BLON BL-30 $110 70mm driver headphone

You can see a strong distinction between L/R here at 2kHz with diy pads. Maybe the HD414 inserts weren't symmetrically seated, or I dont know. Nothing is taped down, just threw it together. I am going to try with no HD414 inserts, then TTVJ deluxe inserts. I have micropore tape to play with too.



*L1, truck may have been driving by.

 

TTVJ didnt fit inside. Havent measured no inserts either since I listened and thought they were too bright.

2kHz dip is a null from earpad inner circle reflections. Explains why flats like HD414 and TTVJ deluxe dont show dip. Theory based on Tyll’s theory about Grado taped bowls.

Edit: Will test theory by changing shape of inner circle of blue foam pads. Maybe star shape. I dont know. Ears fatigued from mods. No upcoming updates for a little while then.

Edit2: Nah thats dumb. We wouldve seen more change then when I tried E-MU ovals. Still going to re-use blue foam but with purpose of using it as comfort support for TTVJ deluxe pads.

Edit3: TTVJdeluxe pads have too much bass. Switched to HD414 pads held in place with micropore tape and prefer. Tape doesnt completely cover edges of pads. Will do some trials with full tapes vs half vs none.

Edit4: Removed front grill out of curiosity. Its just three screws. Its actually not just grill but the baffle for driver. The driver appears to be just tightly pressed into place (no screws).

 

Modding is getting boring and going nowheres.





I have a few other Grado pads around house I could try. I don't particularly love the sound with Grado pads, but is more normal sounding (sorta) at the cost of comfort, brightness, and soundstage. Not a win. Reminds me of Grado Hemp intimacy (aka tiny soundstage), but doesn't sound as fast, vocals little less upfront (not preference but music dependent), more edgy (unlike stock pads which sound smooth but wrong), but the bass can go low and is more detailed. I could try a complete seal of micropore tape instead of approximately half, hopefully not as bassy as ttvj deluxe but then the treble will still probably be peeking up. Will try those last Grado pads around house then call it a day. Comfort is seriously lacking - I just need to bend headband more. Losing energy for modding these.

 

The driver rear vent filter is just a little paper sticker that is easy to remove. Cannot tell if its permeable at all.

This measurement was taken with another custom simple flat pad experiment. The before/after measurements were done without moving the pads or altering amp settings - simply peeled off sticker and clicked measure again.



Edit: FYI. I wouldnt recommend these headphones. More interesting than fun - like a t50rp. BL30 have not been modded to anything worthwhile. Plus the comfort issues are another level of disappointment. Did massdrop even trial these? I have an extra headband Im going to switch out with stock, otherwise Id not bother modding at all since its so uncomfortable to wear. I have had little pleasure listening to these the past few days. Only pleasure from thinking about hitting gold with just a little modding. Oh well

 

Another review here.

Popped off that plastic circle out of driver vent. Not too much force needed. Just take off sticker in center then pry off rest with screwdriver. I felt like I hit the driver both times but cant see any damage. The dome is light and moves just from blowing on it. Measurements in a bit. If it has the same affect but greater as removing sticker, reversing 2kHz dip, then we might have something! Unfortunately I dont have stock pads anymore. Going to see if I can find some.

 

Not listened yet. Currently, flats are TTVJdeluxe mixed with support foam for comfort. The 2kHz added by removing just driver vent sticker helped bring vocals more forward. This after measurements reminds me of removing driver vent filter from 6XX: more bass. And the 2kHz peak with flats remind me of Grado: 2kHz peak is not a problem.



Listened: Sounds normal now. Up front sound like Grado. Flat pads are going to do that. But with vent plug gone the bass sounds not slow and the 1-2kHz bump bring vocals more to the front. Bass is huge. Though the soundstage is compressed from flats - It still sounds pretty layered. I think stock pads will probably sound good now. I got a kind person on HF sending me theirs for shipping cost. Comfort still trash, flats dont help. Linsoul rep said they gave feedback to Blon and are working on it.

 

Linsoul replied to my BL30 review on their site.

>> Linsoul replied:
Hi Phil,
Thank you for your getting back and we are so sorry for this.
According to BLON, for those who have the headband issue, they will be sending them the spare parts to fix it. They will also be creating a tutorial to guide the customers on how to fix the problem. We hope BLON can update the details to us soon.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know.
Have a nice day.

——————————————

BL30 now show as sold out on Linsoul. Probably updating current stock. Good

Anyone know how to reverse polarity via software? Maybe BL30 could benefit. I’ll look for how-to.

Stock pads from @AJZ0 should have arrived today. Will share measurements tomorrow morning with stock pads and driver vent plug removed.

 

Issues first.: Headband sucks and requires lots of bending to get earpads to sit flush. Even so, still uncomfortable. With the headband bended all crazy the earpads do not rest naturally, so depending on your headband bending skills, the pads / drivers could be oddly positioned to ear. Something to consider when looking at measurements since same could be happening with EARS and may not be in optimal or atleast natural position. Another problem is that when I was modding I added a protective filter in front of driver out of thin light density foam, so could be reducing treble some so I'll remove and do another round of measurements later.

BL30 is smooth, too smooth in presence region, a little u-shaped. Nice supplementary to 6XXm. I feel both are limited though and would not have either as my sole headphone. BL30 less natural sounding but supremely more fun when bass is involved.






Edit: needs more modding
Edit more specific: Too warm sounding. The extreme warm weighty sound is fun for awhile but Im now over it. Waiting for a new headband before returning to modding because its torture. 6XX(m) provides relief.

Edit 01/22/21: Linsoul rep claimed available redesigned headband replacements and to e-mail support. I e-mailed with order# then was told to send a selfie while wearing headphones. I declined and they responded that it’s required to process replacement. I said no again.

 

Pads from the Q701 sound really good IMHO. I was following all the steps that @Philimon took and also added a 3mm felt to the back grill and 1mm felt on the internal metal walls. That seemed to tighten it up. Also a 3mm felt disk in front of the driver. Still playing with it but I'm really liking the progress. This headband is a joke. I picked up a few headband options which are on their way. More to come! Don't loose hope on these 70mm drivers!!

 

Made some headphone pads out of felt and put 3mm of felt over the port hole on the back of the driver (plug removed). Here is a comparison against my Sundara.

 

Took some measurements with a few pads I had laying around. This is with the plug removed and a few small pieces of sticky felt spread out around the inside of the driver port. Boy was I wrong about the Q701 pads... If I've learned anything from taking measurements it is that I can convince myself of anything.

 

3mm felt over all those little holes on the back of the driver seems to increase the sound in the range of 1.5k - 5k

 

4XX headband does fit but you’ll have to source longer M2 screws or combine with some stand off screws like I did here.

 

@purr1n ’s measurements.



I am listening to the open vent / driver port mod and BL30 sounds nice! Soundstage is big with big images. Bass is present but not as powerful as expected of 70mm, a little soft at low volumes, possibly because mod underdamps and Im listening from iphone, still good. I think the Sony MDR MA900 is 70 or 80mm and I remember that lacking snap/speed/dynamics in bass, BL30 is normal in comparison. Mids and trebles detailed and clean.

Further mods I hope will turn these into great headphones for cheap. Stock pads are velour with wide ear holes which probably contribute to the big soundstage. Id trade that for a more even frequency response (upper mids dip and 1kHz bump might be bothersome). Going to try damping then padrolling.

Warning! Stock headband is an abomination. Stock driver sounds off without driver port mod.

 

ETA is getting some N52 versions of these drivers in both 32 and 300 ohms for use in an open-ish baffle earspeaker... And beyond. With those customizations these drivers come at quite a premium - each pair of drivers will be more expensive than the completed BLON build. BLON must be working some high order quantity discount rates or something. Anyway, looking forward to exploring how flexible these drivers are to design and modding tweaks. As always once we have a spare prototype we'll send it on tour.

 

@E_Schaaf . Open baffle headphones would be a seriously interesting addition to the ETA lineup. All of your headphones are nearly open baffle already. But a completely open and suspended driver would be really cool.

I said these could be cheap and good modded but I had to part a 4XX, and still have to find better pads. And the metal driver baffle is heavy (for better and worse). Then there is the trouble of doing mods and the headband switch. Just removing the driver port plug is risky because you can accidentally tear through the driver membrane with an unfortunate slip.

 

^ As seen in photo. No grill, no driver port plug, stock pads.

Listening from Vali2 instead from iphone does improve bass, less soft. Peak up top but not piercing, maybe a little fatiguing after extended sessions. The upper mids dip make these sound relaxed (then combine with not so hard hitting bass). Cymbals are odd or blurry (upper mids and highs wonkiness). Vocals not recessed. Guitar doesnt sound too weak though, probably helped by that 5kHz peak. Detail in mids is good, aided by the big images from soundstage.

The stock pads are foam+fabric so will be interesting to see how something less leaky will effect the sound. Pad recommendations? I'm going to play with damping in meantime.

@E_Schaaf Stronger magnets with this big driver should be very interesting. Do you know what magnet strength the BL30 might be?

Warning! The comfort even with 4XX headband is merely acceptable. The baffle is oversized and heavy. Pads with more surface area should help.

 

Subjectively, hard to say if there is tighter or more impactful bass. So, probably not a huge difference. My memory is weak. Need notes or A/B. Still a little much of a bright peak for me. Bass not bad at all. Just want to see if can be improved. Padrolling later.

With measurements I can usually see indicators of optimal damping by bass behavior. If bass roll off starts to occur earlier then we’ve overdamped. These headphones go below 20Hz on graph so I cant see whats happening.


^ removed grill nameplate, added 1x 2lb 1/4" open foam and craft felt

 

^ mod5 = mod3 and 3 more layers of felt

Mod5 is less u-shaped and bass is less soft. Trying micropore next.