Does anyone have experience in both of these and could speak about the difference?
Personally I have the Tin T2 and Tin T4, and having got the former earlier and liking the laid-back sound signature, I jumped on people’s recommendation and got the T4 when it was on sale on Drop. However, I was a bit disappointed by the T4’s performance; yes, the treble is cleaner and the bass a bit more prominent than the T2, but the level of increment just wasn’t worth double the price.
Reading some reviews online gives me the impression that the Blon BL05s can compete with the T4, but no one has really written anything on this. I’m keen on getting the BL05s but I don’t want to make the same mistake as I did with the T4 thinking it would be an audible upgrade from the T2.
Btw, I haven’t seen anyone post Zeos’ review of the BL05s here, so I’ll share it here:
I recently bought the blons but still waiting on them. Don’t have experience with the t2/t4 but I would think that the difference is so marginally small on technical performance and just in soundsig. Which is pure preference that differs from person to person. Trying them is the only way I assume but then again… If your happy with the t4 just be happy with them and don’t give in to hoarding… made that mistake more than I like to admit on headphones.
The oldest term in the audiophile world: Diminishing returns.
To be honest, select Chifi IEMs are absolutely fantastic. That’s why the T2 and Blon 03 are like “this is all you need” for many people. Regardless of the price, they are fantastic and it can be hard to justify spending more. When you do spend more… what you get is more detail and small changes in that particular sound signature.
If you want a proper upgrade from the below $100 section, I think you need to start looking into the $200-300 range. But that jump makes you question if it’s worth it for a touch more detail.
Thanks for the tips on how to choose the range of headphones, now it’s clearer to me that price difference doesn’t really translate that much to the sound difference. That said, I enjoy scavenging sub $100 IEMs that produce the most surprising value-to-price results. I might still end up getting the BL05s to see if there’s a difference; at least there’s an option for a mic that the Tins’ MMCX doesn’t have.
OK, so eventually I got the Blon BL05s and did a comparison test with the Tin T4.
Both I’ve swapped the silicon tips for foam tips and both tested with FiiO K3 plugged to my laptop.
Short answer: Blon BL05s hands down beat the Tin T4.
But this isn’t saying that the Tin T4 should be shelved; the two sound signatures are good for different approaches. I’ll compare as follows point by point.
Blon BL05s:
Exciting
Clarity ++ (With Exmag - Somethin’ About Your Love)
Treble cleaner
Vocal intimacy ++ (tingling ASMR feeling with LiSA×Uru - 再会)
Slightly more balanced across all ranges
Separation ++ (Haywyre - Memory 1:24-2:28)
Imaging & sound stage the same
Easier to drive
Tin T4:
Relaxed
A tad muffled compared to BL05s
Treble laid-back
Vocal not as pronounced, a bit recessed
Punchier bass due to the recess of other ranges
A bit muddled
Imaging & sound stage the same
Less than half a click more to drive than BL05s
While I may prefer the BL05s over the T4 for the excitement, I would see myself enjoying the T4 for relaxation or background music. So the key is the BL05s being the IEM for FUN and the T4 for SOOTHENESS.
This is my first BLON, and while people have said things about their stock cable, I find this cable fitting perfect for me and pin straight out of the box. No complaints here.
EDIT: One reminder about the ear tips though, smaller size tips don’t work, the BL05s performs best with completely sealed off ear canals, so larger size ear tips are preferred to bring out the most of this IEM.
Hope this helps!
Tracks for testing:
Exmag - Somethin’ About Your Love
LiSA×Uru - 再会 (produced by Ayase) / THE FIRST TAKE
Interesting that you’d ask, but the path I’ve taken is not an easy way to tread…
I have 64 Audio U12t and UM MEST as my endgame at the moment hahaha
But both your pick is solid, both is an upgrade, Olina more than S12.
However, if you really want to scale the ladder, I’d suggest going for the Xenns Mangird Tea 2 so that you’d get a good taste of what an entry level TOTL sounds like.
