BLON BL-Max Review: Deja Vu

Pros:

• Good price to performance ratio
• Warm and smooth tonality

Cons:

• Bass bleed
• Proprietary 2 pin design
• Stiff cable
• Fit is not for everyone
• Shell prone to scratches

Introduction:

BLON is a company from China that produces in-ear monitors and headphones. They were popularized years ago by their BL-03 through its impressive price to performance ratio. Since then, BLON released the BL-01, BL-05, and now we have the BL-Max; the third release in their BL series of IEMs. The BL-Max currently retails for 37 USD, and was provided to me for free by KeepHIFI in exchange for this review.

International purchase link

Specifications:

Driver units: 10 mm dynamic, carbon diaphragm + 6 mm dynamic, composite diaphragm

Impedance: 32 ohm

Sensitivity: 115 dB

Frequency response range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz

Source:

Poco X3 paired with FiiO KA3, iBasso DC03, Shanling UA1, Tempotec Sonata E35 and Zishan U1

Test tracks:

Africano - Earth Wind and Fire

Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Gurenge - Lisa

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Monsters - All Time Low

Ours - Taylor Swift

Stay - Mayday Parade

Snuff - Slipknot

Yesterday Once More - Carpenters

So Slow - Freestyle

Aurora Sunrise - Franco

Attention - Pentatonix

Blue Bird - Ikimono-gakari

You're Still The One - Shania Twain

Anyone Who Knows What Love Is(Will Understand) - Irma Thomas

Salamin - Slapshock

AOV - Slipknot

Hey Jude - The Beatles

The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson

...and a lot more.

Unboxing and Accessories:

The BL-Max come in a pretty basic white rectangular box. Removing the lid will reveal the earphones resting on a thin piece of plastic, and below it is another box. It contains the cable, instruction manual, 5 pairs of silicone eartips, and a drawstring pouch.

Build:

The shells are made of zinc alloy that has a smooth, glossy, and mirror finish. The shape of the shell uncommon and I can't think of another IEM that has a similar shape to this. The faceplates are fairly plain, with only a small WGZBLON branding and an L and R sides indicator. At the rear part of the shell there is a single vent that is quite big. The nozzles are average in size and length, have a lip to hold eartips in place, and a recessed metal mesh filter.

The cable is a basic silver plated copper. The cable on each channel is soft and pliable, but it becomes stiff at the main cable, primarily due to its thick insulation. The angled male 2 pin connectors are made of hard rubber, while the splitter and 3.5 mm gold plated plug are made of metal.

Now let's get to the sound.

Lows:

The lows are definitely the main focus of the BL-Max. Both subbass and midbass are upfront. Subbass depth is above average and reaches really deep, accompanied by a slow decay. Midbass is a bit soft sounding but has an added body and weight.

Overall, the lows of the BL-Max should be more than enough to meet the needs of most bassheads. But then again, like many other IEMs with this type of tuning, the lows will occasionally bleed into the other frequencies.

Mids:

The mids are positioned closer to the center. Lower mids have a slight bump, causing the vocals to sound unmistakably thicker than normal. The definition of instruments in this section is mediocre, as well as the clarity of the voices especially female ones.

Overall, the said bump in the lower mids, partnered by the strong bass bleed results in a somewhat blurry presentation of the mids.

Highs:

The highs are slightly pushed to the back. The reach in the treble is slightly above average with good presence, but the decay is on the quick side. The details and subtleties in this section can sometimes have a hard time presenting itself due to the elevation in the low frequencies.

Overall, the highs loses definition and texture when the lows start to drown it. But the good thing about it is that it's a safe tuning for treble sensitive people.

Soundstage and Imaging:

The stage has a below average expansion, with the intimate mids making it seem more narrow. The height expands further than the width. Imaging is sufficiently clear, but can definitely be improved by toning the lows down a bit. Instrument separation and layering is adequate, with some occasional hints of congestion.

Conclusion:

When the BL-03 gained popularity, a lot of people were complaining about its fit due its shape and short stem, and also the potential of the bass to bleed into the neighboring frequencies. With the BL-Max being released years after it, BLON didn't seem to solve those two major problems. Yes, they added another dynamic driver in the setup, but the tonality stayed the same. And while I don't have any problems getting a good seal, the shape of the shell has one of the more uncomfortable feeling when worn amongst all IEMs that I tried.