dry hence it unglued itself again.

I wish OP showed how to poke the hole. It seems to create a nearly airtight seal from personal listening test of the back of the driver... Which wouldn't surprise me if this mesh is largely responsible for the lackluster technical performance, by practically limiting the airspace to the driver itself rather than using the entire housing for acoustic suspension.

Does this sound like a mad scientist experiment yet?

 

[JEHL]

Unfottunately I'm a terrible at photographing and all I have is my cellphone to do that.

Anyway, what I tried to illustrate here is that with a tooth pick you can just lift the back mesh like a lid. Since no poking is required you can save the mesh in case the results are undesirable.

 

[JEHL]

Here it is.

Although this time the effect seems undesirable as it boosts everything under 1kHz to insane levels. Which makes it sound like a caricature of its usual criticisms.

Edit: if it wasn't already the most sensitive headgear I tried. This mod makes it so sensitive I can hear the mains hum bleeding through the internal DAC of my plugged laptop... Great for those who complain about this being hard to drive?

I wonder now what OP meant with poking a hole. Did he? Mean a small hole with a sewing needle? Id certainly be smaller and fully opening it.

 

[eridenti]

(My BL03 is mesh-modded and no cotton strip inside, all songs are from Deezer or FLACs downloaded then converted to MP3 at 320kbps, using foobar2000 as my music player)

I just got the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro, tried them immediately and the difference wasn't drastic but still noticeable. Some songs sound clearer and I could hear more minute details than before. Overall this seemed to improve clarity, treble and detail retrieval although I think it does make the BL03's weakness more apparent, namely the bass bleed. Funnily enough their cables look just like the stock BL03 cable lol

In "Ai no Field" by KOKIA, the instruments—especially the violin—sounded much clearer. When I just had the BL03 connected directly to the laptop, the instruments sounded a little veiled.

In "High Jack" by Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media, timbre's even better now. I can really hear the airiness of the cymbals. In "Breeze", I thought the bass got boomier, but I think it's more like I hear it better now, the horns too.

In "seven" by Taylor Swift, more subtle details, better piano.

This DAC made me enjoy pop and rock songs more on the BL03 so I'm glad I got it. The songs that were already sibilant still are, but I can live with that.

 

[axhng]

(My BL03 is mesh-modded and no cotton strip inside, all songs are from Deezer or FLACs downloaded then converted to MP3 at 320kbps, using foobar2000 as my music player)

I just got the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro, tried them immediately and the difference wasn't drastic but still noticeable. Some songs sound clearer and I could hear more minute details than before. Overall this seemed to improve clarity, treble and detail retrieval although I think it does make the BL03's weakness more apparent, namely the bass bleed. Funnily enough their cables look just like the stock BL03 cable lol

In "Ai no Field" by KOKIA, the instruments—especially the violin—sounded much clearer. When I just had the BL03 connected directly to the laptop, the instruments sounded a little veiled.

In "High Jack" by Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media, timbre's even better now. I can really hear the airiness of the cymbals. In "Breeze", I thought the bass got boomier, but I think it's more like I hear it better now, the horns too.

In "seven" by Taylor Swift, more subtle details, better piano.

This DAC made me enjoy pop and rock songs more on the BL03 so I'm glad I got it. The songs that were already sibilant still are, but I can live with that.

I've heard some folks flashing BHD firmware on the HD Pro to make it output more power all the time, so that could be an option too. Not 100% sure if the process is reversible since i don't have the HD Pro, but I remember reading that it is (in case the sound changes aren't to your liking). For me I find more power seems to help tighten up the bass a bit. I have a JCALLY JM10 that I flashed with the BHD firmware too to get it to output more power since by default it uses adaptive output like the HD Pro, and I enjoy the BL03 more with the firmware change.

 

[baskingshark]

I've heard some folks flashing BHD firmware on the HD Pro to make it output more power all the time, so that could be an option too. Not 100% sure if the process is reversible since i don't have the HD Pro, but I remember reading that it is (in case the sound changes aren't to your liking). For me I find more power seems to help tighten up the bass a bit. I have a JCALLY JM10 that I flashed with the BHD firmware too to get it to output more power since by default it uses adaptive output like the HD Pro, and I enjoy the BL03 more with the firmware change.

I bought 2 sonata HD Pro. One is using latest 3.0 firmware from here: http://www.tempotec.com.cn/en/3-Support/index.htm

The other set, I flashed to BHD firmware. Flash it at your own risk though, the BHD firmware seems irreversible, I haven't managed to flash it back to stock config despite a few attempts. But the BHD firmware has around double the power and volume cap of the original HD Pro. It does get a bit warmer and use up more battery, but that's the price to pay haha.

(My BL03 is mesh-modded and no cotton strip inside, all songs are from Deezer or FLACs downloaded then converted to MP3 at 320kbps, using foobar2000 as my music player)

I just got the TempoTec Sonata HD Pro, tried them immediately and the difference wasn't drastic but still noticeable. Some songs sound clearer and I could hear more minute details than before. Overall this seemed to improve clarity, treble and detail retrieval although I think it does make the BL03's weakness more apparent, namely the bass bleed. Funnily enough their cables look just like the stock BL03 cable lol

In "Ai no Field" by KOKIA, the instruments—especially the violin—sounded much clearer. When I just had the BL03 connected directly to the laptop, the instruments sounded a little veiled.

In "High Jack" by Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media, timbre's even better now. I can really hear the airiness of the cymbals. In "Breeze", I thought the bass got boomier, but I think it's more like I hear it better now, the horns too.

In "seven" by Taylor Swift, more subtle details, better piano.

This DAC made me enjoy pop and rock songs more on the BL03 so I'm glad I got it. The songs that were already sibilant still are, but I can live with that.

U can try buying a $1 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm jack to put it on the HD Pro. It tricks the HD Pro to unlock at max 2V output all the time, otherwise by default the HD Pro adjusts the volume output according to the impedance of the attached IEM.

The BLON BL-03's bass definitely tightens with amping, but it is still a boomy midbass that isn't fast. That's a limitation of the BL-03 I suppose.