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MaverickAH
747
Nov 13, 2019
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So here we have a $40 iem that, from everything I've watched & read, needs you to then at least double it's price in order to attain all of its positive attributes. So what we're really talking about is a minimum $80 iem. There's no getting around that. I'm not saying that this still does not make these a bargain. It's just less of a one. At the $70 to $80 level they're up against other Drop earphones offered in that relative price range like the Tenhz P4 Pro, BVGP DMG, Acoustic Research AR-E10 & others. Can these come close? I don't know but I'm highly skeptical.
I need another set of iem's like I need the proverbial hole in the head but I just might try these out just because. I'm actually more interested in how they sound stock than I am in altering them.
daehyundtx
45
Nov 13, 2019
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MaverickAHI would argue that the majority of people in this hobby already have spare tips and cables to use with these. Even basic KZ Starline tips that everyone probably has and can be bought for less than $1 on Aliexpress work great with these - in fact I’ve heard of people saying the medium bore size of Starline tips allow the Blon’s bass to truly rumble and shine. KZ tips and a basic 8 core Yinyoo cable will run you less than $10 and solve all fit issues.
GregBo
29
Nov 13, 2019
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MaverickAHI ordered a $16 cable and the tips I wanted came free on aliexpress. It took several weeks, but I’m satisfied with the price to value ratio on these. They’re not the greatest IEMs ever, but they’re good enough. The stock cable isn’t even a deal breaker honestly.
g0ldl10n
121
Nov 13, 2019
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MaverickAHYou can call me crazy, but these IEMs sound better than my Fostex TR-X00 purple heart stock for stock -- The Fostex ever so slightly edge these out when using Sonarworks predefined EQ, but still, not by a whole lot. That said, the Fostex TR-X00 cost over 10x more than these and I would say these still compete with them even with Sonarworks. These are by far the most impressive sounding IEMs I have ever heard, I have actually bought 3 pairs just in case I end up losing a pair, or they break. I had my reservations too, since I have spent WAY too much money on countless pairs of Chinese IEMs that got rave reviews, and they simply never impressed me.
tooitchy
309
Nov 14, 2019
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MaverickAHThis is a load of crap, you don't need to double their price to make them usable. stripping off the wire guide/memory wire fixes the main issue with the cable (too severe a rotation/about 90 degrees too much rotation) it will still be a cheap shitty cable, but it will be usable, and tips I have comply and I have generic foam tips from amazon, 7$ for 6 pairs, and 100% honest, I prefer the generic foam over comply. So these become usable with only 7$ more cost. These sound amazing, period, the cost to that sound and price, is the shape/wire/tips, 2 of which can be replaced/fixed very easily, the other is no longer much of an issue once you get tips that will hold, and seal.
TLDR: highly recommended, don't believe the nonsense that you need to spend another 40$ to even use these. It's true they simply don't seem to work in 100% stock form, but the only purchase you need to make is tips, and my favorite tips with them are generic foam, 6 pairs for 7$.
tooitchy
309
Nov 14, 2019
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pkrisninI couldn't detect a change, I got a cable just because I didn't like the cheap feeling of the stock one, I buy cables for their touch, and how they move/resist your movement, not sound, sound can be affected but it's so minute, and can really only notice a change going from something really really shitty, to something much higher quality with a lot more cores and silver plated/pure silver. But I really don't think you'll notice much if anything at all, just try stock with the memory wire bit stripped off and see if you can get a seal with them, tips if you don't already have, you can get Riyo generic foam tips on amazon, 7$ for 6 pairs, even comes with a plastic case to store them in. I have comply and these generics, and the generics sound/fit better.
tooitchy
309
Nov 14, 2019
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tooitchyplus with cables, it doesn't matter how good a cable you buy is, you can buy a 10,000$ kimber cable, you're still going from the jack on the cup to the driver, with cheapo basic bitch stranded copper. same with iems, where that cable plugs in, inside the iem housing are wires connecting to the driver, and those are not high quality.
MaverickAH
747
Nov 14, 2019
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daehyundtxAll I'm saying is that all of the initial professional reviews had these as hitting above their weight & able to compete with others in the $100 range. Based on the sonic description provided, that sounded reasonable. Truth be told, I've probably had several other sub $50 iems that I would also classify as such. For me, midrange is king & if I find an iem that gives me a flat, tonally accurate midrange with decent detail, I can find them inoffensive as long as they're not boomy or harsh.
I'm probably going to break down & get these. I will report on them once I've spent an adequate amount of time with them.
Tacanacy
Nov 16, 2019
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MaverickAHNo. They can be bought for $30 on AliExpress, which includes free shipping. Also, if you live in a country where you have to pay VAT / customs duties, sellers on AliExpress declare a very low value.
Blon has either started to supply these with a better cable, or people are grossly exaggerating. The stock cable is fairly soft/flexible. It's not springy or platicky. It has no kinks and will not tangle. You can wrap it in your hand and clench your fist, and the cable still won't tangle. It has great strain relief. Nothing about the build is shoddy. And the microphonics are far from the worst I've heard. The stock cable is quite decent. I own several Yinyoo cables, plus a bunch of other upgrade cables that I've bought off AliExpress that range from $10-40.
For tips, I recommend Dekoni Bulletz that can be bought for $8 on Drop every month or so. Or JVC Spiral Dots that cost $10 on Penon Audio, which offer free shipping and also declares a very low value.
(Edited)
Cyberthingy
289
Nov 16, 2019
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MaverickAHFWIW, I have owned or currently own all of the models you cited and i like the bl03 better than them all. I have numerous others at 50-180 dollar range that also take a back seat to the bl03. I did happen to have other 2-pin cables that were a workable (not perfect match) replacement. I also had an inventory of inexpensive New Bee silicon tips that worked great and I am really happy with how they sound and fit. so for less than 60 dollars I have a very pleasing option in my collection. I did order a few NX7 variety of cables on sale (11/11) from Aliexpress that should match perfectly and offer the best combination.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000131341687.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.542c4c4daR5255
Also note that QDC is not the correct variety. You will also find cables designed for TFZ earphones that will work but will not fully cover the neck of the IEM receptacle.
You can argue that these are not a top tier technical performer but they strike a great balance of clear and lively sound that appeals to a lot of people, myself included. I have spent thousands searching for the ultimate in ear and over ear phones and these frankly made me question a lot of my past purchases over 100 dollars. I did learn a while back that neutral sound signature is not for me because I find that I have to EQ everything to sound good. These make everything I throw at it sound good without having to EQ it. Is it an endgame IEM? Could be for those on a tight budget but I'll probably keep searching and enjoy these along the journey. They will remain in my rotation as long as they last.
motod
145
Nov 20, 2019
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MaverickAHfwiw, these blow the AR-E10s out of the water in every way except maybe accessory offerings. (that said, i find the AR-E10 bluetooth cable sounds like ass and the wired cable is one of the dinkiest i've ever seen.)
BVGP DMG build quality is excellent across the board, BLONs are just good. personally i have more fitment issues with the DMGs (the BLONs, surprisingly, fit my ears perfectly right out the box), but YMMV. i prefer the sound sig of the BLONs if i'm being honest, but i enjoy both.
at $80 (extra cost of nice cable and tips), the BLONs would still be a worthy purchase. but if your ears are such that the stock tips and cable fit you, ~$35 for the BLONs is a ridonculously good deal.
just my opinion, of course. :)
MaverickAH
747
Nov 21, 2019
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tooitchyWell, I've had them in my possession for a couple of day now & I'd agree with you about the wires. I'm not having too much problem with the fit but I do think that the nozzles should have been longer. I really don't want to say too much else right now as I am first using them stock. I have the same basic foam tips you ordered coming in tomorrow. I will report back my findings in about a week or so.
MaverickAH
747
Jan 1, 2020
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MaverickAHOkay...…. I've been living with these for almost 2 months now. These are a carefully designed study in psychoacoustics. They offer a very high level of clarity & imaging is pretty damn good especially when their price is taken into account. I personally didn't have too much trouble with the fit outside of they wouldn't hold their position for long. They would keep working their way out. I did switch to some foam tips. I found the cable to be acceptable for the price. Switch it out if you want to but I didn't find it necessary.
Sonically, the BL-03's are a shock to your system when you first put them on. The clarity just hits you in the face. The upper midrange & treble are impressive. As I said before, these a carefully crafted & no accident or lucky coincidence (as Zeos suggested). They also managed to reduce the right on the edge treble before any hint of sibilance kicks in. There is a hump in the mid bass that can seem overblown on some tracks while helping other tracks. I mostly found it inoffensive. Isolation is probably the worse of any iem I own but it somehow doesn't affect the listening experience too much when music is playing.
The BL-03's offer a different type of sound profile. It was one that left me unsettled in the long run & it took me some time to really figure them out. They are upper midrange/lower treble forward. This led to some mild ear fatigue for me after an hour or so of listening. It took some time for me to get to the root of what was leaving me feeling meh about them. I took some time to look at several frequency response graphs just to confirm my suspicions. These are what most would call U-shaped but I would call them Trough-shaped. The FR starts to dip from 100Hz to about 350Hz where it is roughly 10db down. It stays fairly flat at this level until it starts to rise back up at just over 1kHz until it peaks out at about 2.2kHz ( a 12db rise). I find it really problematic on baritone, lower tenor & lower contralto voices. Listen to acoustic piano, choir music or anything with multiple voices harmonizing & anything in the depression is greatly reduced resulting in a tonal imbalance despite the clarity & other positives they bring to the table. It leaves them sounding thin & lacking body. Once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
So, for me, although they offer great clarity & detail that can be addictive, they are not overall better than the Acoustic Research AR-E10 ($80). The AR-E10 has that midrange magic. The Shozy Form 1.1 ($60) are better to my ears & don't require a tip or cable repurchase so they equate price-wise. My KEF M200 ($50) are better despite their known fit issues. Even my Advanced Wearable Audio AWA 101 ($20), while technically not in the same class, have a more tonally pleasing presentation to my ears. So while I'm glad that I have them & find them particularly interesting from the viewpoint of things to come, they're not a favorite. The midrange dip needs to be brought up at least 5db across that whole range for me.
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