Venture Electronics VE MONK Plus earbud earphone

I just bought another set of these ve monk + after not having a working pair for a year or so and I was pleased enough to write a review even after owning several sets of these for years. I compared them to my other most recent headphone purchase, the sennheiser hd560s. I also just bought a topping E30 dac and L30 headphone amplifier, I could not resist buying these now that all of the bugs are worked out and for the crazy cutting edge performance topping squeezed out of these. They are a great baseline for testing headphones, especially easier to drive stuff like the hd560s and the monks. I had an expectation going in with the hd560s being a full size open back headphone that has amazing performance for a headphone at $199, it sounds better than many headphones I've had at all different prices. The hd560s does sound like it has a bit more detail but in direct comparison to the monks it also sounds like it is almost forcing detail through frequency response. The monks are actually very detailed but they don't push the upper frequencies as much, instead they have more body to the mid range and a bit more mid bass vs the hd560s flat but very deep bass. I am also surprised by not missing out on as much of the soundstage size and imaging ability of the hd560s as I thought I would, I thought for sure the monks would lean more towards that scalded down size like you get with iems but they don't lose out in the same way I expected. It should also be mentioned I used these with a set of the included foam covers and I did play with them with a parametric eq and they respond great to eq. I pulled a bit out at 2k, added a bit from 10-20k and played a little with bass, I didn't make them v shaped I just took the fairly big spike at 2k out and brought back the roll off above 10k. I like both sounds, with eq and without, and I switch between them often. Overall I am just very pleased with my revisit to the monks, all of these years later and $10 still gets you an awesome sounding headphone.

The end of the SHE3590's production left a huge void in my life. I loved those things and I used them for everything, and with the rise of bluetooth and "true" wireless earbuds on the rise, I lost hope.Until I found these. My god, the quality is insane. They far exceed the SHE3590, AND they cost less. The sound stage is huge, everything is balanced and clear (quite analytical to be honest), yet bold and full bodied. The bass comes through but isn't overpowering, the treble resonates but doesn't sound tinny, and the mids are powerful but not boxy. I'm currently playing some Humanity's Last Breath at a very high volume and these things are so clear that I can VERY clearly hear the inversion of Buster's string orientation on his palm mutes. And even droney genres like post-rock come through crystal clear, letting you hear every detail of every chord and note.Now one thing is for certain, these are not noise cancelling, so if you're looking for that, these are not for you. However, if sheer fidelity is what you seek, you need to buy these. Even ignoring their incredibly cheap price, these sound as good as $200 earbuds. Heck, maybe still better than that.They come in a hilariously ugly package which reinforces how purposebuilt they are, and I have to say, I deeply appreciate that sentiment. This truly is a purist's product.

DISCLAIMER: Technically I have received this product twice because the first set of earbuds I got were defective and used. Essentially what happened was that the vendor or amazon decided to pull one of the returned buds out of a bin and sent those in place of a new pair without even testing them. If I had to base my review off of this bad experience these would easily get a zero. Thankfully amazon has a god-like return policy and the earbuds I eventually received were brand new and untouched.Now I have heard quite a few things about these earbuds, mainly that I should just get them even if I don't need them. So many people see these as unassuming and rather knock-off looking. In fact if you look at aliexpress you will see hundreds, if not thousands of earbuds that use the same housing as these ones so they clearly have an 'original' design that more or less belongs jn the 90's.The 'packaging' is honestly the funniest thing because it comes in a mere bag that you would grab off of a peg and these honestly look like they belong in the section of last minute purchase items nearby the snacks at the register. The back is even funnier with the egg person holding an emoji and seeing the message of 'Keeping it real'.... Yea.. Okay..Inside you will see the buds and some foam tips. Please, please, PLEASE use the foam tips because they help with the audio experience. Look, the buds are not sharp and uncomfortable, but the foam will help to fill in some space and ensure these are stable inside your ears. The cable is cheap and will hold its shape until you use it often or heat it up with a hot blow dryer and they can get slightly noisey. But the rest is something to behold.Now, how did they manage to get all of that sound into such a cheap package? I couldn't answer that but do be warned, these need A LOT of fiddling before they sound anywhere decent. These do not have a good seal and will let sound leak in, which isn't too bad because you can just crank up the volume and drown out the world. Once you find the right position you will question reality as it is. Not really but the quality is beyond shocking. On amazon these are $10 and yet, they sound like $50 earbuds and it just doesn't make any sense. These are better than Samsung Akg buds and Apple Earpods, how is that even possible? Many experienced audiophiles ask that question and well, them and I have no answer. The bass and mids are very present and the high's are eh, which is shocking to hear from these kinds of earbuds, usually it's the opposite. Now the position of the earbud will WILDLY change the way these sound so be careful, in fact you will need to readjust these often if you walk around with these, but I honestly think its super worth it. These will provide a pleasing sound to those that are willing to put up with the down sides of this design. Plugging them into my portable amp just improves them that much more because you can get even more volume out of these shockingly tasteful earbuds.Please, just get them, dont even think about it. If you happen to receive a broken pair, send them back and get a new pair because they are worth the wait. If these things could get a better seal I would not hesitate to give them 5 stars.