BLON B20 Planar Magnetic Headphones Discussions | Drop

May 1, 2020

Has anyone who ordered in March received their B20's yet? Ours were stuck at the Shenzhen Guangdong air freight center for 3 weeks & I was posting this whinge note, checked to confirm spellings and LO! "Arrived into the US SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94128, USA" So now it's just a matter of waiting for them to ooze through customs - inching along somewhere behind the flood of urgently needed medical supplies - my audiophile greed will stay on hold until things calm down, lives <are> more important than tunes....

May 4, 2020

mvsantoriniAre they really? Mine just arrived in CA yesterday after a month and a half. I hope it will be worth the wait.

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May 4, 2020

ds60More updates - headphones cleared SFO customs and are now at the 'International Bridge' warehouse in San Bruno - they still have to process & hand off to USPS, normally a pass-through process which even under these conditions should be days - so there's hope to see our 'phones soon.

May 12, 2020

mvsantoriniDid you ever get you headphones?

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May 12, 2020

GrifficusNo, not yet & there's been no sign of life for 10 warehouse days now. Since USPS tracking refers to a "San Bruno Facility" I'm now assuming that they're stuck in a bonded warehouse waiting for customs clearance, where before I'd thought that they'd cleared customs and were queued up for USPS hand-off. Are you also waiting? I know that DS60 is also waiting for their 'phones - if I can find a couple more folks who are also stuck without product, I'd be happy to write a moderate Nastygram to Drop Support & copy my somewhat ineffectual contact at International Bridge. Maybe if the Dropsters threaten them while we feed the Bridge's Troll, our collective headphones might magically get unstuck...

May 12, 2020

mvsantoriniWow....that's...uhm not quick. Weird times.

May 13, 2020

GrifficusShipped 2 months ago, finally got to customs on the 2nd, nothing since. I get the reasons behind it but that doesn't make it any less awkward. I am also assuming the International Bridge also encompasses customs, else there's really no reason for it to take so long to process.

(Edited)

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May 13, 2020

ds60Mine theoretically shipped on Apr 30th but the tracking is still Pending/Does not exist. Usually you at least get a notice that they have done the shipping paperwork. After listening to you guys I guess I won't get too excited since it will be a couple months. I might not be able to remember I ordered them by then. :) edit: spelling...I just had to fix

(Edited)

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May 15, 2020

mvsantoriniAs much as we looked forward to writing our Nastygram, there's now no need to: "Your package cleared Customs and it is currently moving to the final destination. I may suggest you to keep monitoring on our website: https://www.myib.com/trackpackage" USPS now says 'In Transit' - We say: "In Transit - Glory of Monday..." If anyone one here needs help in locating or tracking your headphones - the agent we've been working with is 'Nikolina Ivanovic - her email is nikolina.ivanovic@myib.com. She's very good about tracking and informing you, but can't do much to speed up the process.

May 16, 2020

GrifficusYou may want to contact Drop(ping a deuce, because Massdrop was such a better name) because a non-active tracking label either means it hasn't been shipped out, or somebody screwed up. Either your package is stuck with the manufacturer or it has shipped but will likely not get to you due to being inactive.

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Harwood

May 16, 2020

ds60Mine also shipped on the 30th and USPS just says Picked Up by Shipping Partner, USPS Awaiting Item FREMONT, CA 94538 Shipping Partner: NEWGISTICS Your item was picked up by a shipping partner at 10:51 pm on April 29, 2020 in FREMONT, CA 94538. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. But I checked newgistics and it just says the label was created and shipping info received. I just figured this was because it wasn't in the U.S. yet. Am I wrong should I be able to see where it is before then?

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May 19, 2020

ds60Ahem ... "Life will get you through times of no Tunes better than Tunes will get you through times of no Life..." {apologies to the Furry Freak Bros...} Perspective Grasshopper - gotta get it & keep it too...

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May 21, 2020

ds60Thanks I did. I hate the new name as well. Miraculously a shipping label was created just before they replied on the 14th. :) It does make you feel better than not hearing anything at all. They recommended the site 17track which worked but Canada Post updated soon afterwards. I am really looking forward to your commentary when you finally get them.

May 22, 2020

GrifficusThey are a state away and will hopefully be delivered this weekend.

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May 23, 2020

ds60Congrats - mine are now in the same state, but have not yet been offered up to the tender mercies of USPS, so "Delivery Date remains unknown..." - which is somewhat less than confidence inspiring - Mutter, mutter, mutter....

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May 23, 2020

mvsantoriniSo... I got them... I'm less than impressed. They were shipped to me in a bubble mailer (not a box!) and there is visible damage to one of the cups. I will be writing a review momentarily.

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May 23, 2020

ds60UGH! this is disturbing - it's more difficult to screw up planars than dynamic headphones with impact abuse, but we did manage to trash the magnets on a pair of Fostex T50RP's - but ripping them off & throwing them across the room while screaming may have had something to do with this....

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May 24, 2020

mvsantoriniDon't worry, it just appears to be surface-level. Though with the frequency response these things are getting, who knows, maybe they got jostled a bit too hard and something came undone. Here is my review. I hope you like them more than I do.

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May 24, 2020

GrifficusI wrote a review. Don't be too bummed, there's still a chance you'll love them... I just happened to not.

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May 24, 2020

ds60Thanks for taking the time! That does sound disappointing especially after the crazy long wait. I have seen others talk about the mids so you are not alone and I doubt the sound was damaged. Feels like I may be getting a $350 lesson from a company with a terrible return policy. :)

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May 24, 2020

GrifficusWell the returns are because this is essentially a third party product purchased via drop shipping. Drop sends the money to the manufacturer and the manufacturer ships out all the packages to us. And there doesn't seem to be any... damage to the item, per-se, that would validate a return outside of "I don't like it"; Drop Studio items are the only items you can return for such a reason. See the Third Party Products section here. As much as I don't like the directon (Mass)Drop has been going over the last while, it's really not their fault. I'm still going to open a ticket just in case, but I really don't expect to get anything back. I know people that might be interested in them though so at least I will try to get them to a good home even if Drop won't do anything. And like I said there's still a chance you will like them... the effect is divisive among the people I have asked to give their opinions. I just gave my honest opinion of what I think of them.

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May 28, 2020

mvsantorini****UPDATE*** My B20's arrived this morning, and while there's many things they do very well, I also heard what ds60 reported - a sense of murky confusion in the mid-range - not exactly a frequency response issue, but more a sudden timbre change as if someone threw a wool blanket over everything. This was weirdly familiar - could it be a phase issue between the drivers? I dug out a digitized jukebox mono 45 of The Rolling Stones 'This Could Be The Last Time' and listened over a pair of Blon B8's - the image was static and located right behind the bridge of my nose. On the B20's, the image started out narrow, suddenly spread out from left to right and moved forward on the chorus, then collapsed back into mono - the drivers were losing phase under load. OK, let's see if they need breaking in - cued up about 125 Gb of Industrial music at moderate volume at let them rip under a pillow all day. After about 12 hours they sound smoother, much more detailed, and the mono image stays mono. There's still a few things that don't seem quite right, so I'll hold off serious listening until tomorrow, but there's real hope now. Lessons Learned - Be very patient, it seems like these phones aren't happy until they've got a few hours of break-in to stabilize the driver's suspensions. Also, it pays to be stupidly anal in setting up the earpads and suspension - if you carefully rotate the earpads so that their kicked-up section aligns with the curve of your lower skull and adjust the suspension strap to place them - the phones fit well, but not snugly, and are pretty comfortable.

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May 31, 2020

mvsantoriniGood to hear! The just said mine passed through customs and I should have them on friday which is breakneck speed compared to you two. I will plug them into an amp and walk away before I make any judgements.

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Jun 1, 2020

GrifficusCool ... You should be pleased, after 24 hours of breaking in at moderate volume levels, our B20's woke up and came alive - the midrange veiling and confusion has largely disappeared, the soundstage has grown in both width and depth, and the bass isn't just powerful and deep - now they articulate player's subtleties that the HiFiman 400i's miss. If you've a copy of 'Kind of Blue,' listen to Paul Chamber's opening bass lines on 'So What' - around 1:20-1:27, he bends his transition note going in, sustains it with a touch of vibrato, and then bends it again going out - the man was a bloody genius on stand-up bass. They're not perfect - there's still something wrong with the upper mids, they're too emphasized, but the shouty harshness that ds60 noted has gone away, and there's something happening around 100-120Hz that muddles up the lower mids too. But all this is easily forgiven, their sonic character is warm, involving, and very pleasant to spend hours listening to - you may well enjoy them.

Jun 4, 2020

mvsantoriniI think I just prefer as close to reference as possible. I just can't get into the sound. Also, even with burn-in time, none of the things I noticed went away. Midrange is still blasting loud and takes over the rest of the mix. A lot of people have said the mids have sounded veiled, but I get the exact opposite experience. Drop Support may actually let me return them, which is lovely. I hope you are able to get into them @Grifficus

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Jun 6, 2020

ds60Spent some time fussing with the Blons - four screws to release the driver, six screws to loosen the grill - remove the foam between driver and grill. Reassemble - leaving a small gap between driver plate and cup for the pad surrounds to slot into. Ditching the foam seems to cure the 'reverb' effect - test by cupping your hands over the grills, choose which part of the music to pooh up by moving your fingers - the midrange sits down & behaves itself, and the soundstage moves out from behind your eyeballs too. Some of the drivers assembly screws were loose - worth checking with a non-magnetic Phillips head, about 90-120 degrees from seated should be tight enough. A simple mod that seems worth doing & it's free too.

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Jun 8, 2020

mvsantoriniI have the first chance to send them out for return tomorrow afternoon—I'm tempted to disassemble to see if I can get those mids under control. There is no warranty but I have been given the green light to return them, so... I'm conflicted. I've been listening on and off since I got them and I still am not a fan, though I have gotten a little more used to them.

(Edited)

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Jun 18, 2020

ds60 @mvsantorini @ds60 I imagine you ended up sending them back after all? This purchase has always been on the fence for me. I want a headphone that is fun but there is always the Hifiman Sundara sitting in the wings and from all reports it is excellent plus its $350 everywhere. They claim mine should be ..finally... arriving today. I thought maybe I had gotten lucky when they showed up in May but its taken almost four weeks to get through customs and move across the country.

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Jun 18, 2020

GrifficusYes, I did send them back. Still to my surprise they accepted the return, despite only my distaste and some surface damage being present. I never got the chance to remove the foam like @mvsantorini (or had the desire to disassemble them) so I don't know how that affects the sound. I actually ordered a pair of Sundara's and I expect them to come by the end of the day. If they sound anything like the DEVAs a colleague of mine recently ordered, I will be happy with that purchase.

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Jun 18, 2020

ds60I heard they sound better than the DEVAs.

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Jun 18, 2020

ds60They did arrive listened to them a bit and then set them aside to burn in.

Jun 18, 2020

Grifficus Sundaras came. So did I. This is everything I have ever wanted. I can hear everything. Stock B20 simply cannot compete. Neither can the 4XX either really, I don't think I can go back to anything else. Yeah the headband sucks as much as I expected it to, but I'm going to try swapping it for the 4XX's; hopefully the holes are the same diameter. I would take these off to take a picture too but that ain't happenin', chief. Nice setup though. I like the satellite speaker headphone cradle :)

(Edited)

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