Amidst all the hype that has been going on surrounding the BLON brand and how it’s current golden goose, the BL-03 is continually pouring in the funds for the brands next project, one of BLONs products is lurking and toiling in its shadows and I’m lucky enough to be able to shed some light onto it.

Lucky LZ sent in the BL-01 in exchange for an honest take on it and no monetary factors were involved. The BLOB BL-01 is priced at $15 and you can check out their Lucky LZ AliExpress storefront for more of the products that they carry.

The BL-01 is spec’d out with an 11mm single dynamic driver, 20Hz to 20kHz Frequency Response, 32 Ohm Impedance and a 108dB Sensitivity. The BL-01 dreams to be able to even taste the success its sibling, BL-03 currently have, maybe not in the overall sound department but at least on its fame aspect, driams hopefully do come true.

Packaging and Build Quality

The BL-01 came in a standard white cardboard box with the BL-01 silhouette upfront and minor marketing details at the back. Inside the box is a white foam cut-out where the BL-01 rests along with a set of translucent gray silicone ear tips (S, M and L) and a product manual which isn’t much help if you can’t read Chinese. There are no other things included in the package, you’ve got the extra ear tips and that’s it, pretty much what one would expect off a $15 earphone.

With the packaging and accessory set being mediocre, we turn our attention to the build quality of the BL-01 to at least get a starting point for the good things it offers, or maybe not so good things. First off is the choice of color, BLON decided to stick to the shinier things in life and the BL-01 still comes in silver only with black accents for the stock cable and the mic controls.

The BL-01 is mainly made up of zinc alloy and has a mirror finish, it gets cool to the skin when left on your desk with your AC turned on and makes it a nice way to refresh your ear lobes. The 2 piece shell/nozzle and faceplate could either be glued or clasped together, I’ll place my bet on glue although there are no residues to be seen. Four horizontal vents are placed on upper portion on the faceplate and one on the shell where the L-R indicators in white print are also placed. The nozzle is not the longest but the presence of a nozzle lip makes it easy for ear tip rolling and the metal-looking showerhead mesh also makes it appear to be more than just your regular $15 IEM. The metal body of the IEM feels and looks premium but the rather weighty feel it has will take some getting used to as it might appear too heavy for new users.

The stock cable is all black and rubberized and doesn’t easily retain tangles so storage is easy. There are no official details on the stock cable specifications so we’d leave it at that. The 3.5mm gold-plated jack and the Y-split all came in the same metallic mirror finish as the IEMs themselves. Microphonic noise is observable and annoying at times as well. The mic controls features the usual 3-button layout (volume up/down, play/pause/drop/answer call) and voice quality is decent at best with the usual static noise being present but still enough to get a grip on words processed across the call.

Tonality and Isolation

First impressions, lasts. My first encounter with the BLON brand came in the form of a headphone, the BLON B8 and it was an admirable one. The BL-01 made its presence felt by offering an overall a relaxing warm sound signature. It isn’t a set that would wow or attempt in making a statement with its overall sound but one that would welcome you if you got bored with your other more resolving and accurate sounding set of IEMs. Isolation isn’t top-notch either with its inherent shape but the protruding sides of the shells helps in creating a passive noise cancelling effect and once again, the right ear tips is the key to achieving good isolation and seal for the BL-01. The BL-01 underwent the “recommended 200-hour burn-in” period using the included medium-sized translucent gray silicone ear tips. I used the Zishan DSD Pro as well for the duration of the realview outputting FLAC files which would be mentioned along the realview.

Lows

Anberlin’s Losing It All in 16/44 FLAC was used to test the BL-01s low-end and the instantaneous outcome came out that the sub-bass is pretty thick and not in any form, nimble. The mid-bass is thumpy and solid enough to render a lingering effect. The bass performance is largely rendered with more on creating a full-bodied effect than being about power and impact. A splattering of the low-end frequency is evident but not enough to create a mess and cloud other frequencies.

Midrange

Keeping things going for the midrange test was Elton John with his Can You Feel the Love Tonight in 16/44 FLAC. The lower midrange dose of the track was rendered full and compact. Vocals are smooth and is full-bodied, it isn’t the most articulate or detailed but still enough to deliver clarity and make the vocals being able to convey the intended emotion. Upper midrange is open and breathy and overall the midrange performance of the BL-01 is in my opinion its strongest aspect.

Highs

Black Eyed Peas joined in on the fun for the higher frequency tests with their Rock That Body track in 16/44 FLAC and the treble hits are then and there rendered snappy and clean. It doesn’t exhibit extension which is my personal preference but surprisingly, I didn’t crave it to appear on the BL-01 as it doesn’t feel lacking despite the clear absence of a treble kick.

Soundstage and Imaging

Despite having a shell and overall IEM body that doesn’t really give the best isolation and seal, the BL-01 still leans towards the intimate side of things for its soundstage, it’s a tricky situation here as the BL-01 is more like an earbud with an additional nozzle length to satisfy the IEM parameters. There is great left to right and right to left panning to be observed and imaging is done well too with instrument placement easily discernible, the layering though is a toned down a notch lower in terms of accuracy.

Conclusion

The BLON BL-01 is priced perfectly at $15 as it gives out great value for money for the build quality it has along with its premium-looking mirror finish. The IEMs weight might surprise some but there’s not a great set of silicon ear tips that couldn’t solve this issue. The BL-01 with its relaxing warm sound signature and a clean sounding treble and smooth midrange offers an audiophile sound at an average consumer’s pricing.