Curious about this new offering from BLON, I decided to make the plunge to try this little bean looking IEM.
Out of the box the impression is very positive,everything just sounds right, but I have decided to let it run for a few hours and listen to it again to see if there will be any audible changes in terms of the sound.
I’m not someone who judges by just looking at the graph and decides that it’s not good without listening to it first. After all, you can’t hear by just looking at the graph without actually listening to the device itself.
We’re here to enjoy music after all but not gear testing or measuring.
*I purchased this item off my own fund without any sponsorship nor getting this as a review unit. I made the plunge so that you guys can decide whether this is for you or not. HaHa
Product Specification
Impedance
16ohms (at 1 kHz)
Frequency responses
20–20kHz
Sensitivity
115dB/mW
Drivers Config
6mm Dynamic Driver
Cable
in 1.2m
Plug
3.5mm single-ended
Connectors
2-pin 0.78mm
Housing Material
Zinc Alloy Forming
Packaging and Design
It comes with the usual standard Blon style packaging. Clean white box with standard
silicone eartips and a Blon cloth carrying pouch to store your earphone. Nothing to brag about. Pretty standard. What is different this time is that the bundled cable is of higher quality than 01 and 03. The material and outlook is similar to Moondrop SSP’s stock cable.
The build quality of this definitely doesn’t feel cheap. It has got the premium-ish metal kind of feeling as they are using this material called Zinc Alloy according to BLON.
*image courtesy from Linsoul
Comfort and Fit
Wearing it for several hours straight, the fit is pretty good even with the stock cable. I had trouble getting the right fit from 01 and 03 with the stock cable and had to resort to after-market cable in order for them to sit in my ears without jiggling around and having a good seal. Comfort and fit definitely got a major overhaul from BLON. I can even get a good seal with the stock ear tips.
Sound
Low
-Not overly emphasized like it was in the 03. Good quality and quantity, but definitely not for basshead. This time around the sub-bass is definitely more controlled and tight. It will not give you the deep rumble that the basshead is looking for but it is sufficient and provides a perceptible sense of “boom boom”. It is also quite punchy rendering Metallica’s Master of Puppet in a very enjoyable manner.
Mid
-Nothing much to brag about the mid. Male and female vocals sounded natural. Timbre sounded fairly natural. However there’s one thing that I dislike about the rendition of the vocal. It feels a bit distant, not the in your face kind of rendition. However, I guess this is quite subjective as some might prefer this kind of rendition over the other.
High
-Not sibilant and fatiguing. I did not feel any perceptible peak from 7khz claimed by some youtube reviewer. Comfortable to listen for long hours. I know its shouty if my ears get fatigue listening to Unravel - TK, an anime opening song(Tokyo Ghoul). I did not feel fatigue at all listening to this track using BLON Mini. It is a lil warm at least to my ears when comparing this with Moondrop’s SSP
Separation and Imaging
-Instruments separation is above average as i can clearly pinpoint the percussion coming from left and right and also the synth riff that blend right in with the electric guitar’s strumming in A Cruel Angel’s Thesis - Yoko Takahashi (Evangelion’s Soundtrack). Quite a busy track i would say but it rendered it without any issue. Sense of imaging is average i would say, you do not get that Final Audio E series’s imaging, but it does give sufficient perception on the width and height.
Driveability
Rated at 16ohms and sensitivity level of 115db/mw, this thing is very very easy to drive even straight out from your mobile phone. However to achieve better audio quality and dynamic range, it is better to plug this into a dedicated DAP or better still a DAC/AMP combo.
Comparison
The closest competition within this price range that i have with me is the Moondrop SSP.
Both are pretty comfortable to wear to long hours. The difference in terms of sound quality is that SSP’s low punch harder and gives more rumble in a good and controlled manner of course. Soundstage is also wider on the SSP and SSP is also brighter. Both are tuned differently for different kinds of audience. It all boils down to what kind of sound signature are you looking for. Analytical or laid back listening session? Both are good in my opinion in their price category.
Source
This time I have decided not to list the tracks as I believe there is no “test” track to actually test your earphone/headphone. I have shifted my perspective in a sense that if you really enjoy your music, you should be able to tell the differences on how each and every earphones or headphones you listened render them.
Windows 10 -> Stoner Acoustics UD130 -> Tidal (MQA/HiFi)
Ipod Classic(5th Gen) Rockboxed
SONY NW-A55 running on MrWalkman’s firmware(A50z)
Conclusion
Based on my own rating from 1 to 10, I would rate this at a 8 based on the sound that it produced and the price that it is asking for. It is definitely not a neutral IEM but more like a fun kind of IEM where you want to just plug in and start enjoying right away, but of course with better gears you will be able to squeeze out a lil bit more from this little macaroni. I will recommend this someone who wants to enjoy music without breaking a hole in their pocket and also seasoned audiophile who intend to replace their daily driver.