Sorry if this is the wrong place but wouldnt give me an option in the Headphones section to create one for this and I didnt see another I could piggy back off of
Just got my Blon B20 today and right out of the package…oh boy these definitely punch above their price range. $350 off mass drop but these could easily cost 500-600 and last you until youre ready to spend $1200. I want to compare them to my main set right now Beyerdynamic DT1990 both because of the sound and the price range. All comparisons done on a Topping DX3 Pro. Also I have not heard the Aivas so I dont have a comparison for those. My DT1990 are using the dakoni elite pads with heavy eq (which ill attach a picture further down)
Immediatly upon putting them on they are soo close to being the 1990 like maybe about 90-95% there. Without EQ, they are more pleasant than the 1990 but keeping the overall natural and detailed sound.
Bass- I usually am not a fan of planar bass and mids but these i put on and im like “these are planar?” because they def dont sound it but have the separation and the eveness of a planar. Bass is punchy and accurate and absolutely does not cross into the mids whatsoever. A good test of this is Evans Blue. Love their songs but when the instruments come in they tend to drown out the vocals and become a bit muddy but these separate very well. Increasing the sub and mid bass 2-3 khz helps with some songs but not incredibly important
Mids/Vocals- a little stepped back for me but overall clean. very airy. if I were to if i was at a concert and there were 10 rows in front of the stage, 10th row being hd800s 1st row being denon ahd7200’s, I would have to say these are probably 5th row with DT1990 being 3rd row (after eq). Changing this is fairly easy but bumping up 1 (maybe 2) db in the 1-2khz range. its a simple mind trick but it works for bringing the vocals forward just a tiny bit
Treble- not as pronounced as DT1990 but still there and again well separated. They arent what I end up focusing on but I can still hear them. They seem to have a bit of energy again in the 8khz range similar to 1990 but not nearly the same amount. A tiny -3db to 8khz helps bring that down for me and i wouldnt want to go any further than that.
Comfort- head band is very comfortable and easily adjustable. The frame is very lightweight with no uncomfortable clamp at all. pads are angled slightly to the back and bottom of the ear really fitting the shape of the ear area.
Overall- These are absolutely worth $350-$500. A massive upgrade from Sen 6xx/650. It gives a full complete sound like youre in a room with the band/singer without being too close or too far. Im going to let these burn in a bit but I think my main deciding factor is which (B20 or 1990) gives me a more natrual overall sound. If youre not planning to use eq or just not ready to go up to the $600 area, B20.
DT1990 Eq (I belive the original one had -3.5 or -4.5 to 8khz but S’s and T’s still bothered me most days so I lowered the crap out of it)
Thanks. Also diy heaven had a link to someone who makes passive filters for 1990, idk if they still do but looking into getting one for the 8k peak. Also works great on the es100 Bluetooth amp
I got the sendy aiva’s. i was considering buying the DT1990’s, i heard a lot of good stuff about them. They were about the same price at the time. Ive heard a lot of headphones but when i heard the Aiva’s i knew i had entered a new level. They sound so fantastic. and the more i listen to them the better they get! Especially with my music. I just ordered the Focal Elex but i must admit that i’m doubting they can be better.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews and i dont think the DT1990’s measure up. the Aiva’s are newer tech also, and spawned a bunch of copyists, and apparently the Blons B20’s are the same. I still have my Blons B20’s coming and i’ll compare them to the Aiva’s. I recently compared the Monoprice M570’s and was surprised to find them lacking. Unfortunate. Unless the Blon B20’s go back on sale they would be the best possible headphones you could get for 350$ And there’s a lot of headphones in that category. maybe even the best you can get for 500$ too!
In your opinion which are the best? Do you like the DT1990’s better than the Blons? I noticed that their price dropped to 480$. I really wish DMS or Joshua Valour would review these. I would love to see their comparisons. I guess they are another reason Zeos is the best. If it hadn’t been for him i would have never found them.
I would def be interested in a blon vs aiva comparison. other people have said theyre the same as aiva but Z says they have a slightly different tuning so Idk. I dont think id want the blon to be tilted more to the treble if thats the case and i think it sits fine the way it is.
I still have not decided honestly between the 2. In the best workds I can find, i think it comes down to do you want open and airy or a more focused sound. Also if youre using without EQ and you got them for the massdrop $350 its blon all the way. with eq becomes a different story. My 1990 havethe dakoni pads that sits between the analytical and balanced stock pads so its adding a little bass, comfort, and keeps the vocals closer. I ordered a passive filter from a guy thats supposed to add -7db reduction to the 8k peak so Ill probably wait for that to come in first.
I will likely keep the 1990 but im giving it some though, not a decision i have to make quickly as i know i wont get the blons for that price again any time soon
Stumbled across this post… did you receive your Elex and Blons? And perhaps even order the 1990s? Would really appreciate your first hand experience with all those, to include the Aivas. Thanks!
I haven’t heard the B20s, but I own the Elex and Aivas. I enjoy both quite a bit, and probably slightly prefer the Elex, but it’s more of a mood thing. I don’t think you can really go wrong with either. Both have great build quality, and the Aivas are probably a little more comfortable. I use the Aivas at work when not using iems
I’ve also recently acquired the elex and plan to do a review but been a bit sick and congested since Thanksgiving. I can say that have become my daily drivers over my denon 7200 and 1990. Blon b20 got sold. There’s an eq in using someone made that brings them very close to the harmonic curve and they are just so satisfying. Like speakers you can wear
Yeah the Elex just have a really pleasing way of presenting sound. Not bassy, but plenty of bass, and not sibiliant, but bright enough to be really detailed. I don’t use EQ on them at all. I really enjoy the stock tuning
I never got the DT1990 but I did get the blon b20 and the m570 and elex. but my m570 did not sound good and from what I hear from other people, especially Zeos review, I can only think that I got a defective pair. I sent them back and Monoprice accepted them easily. as for the blon B20 they sound just like the aivas but I can tell the aivas sound a little bit better.
I did also get the elex and I believe the elex sounds better than the aivas. it’s more balanced than the aivas, The aivas lack mid-range. So the elex is the best sounding headphones I’ve heard so far. so if you’re wondering which one to get depending on your budget I would go for the elex, the m570 would be the cheapest but unfortunately I’m not sure how good that is.
In zeos review he reviewed all three and he came to pretty much the same conclusion I came to, that they all sound like each other the blon b20 is a little bit better than m570 and the avias is a little bit better than the blon B20, but not by much. here’s his video:
It depends on the sound you actually want to go for. I think if you are really after alot of treble detail, the sendy is pretty nice, but I think the sundara is more refined sounding with a better signature and presentation for a larger genre of music. The elex are sweet and I think they are the next step up imo. There are other options as well, it just depends on what you are willing to spend and what sound you think you would prefer
I gave it 24 hours break in and gave it at least 10 hours listening. I believe in break in to an extent. But the treble kills me but the extra detail makes up for it and the mids have an odd resonanse that kill it for me and can’t seem to handle busy tracks because of it. And I like my treble I adore my 990 but the m570 is murder to me
For amp, the SP200 balanced and single ended. I haven’t had it that long, just a couple days. A while back I borrowed a friend’s so I can compare to the HF 580 to mod it. I wanted to reset and compare it with the M570 so one I’m “borrowing” as new though.
I do think that the M570 is really similar to the Aiva, so if the M570 is murder treble, I don’t think it’s going to change with an Aiva.
The 1990 I liked in certain use cases, but I didn’t care about it enough to pad swap. I see it more as a tool to emphasize certain aspects, that I don’t think I needed. I never missed it when I got rid of it.
The Elex is talked about for a reason. I do think this one is well rounded.
