Closer Examination

A major reason people will considering the BL-A8 is the aesthetic, which the cable has to at least complement, if not match. There are two color options for the ear buds, and both ship with the same silver-colored cable I dare say looks the part. It is understated bling and begins with the source end where we see a straight 3.5 mm TRS connector inside a plastic cover. The housing is stainless steel to match the color of the insulation, and there is plastic sheathing between to prevent the crimping from damaging the copper wire inside. Just two strands are used, with with no mention anywhere of the actual conductor gauge inside. This usually translates to "adequate at best," and we see the splitter adopting the same steel housing with WGZBLON and 2014 etched into it. The two strands now separate into one each feeding into a memory wire design at the other side courtesy more plastic sheathing in said curve. There are two more connectors here, with the last set of steel housing that also has blue or red rings around to denote the L/R channel respectively. These terminate in 0.78 mm 2-pin plugs, a closer look at which reveals the thin conductors that ultimately connect to the ear buds themselves. I have the cable without a microphone, but BLON sells versions of the BL-A8 with a microphone-equipped cable for $5 more.


I mentioned above how the BLON BL-A8 comes in two color options of light gun (gunmetal) and white steel, with the latter releasing earlier. It also fits the cable much better and looks more "blingy" in the stock photos I've seen so far. Look, there is nothing else remotely like this that I have had my hands on, and for good reason too. The openwork skeleton shell is 3D printed with 14 irregular, non-overlapping sides that hide production inconsistencies quite well, too. As expected, the ear buds come with the more tapered size M silicone tips out of the box.


If you thought to yourself "I wonder what happens if a road bike helmet is shrunk down and melted somewhat," then you would not be far off from the design of the BLON BL-A8. The company itself describes this as a "unique shell design that resembles both a bicycle helmet and an alien plant," in which case full marks are given for achieving what they set out for. These are 3D printed shells that effectively look as though they are straight out of the movie Prometheus, and the open skeleton design sets these apart a lot. Cleaning the interior will be a nightmare, though. A closer look inside reveals the actual working mechanism enclosed inside a solid tube that bends around from the 2-pin receptacle to the nozzle. This tube is quite small compared to the overall footprint that is in turn about average for IEMs, making for a weight of ~7 g each. There is still an ergonomic design overall, but it's not as easy to make out with this design. The nozzle itself it quite short, with a large notch to hold on to the ear tips as well as a mesh insert to prevent contamination, but it is also fine enough to affect the sound profile going through.


A closer look at the inner tube reveals engravings on it, including "L" and "R" on the left and right buds respectively, closer to where the 2-pin port is situated. "BL-A8" has also been put on the inner tube of the left ear bud, and "WGZBLON" on the right bud. This is also where you see the finishing inside is clearly not to the same standard as the polished outside.


Fitting the other tips is trivial since the nozzle is pretty cylindrical at the contact point; simply push in the core of the ear tip you want to use until it catches in place and make sure it is in fully all around. Seen above are the two types of silicone tips that come with the BLON BL-A8, both in size M. The default seen on the right is clearly more tapered and longer, going deeper into the ear canal while the shell is further away, which might be more comfortable for those who prefer as little contact with the shell as possible. It can also be more isolating if you press it in further, which is not possible with the other, more standard set that is on the left.


Attaching the cable is trivial since there are only two possible orientations for each connection, and it quickly becomes obvious which is the correct one based on the memory wire design that has the cable go over and around your ears when installed properly. Remember to use the colored rings on the cable as well as the etchings on the shells if you are unsure of which goes where, and once done, you can see how the stock cable matches this white steel version quite well. A 90° angled adapter for the 3.5 mm plug would have been nice, but this is not a dealbreaker by any means.I know there are many who prefer to use IEMs throughout, but I like to use over-ear headphones when sitting down and IEMs/TWS earbuds on the go. In the absence of other options at this time, I hence chose to use them primarily with my trusty FiiO E17.