HeartField Blanc HiFi IEMs By Linsoul – Five-Way PUR Immaculate Sound
HeartField Blanc is a 249 USD pair of IEMS or in-ear Monitors sold by Linsoul and designed by HeartField around the PUR Technology, with five balanced armature drivers playing for each ear, and a three-way crossover. Today we will review the Heart Field Blanc and compare them with other IEMs we recently reviewed, including Xenns Mangird Tea Pro (359 USD), BQEYZ Wind (239 USD), and Hiby Project Ace (249 USD).
Introduction
HeartField is one of the many brands sold and fulfilled by Linsoul, and this is the third product I am reviewing from the company, the first one having been the Deer IEMs, which were exceptional in performance, but quite heavy, and the second product having been Heart Field R1, the lightest and smallest R2R DAC I’ve got my hands on, but which has a high noise floor and is better suited for headphones rather than IEMs. With this history, both other products from the company are still alive and kicking, so I can safely say HeartField is reliable, while Linsoul is one of the most popular shops for audio from China. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Linsoul for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Exceptional detail and resolution, good comfort for the IEMs, wide and holographic soundstage, reliable support from Linsoul, great overall deal.
Cons – Solid cable that’s sturdy but hinders comfort and conducts handling noise. Default eartips are hard and need replacing.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3WkHvcz
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ooA8kB7
Linsoul – https://www.linsoul.com/products/heartfield-blanc
Build Quality / Aesthetics
HeartField have always been an interesting company, making ergonomic IEMs, but with certain caveats. Before we dive into the actual fitting and usage of the Blanc, we can start by exploring the design, and Blanc is the result of over 3000 hours of fine tuning for comfort and sound. The shells of the IEMs are made of German Resin, and the cable is Artisan Crafted for superior sound.
We don’t get too much insight on what the PUR Technology is, but from what I can gather from the Linsoul website, it is a matching between the acoustic chamber of the Blanc and its drivers. Speaking of the drivers, we have five balanced armatures powering the Blanc, with One Low Frequency Driver, Two Mid Frequency Drivers, and two Treble Drivers.
The impedance of the Blanc is 15 OHMs, which places them in the dangerously low range, and Blanc might suffer from hissing with sources that have a high output impedance, while the SPL or Sensitivity is rather high at 108 dB, so they will be easy to drive, and you won’t need to pump the volume too much to enjoy the Blanc. Inside the package you will find a transport case, three pairs of silicone eartips, the IEMs and the Cable, with the whole package feeling ok for the price point.
Fit / Subjective Usage
The cable of the Blanc is of a good quality, but it is very hard and springy, showing a strong memory effect, when bent. The cable separator is a plastic loose sheath, while the connectors are standard 2-Pin. You can purchase the Blanc with both a balanced 4.4mm cable and a single ended 3.5mm cable. We get quite a bit of handling noise from the cable, and that hard structure, while reliable, conducts all noise through it.
The default eartips are of an OK Quality, I have tried using the default eartips more during reviews, and they do the job well, although you can improve the comfort upgrading both the cable and the eartips.
We get lightweight shells that are ergonomic, a tiny bit large, but fairly ergonomic and will feel great during usage for all users. The passive noise isolation is average, with around 20 dB of passive noise isolation, and it changes depending on the eartips used. Leakage is minimal, and there is no feeling of driver flex, as there is no dynamic driver, but there is a bit of void, so it is best to adjust the Heart Field Blanc slowly.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the HeartField Blanc I have paired them with a collection of sources, including Creative Sound Blaster G8, Astell&Kern Activo P1, FiiO KA15, HIFI Walker H20 PRO, HeartField R1 R2R DAC, Dethonray Listening M1 and HIFIMAN EF400. Blanc is generally easy to drive, and will get loud fast. It can scale quite a bit with the source, but given its price point, I would not invest in a high-end DAC / AMP just to drive the Blanc, and they would work very well with all sources. Given the brighter signature, they work best with a smoother, deeper, and darker sounding source.
Overall Signature – HeartField Blanc is a somewhat bright sounding IEM, with exceptional detail and resolution, strong imaging, and a natural soundstage. You will hear a lot of high-end detail and air in the sound, strong sparkle, and a wide, holographic soundstage. The bass is plenty for a bright tuning, so Blanc is more focused on transparency and sounding live, than sounding necessarily bright or neutral. For rock music, the voices are presented mostly in the forward layer, but there’s quite a bit of space between instruments, and background / lateral information has a holographic quality to it.
Bass – Starting with the bottom end, Blanc has quite a bit of strength and power, it reaches 20 Hz, and has most energy around 35 Hz, having a bumpy, full and powerful bass that gives music a thumpy and punchy presentation. The speed of bass is mostly natural, with a bit of slowdown here and there, creating a rather convincing deep-end rumble. Even with EDM and Rock you will generally not need more if you like a natural sound, but the quantity is not basshead by any means.
Midrange – HeartField usually has more issues with the midrange, so it is surprising to hear a really natural, clean and transparent midrange coming from the Blanc. There’s a tiny bit of upper bass emphasis but it adds body rather than veil, and for the most part voices sound as if you’d hear them live in your room. This is very surprising because it usually is a characteristic of very pricey IEMs, 1000 USD and above, to hear voices so wide, relaxed and natural. There’s a certain smoothness in the midrange, textures are always enjoyable and free of fatigue.
Treble – You generally hear the treble first, so I can still call it bright and airy, sharp and well-defined, but it does have other qualities too, including a smoother texture, it is a treble that never fatigues me while listening, and it gives music air, sparkle and brightness instead of making it shrill and fatiguing. Overall, I like the presentation, it comes through as highly enjoyable, dynamic, transparent, and a bit bright, thanks to the open and airy treble.
Dynamics – The dynamic response of the Blanc is very good, the overall sound is much closer to what you’d typically expect from a dynamic driver, you really don’t hear that fast and dry Balanced Armature response as you do with most IEMs that have an all-BA setup. There is a good sense of space in music, and you will never feel like the sound is compressed in any way.
PRaT / Textures – Textures are generally smooth, clean and fatigue-free, although the brighter signature tends to reveal certain details, especially in the high-end, air, sparkle, that most IEMs will hide, so you might feel at first like Blanc has a slightly strong texture, but once you get a few hours, the signature starts making more sense.
Volume Control – Blanc is an IEM that sounds best at medium volumes, where you get the qualities of each sonic part in their signature. This being said, they handle very high volumes nicely thanks to a large headroom, low distortion, and high resolution. They also handle low volumes nicely, thanks to the brighter treble, and the frequency response changes with the volume, but opposed to what most IEMs do. So while most IEMs get sharper, brighter and more aggressive loud, Blanc actually gets easier to enjoy and listen loud and very loud, becoming smoother and more relaxed, so you get the highest resolution and detail down low, then you get a loud but fun and punchy / colorful sound that doesn’t get too fatiguing when taking them loud.
Soundstage – Blanc has a wide, holographic soundstage with excellent imaging. For the most part they sound holographic and much more dynamic and colorful than expected. The louder you go, the wider and more holographic the sound becomes, so at first when I was listening quietly, the soundstage was quite natural, but loud Blanc is able to project music laterally quite nicely. Generally, HeartField Blanc is an excellent IEM for EDM, Pop, Electronic music, but also for Rock, Metal.
Comparisons
HeartField Blanc vs Xenns Mangird Tea Pro (249 USD vs 359 USD) – Tea Pro is more flashy, has a more colorful shell and they also come with thicker cables that conduct less microphonic and handling noise, but Tea PRO is more sensitive to source noise and a bit harder to drive and match with a good source than the Blanc. Sonically, Blanc is far brighter, sharper and can reproduce more detail and a higher level of resolution, but Tea PRO has a deeper bass, more substance and weight to music and it sounds generally fuller. Both IEMs have a great extension for the sub bass, and the treble, but the amount of treble in the Blanc is much higher while the amount of bass in Tea Pro is higher. This being said, Tea PRO is mostly a mid centric IEM with a nice bass and a smoother treble, while Blanc is generally a bright IEM with a good body and a nice bass extension, but a neutral quantity to its bass.
HeartField Blanc vs BQEYZ Wind (249 USD vs 239 USD) – BQEYZ made one of the rarest IEMS out there, a mostly open one, so you can notice a big key difference as Blanc offers quite a bit more passive noise isolation and less leakage than the wind. Both IEMs are comfortable to wear, but Blanc has a much lighter body and feels more comfortable, while Wind has a thicker, heavier cable that is far less sensitive to handling and microphonic noise. Sonically, both IEMs are a bit bright, but Wind sounds much wider, more airy and less precise, while Blanc has a higher level of precision, instrument separation, definition, sounds brighter and sharper with less bass and a more neutral tuning.
HeartField Blanc vs Hiby Project Ace (249 USD vs 249 USD) – Project Ace is still a favorite top choice for me in the price range, and as they are exactly the same price as the blanc, it is worthy to note that Project Ace is a bit heavier for the shells, but the cables of the Project Ace are thicker, heavier, and conduct less microphonic noise and handling noise, as they are more flexible. Both IEMs offer about the same level of passive noise isolation, and low leakage. Sonically Project Ace is more natural, having a slight tendency to sound V-Shaped / U-Shaped, while Blanc sounds more neutral, brighter, sharper and has less bass. Both IEMs have excellent resolution and detail, but Project Ace sounds more holographic and more musical, smoother in the midrange, and a bit more colorful / more vivid, while Blanc sounds more transparent, cleaner, more neutral and can reveal more details both in the mids and in the treble.
Value and Conclusion
It is clear that HeartField can generally pack a punch in the value domain, but this time around things are insane, the level of resolution, detail and clarity that can match IEMS around 400 USD. This is excellent, although like all HeartField products, it is a bit more niche and specialised than what we typically see from most vendors. This being said, the signature is fairly likable, just a bit bright, and very sharp / detailed.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a high-quality pair of Earphones with a sturdy cable and if you want a bright, revealing, and sharp sound, HeartField Blanc is going to deliver the highest level of precision around this price point, while offering a comfy fit and a nice design for their IEMs.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3WkHvcz
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ooA8kB7
Linsoul – https://www.linsoul.com/products/heartfield-blanc
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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