Blon BL-03 Review (1) – Love Is Like Oxygen

Pros — Natural timbre and dynamics; good clarity; spatial cues; incredible value.

Cons — Poor accessories; needs tinkering with tips and cable to unleash its full potential; a bit bright; short nozzles.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Blon BL-03 is a neutral to slightly warm, marginally bright single dynamic driver earphone that excels by its tonal accuracy, natural dynamics, clarity, authentic soundstage, and spatial cues that gives you the feeling of sitting in the first row of a concert.

You find more photos of the Blon BL-03 here: https://www.audioreviews.org/blon-bl-03-photography/

INTRODUCTION

Blon stands for Believe, Let the music burn, Opportunity, Never give up. I don’t know anything about the company other than their tuner Zhuo Hulang also tuned the highly acclaimed Tanchjim Oxygen at 10 times the price, and that both models sport the same driver…but, I cannot verify this.

SPECIFICATIONS

Product Name: BLON BL-03  
Drive Unit: 10mm Carbon Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20-20000 Hz
Connector: 2 Pin 0.78MM 
Cable Length: 1.2 m ± 3 cm 
Interface: 3.5mm Gilded
Plug Type: L-shaped
Tested at: $28.49
Product Link: Wooeasy Earphones Store

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

There is not much in the rather huge box other than the earpieces, cable, three sets of eartips (S, M, L), and a storage bag made of jute…well, Woodstock was 50 years ago. The drop-shaped earpieces are made of kirsite (like the NiceHCK HCK EP-10), appear robust, and fit very well into my ears without sticking out…the Blon BL-03 may work well as sleep earphones, too. The earpieces are way ahead of stock cable and stock tips in terms of haptic and build. First, I threw out the cable, not because it sounded bad but because the memory wire strangled my ears and because it was so stiff (I replaced it with a $7 cheapo I had purchased in my earlier youth). No regret here as the stock cable was not the fanciest anyway. Next, I dumped the totally useless eartips which were way too flabby to achieve a seal with.

After a lengthy and unenjoyable period of tip rolling, I finally arrived at the solution: only the “inverted” Starline tips worked for me (the DIY process is described HERE). I also had to passively extend the nozzles by cutting out a ring from the inner tube of an old eartip (see photo). The SpinFit CP145 and some similarly shaped eartips that came with the iBasso IT01 generated too thin a sound as their canopies were not wide enough in combination with these particular earpieces. Results may vary for you, as everybody’s ear canals are different.

Comfort is good and isolation depends on the eartips, but I never got fantastic results. As so often, I used low-impedance sources (iPhone 5S with and without AudioQuest dragonfly dac/amp) and the Shanling M0 dap. The Blog BL-03 has huge advantage over the likes of the Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 or the Moondrop Kanas Pro because of their small, light shells, that don’t stick out of the ear.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

JK’s tonal preference and testing practice

The Blon BL-03 is neutral with a tendency towards bright that excels by its clarity, good speed, tonal accuracy and homogeneity/balance. The sound details depends a lot on eartips used so that results may vary between listeners. Hence, please also look at the other quality reviews out there.

The Blon BL-03 has a rather subtle, balanced sound signature with my setup and for my ears with a tendency to a forward upper midrange, which gives it a margially brightish flavour….it is certainly a far cry from the previous generations of V-shaped single DDs. Nothing punches (too much) from the low end or pierces at the high end. It is a polite and refined earphone all around. The Blon BL-03 is primarily an earphone for “audiophiles” imo and only secondary for rockers and dance music fans as its strength lies in the authenticity of sonic reproduction. It largely lacks perfume: the bass is rather natural in quality and quantity…and not substantially boosted to prefer certain musical genres with a hard beat. Fitting to the low end, the dynamics are rather natural, too. Further, the stage is quite authentic (wider than deep, including a good height), and the spatial cues is good, too, so that you really think you are in the first row of a concert.

With the tips used, the bass is well extended and has the aforementioned decent but not unnaturally strong punch, it is well textured and adds subtle warmth to the image. It can be a bit slow at times but is never thick. A subtle sub-bass rumble is pleasant on my ears. Overall, bass is tastefully dosed. The midrange is clean and clear, organic, energetic, and maybe a bit on the bright side because of a lift in the upper midrange. It has good air but not as much density as the more expensive Drop + JVC HA-FDX1. There is no congestion anywhere, including the upper midrange. Treble is very well extended, well resolving, and never strident (but not smooth either). Cymbals are surprisingly realistic sounding as transients are surprisingly natural. Stage is rather wide and high with enough depth. Resolution and instrument placement on stage are almost incredible for a budget earphone. 3-D impression is very good. And then there is the timbre, which is absolutely spot on. No budget hybrid can keep up with the Blon BL-03, although the TRN V90 gives it a good try.

Condensing all these observations, the Blon BL-03 cater particularly to fans of classical music, folk, and jazz. I don’t usually give music examples (as most people don’t have access to them) but have a look at the recent John Williams re-recordings by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. A very fluid listening experience.

COMPARISONS

The fantastic Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 ($250/280) have more note weight and depth, and they are ultimately more substantial sounding…but not by much. A/Bing them with the Blon BL-03 still makes the Blons a great, enjoyful listen. The Blons are brighter trough more boost in the upper midrange and have more recessed vocals. The darker iBasso IT01 ($100) have more sub-bass but sound somewhat loose in comparison, and the thicker sounding Moondrop Crescent ($30; discontinued) are behind in terms of composition and definition. The Blon BL-03 are also more refined and more organic sounding than the astonishingly good Senfer DT6 ($20). I have to point out that all of the above earphones are quite enjoyable. The Sennheiser IE 500 PRO ($600) have a tighter bass than the Blon BL-03 but they fail by their missing upper midrange, which makes their sound muffled and muted. The Blon BL-03 are actually better in terms of air and soundstage than those premiums.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Out of the box, this earphone was a cinderella. Once you get the Blon BL-03 going, they are an absolutely superb earphone that is unparalleled in its class in terms of tonal balance and accuracy, and resolution. It is good enough for serious listening at home, and the flat earpieces make it a good bedphone, too. I favour the Blon BL-03 over much more expensive earphones, simply because of its tonal accuracy, balance, and natural dynamics.

Keep on listening!

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

The Blon BL-03 were supplied unsolicited by Wooeasy Earphones Store. I thank them very much.

Our generic standard disclaimer

About our measurements

BLON BL-03 Review II — Another (Unsolicited) Opinion