Blon BL-05s Review (1) – New Gold Dream
Pros — Swift driver; cohesive, warm, organic sound; good staging; small earpieces with excellent ergonomics; value.
Cons — Retro shape and squeaky green colour not for everyone; cable and eartips a write-off.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Blon BL-05s earphone is a well tuned single-dynamic-driver budget earphone that excels in its coherent and organic sound. Its speedy 10 mm dynamic driver handles the most complex music well. Simply a great allrounder that will be a general crowdpleaser and provide listening pleasure independent of price. It is a true upgrade from the popular Blon BL-03 and the best Blon to date.
INTRODUCTION
Yes, my night table is full of Blon BL-05 iterations. The original came with a piezo and was so shrill that it never made it beyond the testers’ ears. The first regular BL-05 also did not make my cut but the beta of the current Blon BL-05s eventually attracted my ears’ interest. Finally, the current BL-05s Mk3 war released (MK1 was the Blon BL-03 and MK2 was the Blon BL-05) – and it is an improved version of the beta in that the upper midrange has been corrected downwards. No screamer – we are relieved. You can read up on the history concealed in my night table in the note by co-blogger KopiOkaya. For me, the Blon BL-05s is one of these timeless, priceless earphones that I like using, despite its budget design and performance.
SPECIFICATIONS
Driver: 3rd generation 10 mm carbon diaphragm dynamic driver
Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 108 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 2pin 0.78 mm
Tested at: $40
Purchase Link: Wooeasy Earphones Store
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
Huh…unboxing! My favourite chapter…not! Not much to be said about the Blon BL-05s: earpieces, eartips, cable, baggie, and paperwork. Yawn. The cable works fine, technically, but it is an insult to the eye and fingers – and it does not live up to the well-made metal earpieces…which come in a single colour: a loud green known from inside public swimming pools. For the case you dropped them in one, there is no chance in hell to ever find them again. According to the company’s propaganda, the shells are made of a zinc-alloy and the golden stuff you see is actually 24K gold.
You may find shape and colour awful, HOWEVER, the shells are ergonomically excellent: they fit me well and were therefore comfortable over longer periods…and I find them easily in my dark backpack. I am ashamed to admit it: I like the colour. Isolation is not that great for my ears, though.
TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
Follow these links for some background information:
My tonal preference and testing practice
EQUIPMENT USED: iPhone SE (1st generation) and MacBook Air with EarMen Sparrow dac/amp; stock/pure copper/silver-plated balanced cable (none worth more than $12)…Azla SednaEarfit long-stemmed wide bore silicone tips…as the included tips were too small for my ears.
First, a word on assessing single-dynamic drivers. It is obvious that single DDs sacrifice detail resolution for organic timbre, sonic cohesion, and low harmonic distortion. Multi-hybrids hosting a group of drivers are bigger and heavier in comparison, and they offer better technicalities. Single DDs are typically smaller and more comfortable. Depending on how you look at it/what criteria are subjectively applied, some prefer one and some the other. On average, I see single DDs rated lower than multis. I am more an organic timbre/cohesion guy as I look more at the overall appeal to my ears than the nitty-gritty details.
OK, the graph is nothing to write home about. But it is not always about the graphs as they give you information on quantity but not on quality of sound. This Blon BL-05s has a moderate sounding upper midrange: no shoutiness. It has a speedy driver and it offers a very coherent, organic, smooth yet lively and very appealing overall sound. And that could be it in terms of sound description. Now take the comfortable fit, forget about the colour, and run to the next online store…ok, one step back: why is it appealing despite its technical mediocrity?
The low-end perception may be strongly influenced by the eartips used. With the Azla SednaEarfit the low end very well extended, very tastefully dosed, well controlled, and not boomy or rubbery. It is fast but not the most layered low end…however the speed holds up well down to the lowest octaves. The punch from below is pleasant and very appealing to my ears.
The vocals/low midrange are a bit recessed – surprise, surprise – but the voices are relatively full and rich – and realistic – because of a well behaved upper midrange and the good driver quality – without being congested or muffled. A great treat after so many agressive Chi-Fi midranges tested.
Moving up, cymbals come across as realistic. Nothing splashy up there, everything well behaved with a mild sheen. Decay of the high notes is as natural as expected – and they resolve well. The treble adds that decent sparkle to the mix.
Soundstage is expansive, wider than deep – and tall. Tall soundstages with much headroom in budget earphones are rare. Resolution, layering, and separation between voices and instruments are actually quite good and probably not any worse than in some $150-200 single DDs. Note definition is sharp across the board and there is no significant smudging. The Blon BL-05s are one of these earphones where no particular detail is fantastic but they all combined yield an enduring, pleasant listening experience independent of price.
Soundstage and headroom open substantially up in all directions when driving the Blon BL-05s with the $199 Earmen Sparrow dac/amp’s balanced output (and that lone $10 balanced cable I own). It is truly amazing what open soundscapes this combination produces. One could say the Blon BL-05s react well to amping.
Timbre is organic as we have known from the original Blon BL-03, but packaged in a more compact, cohesive sound. This cohesion, together with the fit, makes this earphone attractive to me.
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?
I would offer the Blon BL-05s in a variety of colours. This squeaky green is not to everybody’s gusto. I would also include better cable and eartips, even if this upped the price by $5 to $10.
BlON BL-05S COMPARED
You find reviews of all of these single-dynamic-driver iems mentioned below here.
The $109 Moondrop Starfield has a less homogenous sound, particularly the transition from the warm low end and the neutral lower midrange could be smoother…and the treble rolls off a bit early towards the top. The Blon BL-05s is sparklier in the treble and has better bass control and imaging. The $79 KBEAR Diamond is similarly homogenous sounding as the Blon BL-05s, but the midrange is more recessed, which was actually a main point of criticism. The $79 Tin Hifi T4 has a thinner, aggressive midrange and does not offer the BL-05s’ cohesion…and the $60 Tin Hifi T2 Plus lacks the Blon Bl-05s’s dynamics and punch but may be a better choice for the realistic reproduction of classical music (punch may be enjoyable but is not necessarily realistic). The $40 Moondrop SSR is much brighter and more neutral sounding than the Blon BL-05s, which offers great transparency enjoyable at low to medium volumes but it can be painful when played loud; its brightness has been the subject of controversy in forums.
The older sibling Blon BL-03 ($40) graphs very similarly as the Blon BL-05s, but is has a looser bass. While it beats the Blon BL-05s optically, its shorter nozzles generate a fit problematic for many. The BL-05s’ upper-mids are not as smooth sounding as the BL-03’s, but they make up for it with crisper and more agile treble. Finally, although the graphs between the original Blon BL-05 and the Blon BL-05s may not be monumentally different, they are so in a sensitive part of the range: from the midrange trough of the original Blon BL-05 (600 Hz) to the ~2k peak is about 12dB, whereas on the Blon BL-05s it is about 9dB. These differences are therefore perceived as significant. Of all the three Blon models, the BL-05s has the best bass control and the best imaging.
It is interesting to note that the sonic differences between the Blon models are significant although they graph very similarly. Note that all three Blons have different drivers and the Blon BL-05s’ is the fastest. This shows that quantity (graphs) and quality (sound; drivers) are generally not directly correlated.
In summary, I pick the Blon BL-05s out of all of the above single DD models.
I HAVE THE ORIGINAL BLON BL-03…SHOULD I?
Yes, the Blon BL-05s are smoother all around, they have a better driver, and they fit better. Be prudent and pull the trigger when the price is right. But should you, if you already have the Blon BL-05? Quite frankly, I don’t know as I pretty much avoided the BL-05. Just ask the guys in our Facebook Discussion Group: thttps://www.facebook.com/groups/audioreviews/
UPDATE: I did a quick comparison between the Blon BL-05 and Blon BL-05s: they sound completely different owing to their different drivers. In comparison, the original BL-05 sound slow and plump and the BL-05s sound swift and relaxed. Same housings, similar graphs but different sound. To me, the original Blon BL-05 are a redundant model that should have never been released.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Blon BL-05s is an agreeable, compact, coherent sounding earphone that has provided me with much pleasure so far. It is cheap, green, and many may find it ugly – others may find it refreshingly different. It fits well, and I feel myself reaching for it over and over again. As I tend to say “the best earphone is the one you use”, and I use this one a lot. The only downside is that the cable and eartips are underwhelming and grabbing a $10 8-core pure copper/silver-plated copper cable adds to the price. Is it worth the upgrade? Yes it is darn well. After some teething with the original BL-05, the BL-05s is a worthy successor to the BL-03 in terms of both sound and ergonomics.
The Blon BL-05s go on my [unpublished] Best-Of-2020 list. They join the only other one on there so far, the $199 Shozy Form 1.4.
Until next time…keep on listening!
DISCLAIMER
The review unit as well as another four pairs of betas as well as the BL-05 were provided unsolicited by Wooeasy Earphones Store. Larry Fulton and I had been involved in the tuning. We did not receive any compensation for our input and – as always – do not receive any revenue through the purchase links.
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