BLON A8 Prometheus Review (2) – Smoking Hot Tip: Black Hole Ahead
In this Article
Intro
BLON released the A8 Prometheus following several models that fizzled after the success of the legendary surprise hit BL-03. The shell on the BLON A8 Prometheus is out of this world, part sci-fi, part abstract art it’s hard not to marvel at the odd looking structure. Advertised as a sports running flagship earphone, seemingly a bit oxymoronic it surprised me by fulfilling both prophecies. However, I came to realize like the Aliens movie franchise, there was something hiding waiting to surprise.
Disclaimer: They were on loan from the Art Haus von Loomis Johnson
Tested at $85: They can be purchased in the usual places such as Aliexpress, Amazon, Hifigo, Keephifi, etc.
Good Traits
| GOOD THINGS | NOT HOT |
|---|---|
| Interesting Design | Bad placement of vent hole leads to varying bass levels |
| Stay in place fitment | Strange direction/angle of 2 pin cable plug |
| Mild western W tuning |
Physical Attributes
Earphone makers that want to set themselves apart from the seemingly endless options these days must stand out. The shell on the BLON A8 is nothing short of different. I don’t recall anything else like it. The outer shell is a 3D hollow structure with a smaller enclosure for the single lightweight diaphragm dynamic driver.
It doesn’t boast any exotic particular materials DLC, Beryllium, Titanium, Unobtanium, etc, but sometimes you don’t need these to pull off a good sounding earphone. Since the shell is metal, this helps reduce weight and it would have been really cool if the structure was optimized to reduce wind noise..haha give it a couple of years and some manufacturer will figure this out and sell it at a premium price. While it’s not designed to reduce noise, it did an amazing job staying put in my ears even during a simple 3 mile hike.
The connectors on the BLON A8 are another oddity, they angle the earhooks towards your head which I thought surely would cause the earphones to push out of my ears. Maybe the opposite was true, it helps create some extra friction to reduce movement of the cables.
Hot tip: It’s important to play around with eartips on these. I did not get the included eartips from Loomis Johnson who previously reviewed the BLON A8. Instead I started with the olive shaped ones from my Tin Audio T2 Plus which turns them into bassy monsters reminiscent of the BMG DMG/Nicehck M6.
The Azla Sedna Light shallow was better, but shallow widebores similar to the ones included with TFZ King Pro were the best. The shallow widebore lets the midrange and treble shine a little more and in my case the seal was “loose” or not tight. This helped cut down on the steep bass rise, just as the BMG DMG third party nozzle with an extra vent release.. Since this is probably hard to duplicate, most of my comments will be based on using something similar to the stock tips.
Package Contents
- Burlap Storage sack
- Eartips
- 2 Pin removeable cable 1.2m silver cable
Sound
Tested with an LG V30, Sony NW-A55, Liquid Spark + JDS Labs Atom
Something was up with the BLON A8, every time I put them in the sound would be different, one minute they were bass monsters the next more balanced (not neutral). I consulted other reviews to see what was going on…
Sculpted bass, but then bass, bass and more bass?
“The Blon A8 Prometheus surprises with its bass quality—tight, well-sculpted and wholly free from bloom and bleed, with adequate but not massive subbass throb” -audioreviews.org
“The BL-A8 have meaty, punchy bass. If you’re a bass head, you are in for a treat.” -Headphonehonesty
“BLON BL-A8 has meaty and thick lows. This model is perfect for bass heads as it gives a meaty deep rumble” -Headphonics.com
“If you crave those deep, visceral sub-bass rumbles that almost make you lose control of your sphincter then the BL-A8 will oblige.” -primeaudio.org
BASS is all about weighty slam, and it’s in a hurry to please the headbanger, so much so that sometimes the bass take the front stage and hollow the resolution. -nobsaudiophile.com
Originally I though the tips I was using allowed for a light seal. The real reason was more about the stem of the eartip pushing down over the vent hole. I am not sure why BLON made a decision to put a vent hole in the stem, perhaps it was a last minute tuning decision easier to rectify with the nozzle vs the shell? Who knows…well now we all know to watch out for this.
It makes sense why the shallow wide bore eartips work very well since these are less likely to push down over that vent hole. Another possibility is to use something with a thicker tighter stem so it doesn’t slip down. A combo of short, thick and tight would be super ideal, keep it clean folks.
Final Remarks
Rather than rehash what my fellow com-padre Loomis has already laid out for the BLON A8 Prometheus, I have to agree with his take on them and am wrapping this up early. I think these are attention grabbing socialites that did not make the splash they could have if it were not for the troublesome placement of that nozzle vent hole. Good effort BLON, one of your better ones minus the misstep on hole placement. I rank these cool to have if you use the right tips and avoid blockage.
BLON A8 PROMETHEUS SPECIFICATIONS
- Impedance 32ohm
- Sensitivity 115db
- 10mm driver
- 3.5mm 1.2m silver cable (mic optional)
- Color Options Silver/Gun Metal
GRAPHS
BLON A8 Left vs Right
BLON A8 Nozzle vent partially covered / eartip inconsistencies
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