BLON BL-03 In Ear Headphone Review

Specs

• Driver type : 10mm Dynamic driver
• Frequency response : 20 – 20kHz
• Impedance : 32-ohm
• Sensitivity : 102 dB
• Weight : 7g per ear-piece / 26g total incl. cable

Design

The surprising thing about the BL-03 is that the individual earpieces actually look and feel rather premium. Or, at least more so than what the price-tag might suggest. There are two colour variants, namely silver and brown, and the one we are taking a look at is the brown version. In reality, it looks like more of a gun-metal type of colour, and is very reminiscent of the zinc-alloy construction of the Pinnacle P1 from MEE Audio. However, unlike the Pinnacle P1, the BL-03 has a polished finish.Seeing as it has such a highly-polished finish, this does mean that it’s very susceptible to fingerprints and scratches from daily wear and tear. The only thing which makes these housings look less premium is the rather prominent seam which joins the main housing with the part which has the nozzle. As for the connector, here we have the popular 2-pin variety, and the plastic connector which houses the pins has been formed to match up with the shape of the IEM housing. Again, this is another little detail which makes it look a bit more premium. The housings have a little bit of weight to them, and they tip the scales at around 7g each.

Overall, I think the look and feel of the product is great, especially at this price-point. Unfortunately, this is where the positives of the design ends for me, which means that I have to agree with the consensus on what is the biggest flaw about this product, and the only thing stopping it from being absolutely great. I am, of course, talking about the fit.

The design itself is really comfortable, as there are no sharp edges or anything like that, but it’s just not ergonomic at all, and this really did hinder me from just sitting back and listening to music. Like many other affordable IEMs, it’s designed in such a way that prevents the nozzle from getting a proper insertion into the ear canal. As a result, these have a very shallow insertion depth, and so picking the right eartips is crucial. Most of the time I don’t like foam tips, but in the case of the BL-03 I had no choice in the matter, because it was only foam tips which gave me the correct seal. And even then, I had to pop them in my ears, wait a little for them to expand, and then sit very still. If I moved my head in a manner which pulled on the cable, the seal would break and I’d have to start all over again.
Of course, this is super annoying, but what is perhaps a bit more annoying is that you don’t get any foam eartips included in the packaging, so I just used some that were included with a different pair of IEMs.

Sound

When it comes to the sound character of the BLON, spoiler alert…I like them…A LOT. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at how these measure.
The BL-03 comes with two different types of silicone eartips, and each does alter the sound signature to a very minor degree. What we have here is generally a bass dominant signature which is then balanced reasonably-well with a peak in the upper treble. Overall this results in a mild v-shaped signature with a seemingly warm tonality. Where this type of signature really shines is that it makes music sound more organic and forgiving than what a colder and more “analytical” signature would. However, when you listen to music which has a very distinct and prominent bass line, perhaps something from Billie Eilish, then it becomes rather obvious that the BLON’s bass can get a little in the way. 
Spinfit are a very popular pair of aftermarket tips, and as we can see from the graph, these do have a noticeable effect on the response graph. Practically the entire range above 100Hz is more elevated, making the mids and lower treble more in balance with the bass. However, it does also introduce some higher peaks in the upper treble, which results in a seemingly more v-shaped signature. On some tracks this peak can make certain instruments seem to sound more detailed, but if a track has been produced properly then it can often go over into sibilance. I found this particularly true on tracks such as Daft Punk’s Fragments Of Time, where those cymbals just sound a bit too forced and artificial, meaning that you lose details such as the shimmer. Likewise, Homemade Dynamite from Lorde also tends to reveal problematic peaks in the treble. 

Then there are my favourite silicon tips – the JVC Spiral Dots. These affect the signature in a similar fashion to the Spinfits, but instead of raising the signature beyond 100Hz, this time almost everything gets lowered. This creates a noticeably smoother signature, but one which is also appreciably warmer and more bloated. Unfortunately, even though I tend to prefer the Spiral Dot tips for comfort, the design of the BLON means that not even these tips worked for me.
OK, finally, we get to the foam tips. As mentioned, to get the most secure fit I had to resort to using foam tips. Some people, however, will have no problem with various silicon tips but for those who do struggle with any of the silicon tips, foam tips are a godsend. This was especially true in my case because I also found foam tips to give me the most enjoyable sound signature from the BL-03.To some extent, these tips also affect the signature in a similar manner to what the Spinfit tips do between 100Hz and 1kHz, but then, after 2kHz, the changes aren’t quite as drastic, and it totally avoids creating that accentuated peak in the upper treble. Of all the tips used, these gave me what seemed to be the most balanced signature.
Generally, I don’t like foam tips, simply because the extra step of having to roll them up and then quickly get them into your ear, and then having to hold them in place until the foam expands….it’s just not convenient. However, in the case of the Bl-03, I’d say that this is an extremely minor inconvenience when I consider what a saving grace these tips are, because without them I just couldn’t get comfortable enough to really enjoy the music.

The fact is, my opinion of what these IEMs sound like is something you’ve heard a gazillion times before. There’s a reason why these underwent just an insane amount of hype, and the bottom line is that they sound really, really good. Forget about the specific price-point, the BLON sounds good at practically any price-point. I’ve heard IEMs which cost up to 10 times as much, which simply could not even begin to hope to sound as good as these do.  

But, I have to admit that what I am about to say is something which will only add to the hype. The most surprising and most enjoyable part of this review was when I compared the BL-03 to the ER2XR. To my surprise, they share some very interesting similarities. As you might be aware, the ER2XR and ER2SE are my current benchmarks. The XR offers a warmer and more bassy signature, whereas the SE has the more neutral and technically accurate signature. It’s what I use to judge all other IEMs against. So, believe me when I say that the mere fact the BL-03 shares some stark similarities to the XR is a massive compliment.
In fact, I would comfortably go so far as to say that, to me at least, the BL-03 simply sounds like a warmer, slightly more v-shaped and less refined version of the ER2XR. When swapping between them, the XR gave a clearer and more linear and natural-sounding signature. Another thing I picked up on was that the bass on the BL-03 seemed a bit loose, whereas the XR exhibited more control in this region.
It really is impressive to hear what the BL-03 can do when being compared side-by-side to something like the ER2XR. Do I think the XR is worth around three times the price of the BL-03? Well, yes, simply because you’re getting an improvement in all areas.
So, I guess what we can take away from this review, or rather this specific comparison, is that if you perhaps already have the BL-03 and you are wondering what would be a reasonably affordable upgrade to it, then the ER2XR would fill that requirement perfectly.

Value

So, at a price of around  $40, the BL-03 is an exceptionally good-sounding pair of IEMs. No, it’s not perfect as it does have a few flaws in the signature here and there, and it is rather annoying to have to resort to using a pair of foam tips in order for these IEMs to be usable (at least in my case). But, for the price I really do not expect anything more. The fact is, as far as I am concerned anyways, these IEMs absolutely do deserve every last bit of hype they got.
In terms of sound quality they honestly do obliterate many IEMs out there that cost way more. But sound quality isn’t everything, and because of that extremely finicky fit, it does have a slight impact on the overall value of the BL-03.
At the end of the day, if you can’t get it to sit properly in your ear, then you just aren’t going to get the full sound that these are capable of producing. If the company had spent just a bit more time on the housing, even if it resulted in a $10 or $20 increase in the price, these would’ve been even more popular. As mentioned, the most secure fit and best signature I could get was with a pair of foam tips. This isn’t exactly an expensive little add-on to get, so it would’ve been great if we at least got such a pair in the box. But, whatever, it is what it is. The fact remains that the BL-03 is capable of producing a very pleasing sound signature, and despite the fact that I needed to use foam tips, I still highly recommend these IEMs for the sheer amount of bang-for-buck value it brings to the table.