The BLON 05, I had high hopes. But no luck. Don’t get me wrong it sounds good fpr the price. It just doesn’t have that special magic they captured with the BLON 03. They fit great, much better than the Blon 03. The cable is better. The case is really beautiful (much more in person) and the price is still reasonable at $42.00 as purchased. The highs or treble was good, they have a clarity about them that is pleasing to my ear. The mids are a bit thin and the bass is also thin and not in the same league as the Blon 03. Look, 4 years ago at this price these would be a steal. Today they are above average at this price point but they are not “stars” like their predecessor. If you have stuck in this price range then I can recommend these, but if you think you are getting a set of IEMs that punches way above their price point then no I cannot.

Listened on FiiO m11 Pro, Monoprice THX – optical from PC

I found that these were detailed, really good treble, good mids, great bass and good sub bass. The mid’s were excellent to my ear vocals were not out of place or forward. Treble was excellent, very detailed. I would say these have a reference sound to them with a slight elevation in bass. To my ear they were great, I really enjoyed listening to them. In fact i would say these are better than the Mangrid Tea. They have the same detail in the treble regions and smooth but clean mids. Their bass was better, tighter with no booming. I guess you could say that these were clearer than the Mangrid Tea, like someone took the Mangrid Tea and lifted the veil from it. Which I didn’t really know was there till I listened to these.

Link to IEM on Penon Audio: https://penonaudio.com/isn-audio-h40.html?search=isn%20h40

Tracy Chapman: Very clear and reference sounding with near perfect bass. Best I have heard that track sound yet. Stage was excellent.

Lady Gaga – Joanne: Guitar was great, clear, realistic and detailed. her voice was beautiful. Very melodic and not technical. Mids excellent and bass.

A-Ha  MTV Unplugged – Take On Me: 

Portishead – Mysterions:  Very clear and reference sounding with great bass, very tight and clean. Detail was very good.

Portishead – Sour Times: Sounded awesome,nothing more to say. 

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Hanuman: 

Alexis Cole – A Beautiful Friendship:

R.E.M. – Try Not To Breathe: Voice was crazy clear, background guitars sounded in the right position and the timbre was excellent.

Miles Davis – Someday my price will come: Detail was excellent, separation. Treble was excellent especially symbols and snare brushes.

Miles Davis – Teo: Drums and snare were crazy good. trumpet was spot on. The highs, mids and bass were fantastic. The stage was the best of all the songs, felt wider than some headphones I have tried.

Cecelia Strange – Bridge – Saxophone felt like I could feel the wind vibration of the instrument but with Mangrid tea still sounded very good but didn’t get that same experience

Listened on the FiiO M11 PRO. Volume at 35%

Second session on FiiO BTR5

WTF as stated in the title..I was not expecting these at all. The treble produced by the Piezo electric driver is friggen unbelievable. I could hear things in my library of music that I have never heard before. No kidding, there are songs that I am “intimately” familiar with. I heard sounds in them that I have not heard before. I compared to my other most resolving set the fearless S8Z, these are more resolving. Check my song notes below to find out more. But in a nutshell; Treble is fantastic one of the best I have heard. Mids are really good I could listen to Norah Jones all day. Bass was OK, it was present and tight. I felt sub-bass was missing but the treble and mids made up for it and I really wanted to keep listening to everything I tried.

I tested with many tips, all of the included ones, Foam, Reference and Atmosphere (whatever). The reference ones did give me the most analytical sound, the atmosphere just kind of took the edge off and the foams worked well, good bass and treble. I ended up with a pair of stiff black rubber/silicon tips that are much like JVC Spiral Dots and that seemed to give me the best Bass response.

Comes with a small but good sized case that works fine and has a zipper so you can safely carry in your pocket. It also comes with a very, very nice cable. Tips are OK but you will probably want to look elsewhere and do some testing with different types.

These are highly resolving IEM’s. They will bring out all the good in the music and all the bad, no way around it. For me these are keepers.

Songs that I used to test and my notes:

Amy Winehouse – Know You Now: Bass OK (these are slightly V shaped) Treble and detail “fantastic”. Stage was wide and imaging was really good. Vocal were just about right (for my taste)

A-Ha MTV Unplugged – Take On Me: Voice was “excellent” you could hear the vibrato in his voice and it sounded like I was there in the room.

Portishead – Dummy Album: Listened to the whole album, brought some details I didn’t know were thee.

Alexis Cole – A Beautiful Friendship: Symbols at beginning and snare drums, treble was not forward but yet so well reproduced and reveling that I was amazed. Her voice was also great, and the stage was good.

Metallica – Ride the lightning: What the hell the guitars were crazy detailed. I loved this song on these, I did feel that more bass would have been better.

Norah Jones – the entire come away with me album: The whole album because I could not stop listening. Everything was perfect for me on this album. I would not change anything.

Pink Floyd – On The Run: The lady announcing the gate status over the PA system, I could hear every word. It was clearer to me than any other set I have listened to.

Beyonce – Lemonade Album: Listened to the whole thing, bass was not where I would like it but details and mids were great.

Lady Gaga – Joanne:  Great detail and space at the beginning and throughout the song.

Eydie Gorme – Los Nosotros:  Her voice was excellent and smooth they also brought out every bad recording spot in the song.

Listened on the Monoprice Monolith Portable THX. Volume at -26DB with FooBar set at 90% volume.

Second session on FiiO BTR5 – For whatever reason the BTR5 sounded much better, I almost think there may have been a break in issue at first. Still did not sound as good on my other DAP’s. I guess the BTR5 has the “Magic”

Over all I cannot recommend unless your someone that likes a very V shaped tuning. Here’s why; for the price of $119.00 as I purchased them you can get the Voyager Legacy which is less V shaped, has better upper range reproduction and better Mid’s. Bass is about equal. The cable is better on the Legacy by a mile and this set has no case? Why no case at this price point? I could understand it if these were really outstanding and the “case” could be made that all the R&D and production cost went into tuning and components. But I just don’t see it. Don’t get me wrong, these sound good but over all cost weighed against the competition doesn’t add up.

Songs that I used to test and my notes:

Amy Winehouse – Know You Now: Bass good (these are very V shaped) Treble and detail “high”. Stage was tight. Vocal very back as to experience with other IEM such as Urbanfun, Mangrid Tea, Sony 800ST

A-Ha MTV Unplugged – Take On Me: Voice was “shout-y” and it seemed off compared to many other dynamic drivers, while the music was at a very reasonable and comfortable level the vocals were hurting my ears. Listening on the FiiO BTR5 things sounded much better, vocals were smoother and didn’t hurt.

Robin Trower – About to Begin: Because of V shape sounds good right out of the gate, Rock was meant for V. 00:55 (from end of song) symbol crash. Treble was hurting my ears.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Hanuman: Sounds good, these are good for guitar. Treble is good, bass is great. stage is tight but sounds good. Imaging decent. Sounded fantastic on the BTR5

Alexis Cole – A Beautiful Friendship: Symbols at beginning and bass drop, treble very present. Vocals back a bit and her voice sounded a little thin. Much better on the BTR5

Sade – Smooth Operator: Detail at beginning great, voice very clear, bass fantastic. Vocals back a bit, seemed like they were getting lost in the Bass/Music on this song very V shaped.

The new packaging is much better and actually fits the contents. If you order the original you know what I mean by that. The sound is fantastic. It competes with much more expensive IEMs and I am highly confident in that statement. I tested it against Mangrid Tea, Fearless S8Z, Blon03, Shozy B2, and others. I did have an issue of the left channel cutting out. I swapped cables but still had the issue. The right MMCX connector snaps in “crisply” but the left one “mushes” in. So I believe that in manufacturing they are damaging the left connector somehow. I would contact before you buy and ask that they (Linsoul) tests before they ship to you.

Love this DAP. It is my favorite. Its size and weight are perfect. The battery life is excellent. Sound is always a subjective discussion but for me the background silence is excellent. Much better than the M11 standard version.

These AQ3 is one of my favorites. They usually produce an excellent product and this one didn’t disappoint.