DRIAMS Do Come True - the BLON BL-03 IEM

[Asylum Seeker]

Those of you who have ventured into the frontier of Chi-Fi will have no doubt heard of the BLON BL-03 IEM. Head-Fi alone has a 180-page thread on this item alone and the internet is rife with reviews, accolades and hype. So, is it any good?
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Here is my take - For under $30 it's pretty decent, and it's got a solid metal build. Quite bass-y, highs a bit rolled off, the cable is not great and fit can be quite finicky, though. Because fit is hit-and-miss, it is tough to recommend. If you've got no more than $30, the BLON (or the Moondrop Crescent) are good buys. If you've got $10-15 more to spend, I'd look into the KZ ZS10Pro or TFZ T2 Galaxy. The latter has better fit, cable and a similar, slightly brighter, airier sound with hard-hitting bass.
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Oh yeah, another plus of the BLONs is the poetic Chinglish on its box. Don't let the naysayers tell you otherwise; BLON proves that you can still get a lot of OPPOTY for $30 these days.

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This is how I domesticate them:
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[Earfonia]

Agree! Blon BL-03 offers a lot for the money. I like the tonality and sound signature, quite balanced to my ears. And I'm amazed with the left and right driver matching from the 2 units of BL03 that I have, all matching within 1.5 dB. Very good QC!

8 measurements, 2 units of BL-03, Gun Metal (GM) and Silver (Slv), 2 measurement per driver (remove & re-insert to coupler every measurement).

I've done hundreds of IEM measurement over the years, many 4 digits priced IEMs even fail to have 2 dB tolerance between drivers.

 

[Johan Liebert]

I've found foam tips were immensely helpful for IEMs for me.

Any suggestion for the cables?

 

[Asylum Seeker]

I've found foam tips were immensely helpful for IEMs for me.

Any suggestion for the cables?

Look into the FAAEAL cable. I bought the FAAEAL Hibiscus (they suck), but the cable is very good (the best thing about the Hibiscus, I am afraid). Certainly the best 'cheap' cable out there and they play nice with the BLON.

On a separate though related note, the problem with the BLON cable is not the BLON cable but rather the poor design of the BLON lobes itself. I use the BLON cable with the KZ ZS10 Pro, and it is great in that role because those IEM's actually have a good fit design, unlike the BLON.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

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[karthik7000]

The Blon BL-01 didn’t give me that “WOW” effect that the BL-03 used to give me in the first periods of its release. Although I think there’s too much hype for Blon stuff, I don’t think their earphones sound bad, and the BL-01 are no exception: they sound good, and we cannot ask for more considering their very low price.Agree! Blon BL-03 offers a lot for the money. I like the tonality and sound signature, quite balanced to my ears. And I'm amazed with the left and right driver matching from the 2 units of BL03 that I have, all matching within 1.5 dB. Very good QC!

View attachment 53657

8 measurements, 2 units of BL-03, Gun Metal (GM) and Silver (Slv), 2 measurement per driver (remove & re-insert to coupler every measurement).

I've done hundreds of IEM measurement over the years, many 4 digits priced IEMs even fail to have 2 dB tolerance between drivers.

 

[Earfonia]

Thanks! I was looking for this thread when testing EQ profiles on BLON BL-03. I use Equalizer APO. Attached the 2 profiles that I tested if anyone interested to try.

 

[agnimukha]

Although MQA is not a listed feature, the AP80 Pro does appear to support playback of MQA files. I’m unclear whether this is fully decoded or rendered. Please suggest me

 

[Andersonix]

My expectations were extremely low for these BL-03 when I bought mine from Drop a couple of months ago. I only bought them because they had a microphone and were cheap, so I could use them on the phone at least once I was sure they were crap. I even pronounce Blon as "blown," so the joke's on them!
After playing with the different size tips and adding some shrink sleeving over the left one (as my ears are slightly different), I found they sounded pretty good, nice and smooth, never harsh and a nice amount of air, and not too bassy, as long as the left one stayed in place.
Later I tried some "Link Dream" foam tips, but the foam made the isolation too intense and the bass too strong.

So overall I'm very pleased with how the BL-03 sound in the mids and top end. The bass is tuneble to some degree by the amount of isolation you want and whether the tips are the included silicone or aftermarket foam. They sound just about loud enough on my iphone, but an amp makes them even better with stiffer bass, and they can play extremely loudly. Especially at under $35 all-in, I'm impressed! Maybe I should get another pair while they're still available?

 

[Earfonia]

My expectations were extremely low for these BL-03 when I bought mine from Drop a couple of months ago. I only bought them because they had a microphone and were cheap, so I could use them on the phone at least once I was sure they were crap. I even pronounce Blon as "blown," so the joke's on them!
After playing with the different size tips and adding some shrink sleeving over the left one (as my ears are slightly different), I found they sounded pretty good, nice and smooth, never harsh and a nice amount of air, and not too bassy, as long as the left one stayed in place.
Later I tried some "Link Dream" foam tips, but the foam made the isolation too intense and the bass too strong.

So overall I'm very pleased with how the BL-03 sound in the mids and top end. The bass is tuneble to some degree by the amount of isolation you want and whether the tips are the included silicone or aftermarket foam. They sound just about loud enough on my iphone, but an amp makes them even better with stiffer bass, and they can play extremely loudly. Especially at under $35 all-in, I'm impressed! Maybe I should get another pair while they're still available?

I have some of the BLONs, including BL-03, BL-05, BL-05s, and the Mini. The BLs are all fantastic IEMs. The Mini not so good, too warm and bassy. And all measured very low on the harmonic distortion, which is very2 impressive. If you like BL-03, you might want to try the BL-05S, the more balanced version of BL-03. BL-03 to me is a warm sounding IEM, but I like quite like it. BL-05 has mild V shape tuning which is my favorite BLON. BL-05s is less V shape, more balanced tuning, but slightly has less perceived detail and clarity than the BL-05. All are fantastic for their prices.