I was introduced to these by a classmate on the 15th of March and I was so impressed based on just a minute or two of listening that I decided to order them the same night. Impulsive decision yes, but the low price of $5 (+$2 shipping) convinced me that it was a good purchase. As I told myself, it's cheaper than a meal at Nando's.

Well I just received it this morning, the 31st of March. I plugged it into my Fiio X1 and was immediately impressed all over again by the sound quality. The first song I played was "Trains" by Porcupine Tree as I felt it would be a strong start for my ownership of these earbuds.

As I expected, the acoustic guitars sounded lifelike and clear. As the song picked up pace, it never lost the sense of clarity that is so essential when listening to such complex compositions. (compared to pop music) The middle section with the acoustic guitar on the left channel and the banjo on the right convinced me that this was money spent extremely well.

You see, these earbuds don't look like much. They look like the cheap Sony/Panasonic earbuds I used as a kid with my first Sony Walkman. I haven't used earbuds in over a decade. These do not sound like any earbuds I remember. The soundstage is vast, the widest of any audio gear in my current lineup and the imaging is extremely accurate. The separation is also breathtaking, I listened to "Space Oddity" by David Bowie and felt that the two vocal lines were lifelike and satisfyingly equal in sound without any sort of overlap.

Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album also benefits from the sound of the VE Monk as it gives a very "surround" feeling that is a good pairing with the album - which has many samples of voice recordings darting from channel to channel to add a sense of paranoia/madness to the album theme.

The bass is good but nothing to write home about. I was advised by someone in a HeadFi thread that the full foam pad (it comes with two sets, one with a hole in it and one full) leads to a loss of resolution. I feel that the loss in resolution is quite minute and the benefit of the full pad is more warmth (and bass) to the sound. Also, it makes acoustic instruments sound better - especially guitars. Along with my ZMF Omni, this reproduces acoustic guitars the best in my current collection. For this reason, I would not recommend trying to use equalizer on these earbuds. A neutral as possible source works best with them. In my case, this is my Fiio X1 as my Dragonfly 1.2 DAC is a little bright.

But don't get sidetracked with thinking about bass. These earbuds are all about the mids. These beat my Grado SR80i at their own game by having an aggressive and fast mid reproduction but with the clarity that the Grados don't have. However, the Grados handle EDM and beat-heavy music a bit better than the VE Monk. This isn't an earbud for fist bumping, but rather for hearing an incredible vocal and acoustic sound. MTV Unplugged recordings sound right at home with the Monk, you can actually place yourself front and centre in the crowd.

As for comfort, they are extremely light and you can easily forget you have them on. They don't need to be adjusted harshly or pushed in deep as they give the full experience with a light attachment to the ear. The cable is twice as thick as those of my Zero Audio Carbo Tenore so I'm grateful for that, less anxiety for me. It literally arrives in a small and clear plastic pouch with a push-to-seal and a few promotional cards from Venture Electronics.

It's quite incredible that this experience can be made available for its price + a wait. I just checked AliExpress and found them to be sold out currently, for good reason. The hype is quite real and for what this does well, it is exceptional. Just don't expect to be able to listen to it in crowded public places because of the sound leakage and don't expect any deep sub-bass.
 

 
Edit: I bought a Schiit Magni 2 just to see how it sounded with clean amping and the sound has greatly improved. The Asgard, though I love how it sounds with my other headphones, isn't the best match for the Vibro. It needs a clean signal for it to shine.
 
Zach’s blog on his fascination with wood, its properties and how it can be utilized by man is a good read.I recommend you all to check it out. The man uses the resource on his products in a way that blends both aesthetics and sound in the best way imaginable. This, of course, goes beyond the Vibro – check out the Blackwood and Omni models and how picturesque they are. Due to the use of wood, each pair is unique – which lends a sense of ownership that indiscernible factory designs from other manufacturers can’t reproduce.

I was introduced to ZMF headphones by a friend of mine who had just recently purchased a Fostex THX-00 from Massdrop. He was absolutely in love with the sound but was looking for something to complement his repertoire of headphones. He fully recognized the V/W shaped sound of the THX-00 and wanted something more neutral. However, he didn’t want to lose the bass impact that the Fostex gave him at the same time. After looking around, he showed me the ZMF website and told me about how it’s a small-scale business run by some guy named Zach Mehrbach. I’ll admit, I didn’t quite grasp how the idea of tonewood (something I was familiar with as I have two acoustic guitars on hand specifically for their different wood and the sound difference) could translate to headphones. I thought the designs looked neat though, especially the Omni cups.

My friend soon got himself a pair of Blackwood Omnis, the top of the line offering by ZMF. It seemed he had finally found what he was looking for, neutrality without the cost of “fun.” I had owned a neutral pair of headphones once, recently sold, in the form of the Sennheiser HD600. I enjoyed it for vocals, but the bass wasn’t to my liking. I had looked into Planar Magnetics and managed to find an excellent deal on a new Hifiman HE400i due to a friend visiting Beijing over the winter. It quickly became my favourite pair and motivated me to sell both my HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT990 as I felt it blended and superseded what I enjoyed about both cans. With a little spare cash, I set out to see for myself what the ZMF hype was about.

I went for the Vibros because I wanted to experience what a truly “fun” headphone would sound like without attempting to be anything but that – at no cost of mids. I’m not bass-head, but I wanted bass. I read that further up the line, ZMF headphones tended to be a bit more laid back and I wanted none of that. Also my budget could only allow for a Vibro so hey I’ll happily take what I can. I’m glad I took the plunge, but I won’t be getting rid of my HE400i and this is why:

The Vibro is warm, very warm. “Dark” is a word that has been used to describe it and I don’t disagree. The Mk. 2 is described to extend the treble, but I haven’t heard one so I cannot say. Before I analyze what I hear and like about the Vibro Mk. 1, I will plainly state that if you only listen to certain genres of music like pop, rap and EDM – this should be your go-to set of cans at this price point. However, if you’re like me and listen to a vast array of music – you want another pair to round off your collection that can handle the genres and recordings that the Vibro has difficulty with.

Consider an aggressive genre like metal. Now consider an aggressive metal band like Slayer. When you listen to Slayer, you want all cylinders to be firing on whatever audio system you have. You wouldn’t enjoy it as much if something fell short. I’m glad to say that the Vibro doesn’t fall short in this regard. The cherry cups and planar magnetic drivers combine to give sheer power to whatever you are listening to. This is not a laid-back set of headphones at all. It pushes the music out at you in a bombastic manner that makes you take notice of everything you hear – and most of the time you can hear it all clearly.

If you have a song you really like but can’t stand how sibilant it can sound at times, this is the pair of headphones for you. If you have an album you wish had a bit more kick to it, these are the headphones you should listen to it with. If you want to kick back and listen to some progressive rock, these probably aren’t the headphones for you – which is why I’ll be keeping my HE400i. The treble roll-off on the Vibro is reliant on what you’re listening to – both recording wise and genre wise. For pop and rap, it isn’t even noticeable 90% of the time. For soft rock, it’s quite noticeable and can feel a bit stifling – particularly with the likes of Pink Floyd. If you enjoy listening to vinyl rips, unless they are super clear and equalized, you might not enjoy them on this. EQ itself is something I tend to not use very much but I would recommend it to listeners who find the treble roll-off to be a bit too much. I, personally, will just switch headphones whenever I’m in the mood for genres this isn’t the best for.

However, if you’re listening to something that fits well with the Vibro’s sound signature then there isn’t anything like it in this price range. You’ll find yourself switching the bass ports depending on your mood and genre you’re listening to – but keep a close eye on where you put the little rubber plugs because it’s very easy to misplace them. I personally have two plugs in most of the time, with only one plug in for pop/rap and no plugs in for electronic music.

I have to give a shoutout to Zach for his work with his headphones on behalf of myself and my friend who owns the Omni. I would absolutely recommend peering into his product line to anyone looking to get into “fun” high end audio. This isn’t the realm of the HD800 and its benefits. This is the realm of musically-tuned drivers encased in sexy wood that is uncompromising in its identity and market niche.

 

 
This is my first experience with the "Grado sound" and I think I know why it's popular with rock lovers. The harsh but somehow lush mid sound strips the processed nature from guitar distortion to give it a live amp sound. These are the most unique headphones I've owned sound signature wise.
 
The non-removable cables are an annoyance. I had the wire connection to the left channel die on me and I had to ship these to another country to have them fixed for 35 Euros. Considering the price was $90, I can't be too fussy about build quality aspects like this but it was still a detraction. 
 
It's also very uncomfortable after a while of use. Very light though.
 
The soundstage is great though. It's very natural sounding with live acoustic recordings.