BLON x HBB Z300 - Return of the Affordable Banger Driams
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Many thanks to HBB and Linsoul Audio for providing the Z300. Find more info here:
www.linsoul.com/collections/a...
Timecodes:
00:00 Intro and Close Up
01:44 Cable
02:34 Graph
03:38 Tossing my 03?
04:30 First Thoughts
05:00 TL;DR
05:40 Sound
06:49 Dark? Volume?
07:37 Bass
09:39 Mids
13:21 Treble
15:11 Stage - Hudba
Thanks for the review, appreciate the time and effort!
My Z300 will probably arrive two or three days later. I am quite excited hearing so many good reviews about it. Thanks. 😊
Great review as usual. I didn't go for a Z300 but your review has peaked my interest.
Im in love with this Iem, I have almost 20 budget iem's but this one got best synergy with my fiio k7 , cant stop to listen to all my music again. Vocals are so natural and present, bas clean but in same moment full of vibe and "meat", treble exactly like I want. For me even if is tuned different than bl-03 you can taste same blood quality. Great sound, body, and cable which should cost almost same like this set. Bravo Blon!
Thanks for saying that. I had to defend the Z300 this morning as a matter of fact. Not everyone likes a super clean, super lean, bright signature. HBB tends to tap into the rest of us and Z300 is a good example.
Volume is very important for bassy sets. You won’t hear vocals clearly without turning the volume up. People who uses the term 'muddy' too much usually listens at low volume.
Not at all. The 1More triple driver IEM (as an example) is muddy at all volumes. I know this because I own them and I listen to music very loud. So its not always the case
@@beegest_yoshi Its why I said "not always the case"
@@beegest_yoshi Yes and I don't need reminding lol It's a communication issue here because "not all all" is just an expression we use here in England, where English comes from.
@@TBMartin 1more triple driver iem is a bad one. It has no treble. You don’t hear any treble even with volume up. So it definitely sounds muddy. But I've seen many people complain about bassy iems like blon 03, mele etc being muddy. Most of them never turned the volume up to hear the details. Your perception of sound signature changes with volume (fletcher munson curve)
@@NewDarkKnight I think there must be something wrong with your ears because I own them sadly and they are muddy at every volume level and every power output you can try. Muddy can be caused by volume, lack of power going to the IEM/headphone or tuning. The 1MTD are muddy in the mids caused by bad tuning and there is nothing wrong with the treble, it's one of its main points.
Great Video Paul, your so lucky to have the oppty to listen to the OG set!
Catching up from the weekend, I did watch your video. For me, my Z300 playlist would be different than Cadenza. Sometimes I am in the HBB zone and that was Z300 for me but your take is better outside of the usual HBB genres.
These are fantastic at the price. I've had the blue ones for a couple weeks. Enjoy them so much I just ordered the gold also
I had wanted the blue originally, but not mad about the gold, I think I just had a mental aversion to gold but it looks great in person.
Looking like a very solid Blon since BL03 and BL01. Looking forward to PR2 review.
That is exactly what it is and everyone has been waiting a long time for it. PR2 is nice, tweaked to make it less planar sounding than PR1. Something easier to be your first planar but if you have PR1, more of a sidegrade or different flavor.
I don't find my qkz hbb to be dark at all... Tips, cables.. Finally found a use for my Fla, the tips.. Use on the hbb. Wide open sound. I use it a lot, I love the tone and timbre. This is interesting, if you listen to music from the Phil Spector era, for example, the ability to do the 'wall of sound' is important.
Thanks for the video , This z300 is on my list to buy, Maybe next month as I already blew my iem budget for this month 😊
Yep, never hurts to let them sit in the market for a while as more reviews and impressions will pop up. I think his collabs are always fun and eventually most have gone on sale later so that would be another reason to wait until 6/28 or whenever the next big sale period happens.
@@PaulWasabii Yup it never hurts to sit and wait ,l wouldn't be surprised if another IEM would come out and be hyped next month.
Hi Paul. One of the early bird owners of Z300 & newbie of the hobby here. Your review is truly great & spot on, especially on the parts when you compare it with the Mele, which I also own before the Z300. I've been rocking with the Z300 for few days now & I'm genuinely surprised that it performs similarly to the Mele, but with much cheaper price & better aesthetic, at least for me due to that I have the gold one just like you did. I feel like I'm going to rocking the Z300 more than Mele, even though I've been rocking the Mele about a month now. Keep up the good reviews.
Mele was an interesting one as the bass was unique at that price point at that point in time. I am not sure HBB was really thinking about it with Z300, but definitely hit me as closer to Mele than BL03. Thank you
@@apollomoonlandings Glad to hear from you as an owner to Mele & Z300 like me. Honestly, I tried a/b them with kz starline (M size) & with their own stock tips (also M size), they don't have any difference in sound for me, except using Mele's stock tips on Z300 reducing its bass due to the tip is wide bore type. All in all, I prefer the Z300 more personally as it has better aesthetic on its build quality & perform almost similar to Mele but a tad less refined compared to Mele. I plan to buy some aftermarket eartips like comply foam tips, but I might consider the eartips that you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your experience of them.
@@Phxzx_3XXhow's the stage on z300?
@@NewDarkKnight For me, it's just average kind of soundstage, but considering the price, it is acceptable, at least for me.
Thanks Paul. Superb review as always.....
First impressions were that this set was a lilltle dark and was missing something in upper mids. Its a very nice $30 set but I emphasise the '$30'. Good fun but not that techical.... You nailed it on the volume comment... A bit of power and volume and it responds better and it comes alive a lot more. Cheers 👍
Yeah, to be fair, if you are used to 10db pinna at a lower volume, the sets with relaxed pinna need more volume to sound similar and open up, wake up, etc. Legato was very similar, it sounds much different at lower volume.
@@PaulWasabii Have 30-40 hours on them now. The more I listen the more i'm digging them. Probably not my ideal tuning but they're a good budget set indeed and you can't knock the value you're getting here either. I think these will be a big hit for HBB.. 😃.. Have a nice weekend Paul...
Just ordered these after going back and forth on them for weeks. They usually sell for around $35 where I live, but they were on sale for $25 and I just couldn't resist anymore. Been looking for a more bassy and warm set, with a little bit more relaxed uppers, while still having *some* detail and clarity, and couldn't really find anything under the $40 mark outside of these. Maybe the Cadenzas, but I think most agree that the Z300 is a bit better. Considered the original QKZ x HBB just coz they're only $15 where I live. But I think the extra $10 is well worth for the Z300. Fingers crossed they fit in my ears since the Blon 01 wouldn't stay in AT ALL. Really excited to try them out since my IEM journey started with the Wan'er and 7hz Zero (which I both love), so a slightly different signature is certainly welcome! Thank you for your reviews! Really becoming one of my go-tos now!
Cadenza is in the ball park, I'd say the most important bit is the relaxed upper. Some people don't get it, some people want it all the time. For $25, you get a chance to figure it out. Wan'er and Zero are a bit intense, HBB tends to be more relaxed, a bit warmer for his library. Its not a Blon BL01 situation. Everything is a gamble, but I am one who seeks those sets with the relaxed upper so I am drawn to it. Good luck, I hope it works out or you will figure out that style is not for you. 7hz Sonus is actually similar as well, but the bass is not in HBB's warm style.
@@PaulWasabii Enjoying both the Sonus and Z300! Your reviews of both of them really helped, so thanks for what you do! Next target is the Letshuoer S12 (probably the pro version since I think they're supposed to be a little less shouty, and they're almost the same price where I live). But I'd be lying if I wasn't tempted to get the EA500 and FuDu, too. Do you think either of them are worth the purchase considering my Sonus and Z300 (and 7hz Zero and Wan'er 😅). EA500 are probably a more unique set from what I have, right? The FuDu might be too close to the Z300, if I'm not wrong.
Beware of quality control issues, I've had to order a replacement for mine the right-side driver failed after the first day. All in all, beautiful and *seemed* very well-built excellent cable as well!
I think you are the first I have heard with issues. Typically, HBB is on top of quality issues and has spoken about it so if you are having issues getting that replacement, reach out to him on Discord, Facebook, hifiguides, etc. Thank you
@@PaulWasabii The only reason I hinted to possible QC issues is because in the Linsoul discord someone stated they had the same exact issue which I found concerning. Hopefully my new pair holds up because they are a very nice set, I just want them to last. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the review. I am waiting for my sets to arrive alongside with Wan'Er too. Hopefully this is an upgrade to my KZ ZS10 Pro non X version as the Salnotes Zero was a dissapointment for me last month lol.
Zero is right on the edge for people. It is actually a nice set but I get why people don't like it. Buy some 3m micropore tape and put a small piece on the nozzle. Try partial covering it.
@@PaulWasabii I already found some EQ of wavelet for the Zero and it sounds good but I still waiting for my Blon set to arrive, i am so hype for it lol.
Can’t wait for my set to arrive I’m glad it’s getting decent reviews. Bl03 is still one of my favorites. Are you gonna check out the kz pr2 hbb?
Listening right now. Just said this to another comment: PR2 is nice, tweaked to make it less planar sounding than PR1. Something easier to be your first planar but if you have PR1, more of a sidegrade or different flavor.
The mids are close to the ief target and that really works for some music that is really intense like deftones where if the mids were closer to harman I'd be fatugued after 10 minutes of listening
True, HBB ticked them down a bit and it does work. I see some people said it was dark but I think it needs a click of the vol + if you are used to Harman levels.
Thanks Paul, nice review! As this competes with the KZ PR2 pricewise any ideas on how do these sets compare?
Z300 is a bit more fun with that bass shelf. PR2 tries to be a more approachable planar by knocking down some of that upper energy into a more neutral sound. The sets sound different and PR2 is really meant to be an intro to the planar sound rather than a fun banger like Z300.
You did put your finger on a point that is important : like speakers some iems don't sound alive and dynamic at low volume, i resold my bl03 because i thought mid bass was overwhelming with zero details when everybody liked it, it must be because i only listen at low volume, i did notice the same thing on 7hz zero, i thought its bass was anemic and it was just meh when everyone loved it, then i listened once at high volume and it became alive with some respectable bass volume ( like olina but olina does it also at low volume). so low volume capability is a very important spec i'd love to see on all iem reviews, thanks for the good work. By the way what would be your dac recommendation ( for iem only) ?
I have tried a lot of mewer stuff and the main IEM that stuck out to me the most (most related to you) is the stock s12 by letshuoer. For me when I would listed to music at high columns it was way too sibilant for me.. but it sounded perfect for gaming and movies. When I would game and listen to music at low volume it was perfect.. it kept the tonality and I preferred to stay low volume only with that set. No other set has done that for me and I have tried easily 30 plus sets
@@ItsJustChase i also have s12 and i agree it's trebble is some time too much, if you have replacement filters from other iem you may want to slap a filter on top of the metal grill to tame down the trebble ( for s12 pro they slapped a foam filter under the metal grill), if you don't have nozzle filters you can put a stripe of porous tape 3mm wide by a cm long covering 75% of the nozzle to tame down the trebble no need to touch the metal gril, let it stick to the nozzle sides so it is easier to remove if you want to reverse the mod without pulling the metal grill with it.
@@amanieux kve done a lot of mods to mine, I just remember how it used to be lol.
The issue is that volume can't be easily quantified except for HBB and some others who listen at a preset db level. I will raise and lower the volume to where it sounds optimal to me because that is what I would do if I wasn't reviewing it. Especially since I get sets later than others, if I see first impressions as dark or bright, I will usually try it and mention it if I think people's impressions were influenced by volume. For DAC, on my desk is a Topping DX5 which I like a lot. I have a D30Pro too which I will run into a headphone amp like the KAEI Tap 2 lately. Portable, I still use Q5K. I did like the iFi Go Bar and Go Blu if you have a big wallet and tend to like a quick bass boost. But not enough to toss my Q5K. I don't keep up with the dongles though.
@@PaulWasabii thats why i like to watch you bro, I like your aftertake on iems
Hello sir, very love your review. I'm using Moondrop SSR, and looking for an upgrade. Is this Z300 worth to upgrade from SSR, or should I get the Moondrop LAN instead? (I love vocals and piano music).
Probably Lan. Moondrop has a style that is harder to find in other brands.
Thank you for the review. I would like to ask if should I buy this or the Simgot EW200?
If you don't know, get something cheap like EW200, CCA Polaris, TRN Conch.
Trn Conch is great. Can play with mods on the extra nozzles. I'd get these if they go on a crazy low $ sale 🙃
So how different is this from Kai if these are similar to Mele? Are there any major differences?
Just my opinion, the Z300 driver is better, tighter and the treble extension is there. KAI was a nice set, but super safe on the treble extension. I'd say the same on Mele, another super safe treble but times change, extended 1DD are in now.
Oppoty!
Like many people bl03 was my first iem..
Good to see the goofy spelling mistake is carried forward..😅
Wasn't my first but glad to see people who have been around long enough to remember it.
How does this compare to Qkz hbb? Are they similar
So I wasn't a big fan of the QKZ HBB, a bit dark-ish. Z300 added a bit more treble to a similar bassy signature. I think the two are similar, but I think Z300 is better balanced for me. Some people do prefer that darker tone so don't chase Z300 if you really like the QKZ.
Does that new cable work with the blon03?
It should but you do need to look at the vent near the connector. If the BL03 sounds weird, the connector may be blocking the vent so pull it up slightly.
Is it better than Tengzu waner at least, i mean to your review it seems better but I still want to hear it 😂😂
Wan'er is probably still the best in that bass boosted Harman style. Z300 is a different flavor but not terribly far. Better for my library but hard to pass up on Wan'er's price.
Do you like it better than the HBB Khan
yeah I do. I used the word bouncy for Z300 and Khan had lots of bass, but on the slower side. I like both but Z300 is more versatile.
Blon x hbb or Tripowin Piccolo 😁 ?
I have a Piccolo and might talk about that later. I am not sure the two are similar as I haven't looked or listened.
Tanchjim tanya DSP or this z300? Why?
I haven't heard Tanya DSP yet but generally I prefer bass shelf that is a closer ration of sub to mid. Tanya has that big sub and drops the mid hard which is more genre limiting for me.
@@PaulWasabii thanks. Someone said tanya is the best DSP out there. So I was curious. Please review.