I neglected to mention: the espresso's do come with a nice carrying case. Unfortunately it doesn't color coordinate with the earbuds themselves. Neither do the foam covers. Whatever.
It's the standard case, it matches those for the Asura 2 and Zen 2, so I love the fact I have a set of 3.
And the foams match really nicely IMO, like the froth on a cappuccino, I love the colour scheme.
I can understand you're annoyed, with not getting the response you wanted from VE. The Espresso Monk+ are more expensive than the plain Monk+ and so should be at least backed by the same warranty, they aren't priced as a disposable product. It must have been really frustrating, and it's clear you're still quite angry.
However you seem to be just looking for faults at this stage.
When you first posted here, you said the sound wasn't as good as the Monk+, not as much treble detail if I remember correctly - and only later acknowledged that they may have been faulty.
So, I'm not sure what you asked Lee exactly? Did you specify they were broken / faulty, and ask for a replacement?
Either way, I can see you still have an ongoing dispute, you possibly need to get back in touch with VE, be clear that they're faulty, and if you still don't get sorted, file a claim.
That would be more productive than continuing on what is coming across now more like a personal vendetta against a set of (semi) budget earbuds.
For the record, my Espresso's sound great, exactly like the Monk+, and I'm glad I got them.
