Bluedio impressions thread
Jul 18, 2018 at 6:44 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 352

Slater

Headphoneus Supremus
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So I think it's about time that Bluedio gets it's own impressions thread.

Bluedio started in 2002 by some ex-Beats engineers. They have a good track record of producing solid Bluetooth headphones that provide a lot of bang for the buck.

I have noticed that the build quality keeps improving with each new model, and they have come a long way from the cheap all plastic builds of the early models. Bluedio even has a number of models that offer rock solid builds in the form of metal yokes, metal hinges, titanium headbands, etc. Do to this, they are particularly suited to tweens/teens, who are generally extremely hard on electronics (and who usually like the emphasized bass that is Bluedio's house sound).

I personally own the following - T3+, T3, T4S, T6, and the TN IEM.

I have always been particularly impressed by their battery life, squeezing 3-4xs the battery life of other competitors. The Bluetooth is usually low latency, making most models suitable for watching videos. And I have never had an issue with Bluetooth connectivity - no drops, interference, skipping, etc.

I also like the built in microSD functionality of the T3+, allowing music to be played in standalone mode (great for exercising or mowing the lawn). The headphones I own have excellent isolation (again, great for exercising or mowing the lawn). Just keep in mind that the isolation cuts both ways, so in the case of a teen wearing them they will likely be unable to hear you and your parenting requests haha

They aren't perfect though. The ear pads on most Turbine models (HT/T2/3/4) are larger than on-ears but smaller than over-ears. This can cause comfort issues and hot spots after a while for some users depending on anatomy. The T5 and T6 introduced larger ear pads, which is a welcome change. Also, the models with metal (T3/4/5/6) are heavy, but this is to be expected because metal is heavier than plastic and it's the trade-off you make with the solid build. Finally, the ear pads are removable but not replaceable (they have integrated clips which makes them incompatible with 3rd party replacements).

Which Bluedio models have you tried? What's been your experience?
 
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Jul 18, 2018 at 6:52 PM Post #2 of 352
I say this lightheartedly and all in good fun but when i heAr the word Bluedio now, i shudder

giphy.gif


All the beats hate, but bluedio should get some too lol

They are never getting another penny from me again.

Bluedio B(ASS)

UFO + (12 driver)
 
Jul 18, 2018 at 7:12 PM Post #3 of 352
I say this lightheartedly and all in good fun but when i heAr the word Bluedio now, i shudder

giphy.gif


All the beats hate, but bluedio should get some too lol

They are never getting another penny from me again.

Bluedio B(ASS)

UFO + (12 driver)

They're definitely not for everyone. Certainly not going to compete with a $500 headphone. But compared to other Bluetooth cans in their price range ($30-$50), nothing really competes.

Also, I have never heard any of the 8 or 12 driver models. They always struck me as kind of gimmicky.

I have heard good things about the Vinyl Plus. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to demo a pair.
 
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Jul 18, 2018 at 8:39 PM Post #4 of 352
They're definitely not for everyone. Certainly not going to compete with a $500 headphone. But compared to other Bluetooth cans in their price range ($30-$50), nothing really competes.

Also, I have never heard any of the 8 or 12 driver models. They always struck me as kind of gimmicky.

I have heard good things about the Vinyl Plus. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to demo a pair.

Yep "IF" curiosity gets the better of you to get the TOTL bluedio, it seems the Vinyl and Victory are the way to go. The vinyl is one driver though 70mm like Sony, Victory + has same 12 driver.

..and yes the bluetooth was decent. UFO + anyway

I had xb1000 pads on the UFO as stock comfort was horrendous.
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 3:01 AM Post #5 of 352
I have an Air2, which is fairly "neutral" to me (V-shaped for rock music).
I suspect the Vinyl Plus will sound like my Air2 but "better"?

I also recently bought the UFO2 (4 drivers per side) which has pretty good tweeters like my IEMs, but is bass heaaaavyyyy.
Fortunately my Sony phone can dial down the bass :)
The inherent boom even after reduced bass is really good for Yo Yo Ma stuff...
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 8:23 AM Post #7 of 352
I ordered t6 because of sale yesterday. Thought that the build quality alone would justify spending $32. Allmost got one for $1. Had it allready on my cart but got sold out error on payment.

@Slater how does t6 compare to JVC rx900, hyper x cloud or kef m500?

My previous experiences with Bluetooth have been bit of a hit and miss. JBL e50bt and E40bt were decent, Jabra move was terrible but creative wp350 is excellent. I expect t6 to sound better than wp350 but I'm very impressed how good those sound considering they're about the size of porta pro's. It is diffucult to make a good sounding closed wired headphone at that size yet alone make one with bluetooth tech cramped inside the cups.

Edit: Even though I like wp350 it is definately one of those headphones that need to be auditioned before purchase. Getting a proper fit is difficult and I assume, impossible for some people. If worn wrong wp350 sounds REALLY bad.
 
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Jul 19, 2018 at 11:17 AM Post #8 of 352
I, like you, ordered a T6 during the sale yesterday. I’ll update the thread with impressions once it arrives.

I almost got one for $1 too (numerous times throughout the day actually). They would last for about 10-15 seconds before they would be gone. I could never figure out how to get the price to go from $100 to $1 though. I assumed that happened during order checkout perhaps?
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 12:49 PM Post #9 of 352
Got a pair of the T6 after it was pointed out that they had a $5/- coupon that brought it down to $28 upon checkout.

The bigger earpads on these should improve the comfort somewhat. Should get them in about 10~14days as they messaged that item has shipped.
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 1:22 PM Post #10 of 352
I could never figure out how to get the price to go from $100 to $1 though. I assumed that happened during order checkout perhaps?
I tried it many times also. If the price was not $1 on the main product page after you clicked the the button they were gone allready. Sold out indicator on the shops main pagep was not updated in real time.

Got a pair of the T6 after it was pointed out that they had a $5/- coupon that brought it down to $28 upon checkout.
hmm... I somehow missed the coupon. I see it now though. There is also -45% discount on t6. Not a bad price with the coupon I guess. I wonder if they will ever sell it for full Price :)
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 7:10 PM Post #11 of 352
Got a pair of the T6 after it was pointed out that they had a $5/- coupon that brought it down to $28 upon checkout.

The bigger earpads on these should improve the comfort somewhat. Should get them in about 10~14days as they messaged that item has shipped.

If it was on the KZ thread, I think it was my spot on the coupon ... so apologies on behalf of your wallet, haha!

Although also annoyed as I ordered first thing when the sale started and mine haven’t shipped, but it sounds like you ordered towards the end of then day (when the $5 coupon was released) and yours have already!
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 7:38 PM Post #12 of 352
Bluedio had a message on their Aliexpress page about being overwhelmed with orders and to please be patient as it will take a few days to get all of the order ready to ship. I mean, think about it you had an order for 10,000 items in the span of (1) 24-hour period?

I ordered very early in the day, and mine hasn't shipped yet. So I highly doubt the orders taken at the very end of the day have shipped already. Usually it's FIFO.

I try not to let that stuff bother me any more with sites like Gearbest or Aliexpress. If I need something ASAP I just order from Amazon. In a way we have all become spoiled by Amazon's lightning fast shipping turnaround. But then again, we pay more for products on Amazon for that privilege.

As the saying goes, "patience is a virtue".
 
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Jul 19, 2018 at 7:51 PM Post #13 of 352
FYI - I had originally posted this in the T3 thread. But there's many more models out now, and Bluedio keeps using the same 57mm titanium driver in their stuff. So this information is still applicable to the T4, T4, and (should be) T6. As soon as T6 arrive, I'm going to take them apart to tune the driver and evaluate it for other mods.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To all Bluedio T3/T4/T5 owners:

As you have probably determined, the Turbine models are heavily bass-boosted. The bass is very bloated, and there is usually distortion at higher volumes and also on more congested tracks.

Luckily it's very easy to correct this - eliminate the bloat and distortion - and make them much more enjoyable. They will still be v-shaped, but the bass will be much more tame, tighter, and cleaner sounding.

The whole process takes 10-15 minutes and doesn't cost a dime. The below mod shows the T3, but the mod is basically the same for the other models.

Materials needed:
  • Small phillips screwdriver
  • Something with a sharp edge - spudger tool, guitar pick, non-serrated paring knife, pocket knife blade, etc
  • Some sort of tape - scotch/cello, masking tape, blue painter's, green "frog" tape, clear packing, aluminum HVAC tape - whatever. DO NOT use duct tape or electrical tape, as it will loosen and fall off over time.
Steps:

1. Remove the pads. They are just held on by (4) plastic tabs. You just gently pull them with your fingernail and they pop off.



2. Mark the bottom center of each of the plastic driver cover. I used a Sharpie. This will help later when it's time to reassemble.



3. Only work on 1 cup at a time. Don't move into the other cup until the 1st cup is done and back together.

4. Use a small Phillips screwdriver and remove the (3) screws on the plastic driver cover. DON'T LOSE THE SCREWS! Also, make sure the screws don't fall into the driver, which is easy to do because as soon as they fully loosen, they'll be magnetically attracted to the driver.

5. Next locate the "seam" between the back of the cup and the front plastic driver cover. Insert a spudger tool, guitar pick, or paring knife into this seam, and pry outwards (use the same motion like you are turning a key). The 2 halves are basically clipped together, and the goal here is to pop the clips with the spudger/pick/knife. It doesn't take much pressure, but you may have to pop the clips in 2 different spots (opposite to one another). If you accidentally break 1 of the clips (as you might be able to see in the Step 6 photos, don't worry as the screws will hold the cups together just fine).



6. Once the halves are split, lay the half with the driver flat on the table so you can work on it. Be careful not to move it too far away or you risk ripping the wires off! Now you will see (2) or maybe (3) vent holes in the driver magnet (some models have 2 holes, and some have 3 but it doesn't matter which you have). What you want to do is completely tape off all of the holes but 1. You only need a tiny square of tape for each hole. If your driver has (2) holes, completely cover (1) hole. If your driver has (3) holes, completely cover (2) holes. Now for the single remaining hole, cover 75-80% of the, leaving only 20-25% of the hole open. You will end up with what I show in this photo. I have also illustrated it on the drawn diagram.




7. Once you are done with the taping, snap the 2 halves back together. This is where the Sharpie mark comes in handy. You also have to make sure that the (3) screws holes are lined up properly before snapping the halves back together (as seen in the photo). Go all the way around the circumference to make sure it's snapped together fully. Once it's all snapped together, replace the (3) Phillips screws you removed before, and reattach the pad (which snaps on with the 4 clips). With the pad - just like with the plastic halves - go all the way around the circumference to make sure the pad is snapped down fully and evenly.



7. Repeat steps 4-7 for the other cup.

8. Once you are all done, listen and enjoy the vastly improved sound (less bloated, cleaner bass, crisp and tight).

Also, feel free to try other variations of the hole taping. I've spent hours testing and tweaking. Covering all holes, covering all holes but 1, covering all holes but varying portions of the final hole.

What you see is what I settled on, but you can dial in as little or as much bass as you want by varying the amount of holes you cover. Just make sure however much you end up with, that you do the EXACT same thing on the other channel. If not, you'll end up with an imbalance between L and R sides.

This mod will also benefit other Bluedio models that use the same 57mm titanium driver (HT, T2-T5, and possibly many others). All of these 57mm titanium driver-based models I've ever tried seem to suffer from the same bloated bass and distortion due to the driver magnet vents. It's kind of Bluedio's house sound, as they were started by ex-Beats engineers.
 
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Jul 19, 2018 at 9:57 PM Post #15 of 352
If it was on the KZ thread, I think it was my spot on the coupon ... so apologies on behalf of your wallet, haha!

Although also annoyed as I ordered first thing when the sale started and mine haven’t shipped, but it sounds like you ordered towards the end of then day (when the $5 coupon was released) and yours have already!

I think it was.

lol ... I think the wallet is fine.

I picked up the T5 at the last sale for a little bit more, just under US$29/-. But it wasn't the most comfortable as I found the cup depth a little shallow for listening sessions.

It is possible to modify the original cups to fit / glue on aftermarket pads meant for headphones such as the HM5, but its a non-reversible mod, not something I was keen to do unless I was completely sure that I would keep them in the long term.

Im in.

Ordered T6 at exactly 2am on the morning of the 18th and still haven't shipped yet. Also picked up a pair of the Bluedio TN ANC earphones. T6 was $30, and TN ANC were $8. If they both suck Its just $38.
Im hopeful that 57mm driver and 13mm DD don't suck.

The T5 has probably the same 57mm drivers, I think they sound just fine especially on the commute. Not overly bassy nor bright. But that being said, not much sparkle either.
But I do appreciate that the signature is still enjoyable for long listening sessions while seated at desk doing work or reading, though I usually take out my wired headphones such as the HD6XX for home listening.
 

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