So after some research and looking at what was easily available for me where I live, I decided to get a pair of Blessing 2 as a replacement/upgrade for my old Shure E425, which were my first and only IEMs.
I didnāt know what to expect of that sound signature at all, but since my other listening device is the sony wh-1000xm4, where I have to EQ some bass out to make them sound more reasonable, I wanted to try something more neutral (but not as low-bass as the Shure).
After listening to them for a few hours, I gotta say theyāre not exactly what I expected, for worse but also for better.
First of all, I was a bit worried about the fit before ordering. In the end, while theyāre not perfectly comfortable, I can listen to them for a few hours in a row without particular issues. Guess I have big ears after allā¦
Second, what I like and donāt like to listen to on them is only partly what I expected. I thought it might make sense to share it here, as a landmark āToday I Learnedā in my earphone journey.
I (probably naively) thought that a neutral-ish signature like that would work well for pop/folk/classical, everything with clear voices, especially female, and perhaps less well for stuff like metal and jazz. Turns out I was right about classical and jazz, and wrong about everything else.
The bad
I apologise that I might not have the vocabulary to express my impressions - feel free to correct me. But the B2 sounds very⦠crisp and a bit dry to me, rather than just clear.
On intimate female vocals and acoustic guitar sort of folk, like Joni Mitchellās Blue, the lack of warmth completely kills the album for me. Itās all too thin and sparse. I couldnāt feel the emotion in Joniās singing, and the guitar sounded cold and tinny. Likewise, Dinah Washingtonās This Bitter Earth sounds too crisp and cold.
The average
More surprisingly, pop songs were a mixed bag. Tame Impalaās Let it Happen works nicely: the bass comes through well, with a satisfying thump, and the voice is beautiful. OK enough on Revolver, especially on Mc Cartneyās voice, although the instruments around it are a bit tinny. But not particularly engaging on Fleetwood Macās Rumours: not bad, exactly, just⦠not very fun.
The good
So after being slightly disappointed in the folk/pop range, I went onto Massive Attack, and there it started to all work a bit better for me. On Unfinished Sympathy, the added detail made the different instrument lines stand out more clearly, which gave the song added depth and interest. The extra edge on the voice also made it sound more⦠raw, something that fits the entire Blue Lines sound quite well IMO.
Emboldened, I moved to classical music, specifically Ian Bostridgeās Winterreise. Halfway into the first lied, I started tearing up. It all suddenly clicked and the magic⦠just happened. The B2 did amazingly with the dynamics of the piano accompaniment and Bostridgeās voice. I feel that I discovered something new about this cycle, and thatās despite listening to it a lot and seeing it sung on stage twice.
The unexpectedly friggin amazing
And then, enter classic metal. I really donāt like either the Shure or the Sony for my metal library. The former eviscerates the bass lines, the latter muddies everything. Well, it turns out that the Blessing 2 is pretty great!
On Burningā for You, the bass line is punchy, the voice cuts through nicely but not harshly, and itās just a massively entertaining experience. Same verdict on Killing Yourself to Live: the bassās clarity is as close to jamming with friends as Iāve ever heard on head/earphones. The voice is full of energy. Itās all just fun. I threw my favourite Maiden anthem (Revelations) at the B2, and they did amazing as well, both on the long instrumental parts and on Dickinsonās voice.
I might just have found my favourite way to listen to metal to date⦠and I wasnāt expecting that at all.
Conclusion
So then, it hit me. Bear in mind that Iām an IEM noob⦠But I figured out that the music that I prefer on the B2 is more technical music. Anything where emotion comes from the clarity of instruments and notes, from separation and complex layers. Conversely, I intensely dislike it on anything more intimate and visceral, smaller and simpler, where the emotion comes from a more direct, less intellectual engagement with the song.
I also prefer it overall on male voices rather than female ones⦠so I suppose there must something there in the treble that I donāt enjoy (but damned if I know what.)
Iād be really curious to hear if any of you guys have a similar experience of these to mine. Does my reaction to the B2 come from a lack of experience with IEMs in general? Or does it track with your own impressions?
Also if you have any complementary recs, Iāll take them: I really like these earphones, but Iām going to need to find something else to cover the half of my library that they donāt work for.