Venture Electronics Monk Studio

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Disclaimer:

• I don’t read FR graphs. I only use my ears, as earphones should be used.
• Venture Electronics sent this unit to me in an exchange for an honest review. Rest assured that this review will do its best to devoid from any bias/es as much as possible.
• The following remarks and observations shall be made and owned only by me.
• No monetary compensation is/was involved before, during, and after the period of creation of this review.
• Your mileage may (and always, will) vary.

Burn-in time: 4-8 hours per day, 5 days.

Source/s used:

• - Non-HiFi smartphone (Infinix Note 12 G96), PC.
• - Tanchjim Space DAC
• - Fosi Audio SK02 USB DAC
• - Venture Electronics Odo USB DAC
• - Venture Electronics Devastator USB DAC
• - Snowsky Echo Mini DAP
• - Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini DAC
• - Rose Technics RS9039 USB DAC
• - DDHiFi TC35M2 USB DAC
• - Aiwa XP-V710C CD Player (12 sec. EASS)
• - FiiO DM13 CD Player
• - Local Files via Foobar, YouTube Music, Deezer, and Qobuz with UAPP.

IEM/Earbud/Setup configuration: Stock blue and red earbud foams, any form of EQ or MSEB off, 40-60% volume.

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Sound signature:

• The Venture Electronics Monk Studio is currently the “warmest” Monk earbud under the 100 USD. Despite this remark, its sound character still falls within the “neutral” category to my ears, leaning to the more relaxed, warm sound signature, while keeping the vocal-forward, Venture Electronics house sound.

Lows:

• In Venture Electronics terms, this is less chunky and elevated in bass when compared to the Monk Plus 7th Edition, which makes it sound a bit punchier when compared. On its own, its bass “slams” more than “bounces” to my ears, exhibiting a punchy, midbass-dominant response. Details and texture for an earbud under 15 USD is still there, nothing out of ordinary. This also is by no means a basshead earbud either. Overall, the bass of the Monk Studio, for a flathead earbuds, is tastefully done, especially for those people who prefer flathead earbuds more, and are accustomed to a punchy bass response.

Mids:

• This region in my opinion, is the reason why I called the Monk Studio the “Monk A1’s slightly different sibling” as it is warmer and thicker, as opposed to the Monk A1s thinner, nearly flat approach, while keeping the neutral character. The Monk Studio’s mids are thicker, smoother, and have a mild midbass bleed to it. It isn’t a deal breaker though, because it seems that this is a tuning choice and not an accident, to my ears since it never sounded recessed nor nasal at all. Lower mids are thick and smooth, and have a decent amount of texture to it, particularly on raspy vocals. Upper mids are mildly elevated, exhibiting a good amount of clarity and presence. Peaks and harshness on this region are zero, which makes it a very good companion for longer listening sessions. Overall, the Monk Studio managed to present itself as a warmer Monk Variant in this region, while keeping the Venture Electronics’ vocal forward signature.

Treble:

• Just like my review on the Monk A1, I find the treble here in the Monk Studio relaxed, but this time, it is smoothened a bit more, which lessens any peaks and sibilance further. This also means that detail retrieval on this flathead earbud is lesser in quantity when compared to the Monk A1. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on one’s preferences. Price wise, I can still confidently say that this still has sufficient macro and microdetails, if we’re considering this as a non-monitoring earbuds, despite its name.

Soundstage, Imaging and Separation:

• This department is also the second reason why I keep saying that the Monk Studio is the Monk A1’s cousin, as both of these earbuds exhibit the same width of soundstage, give or take. The soundstage of the Monk Studio is wide, very spacious, and has good height and depth to it. This is probably the second widest flathead earbuds on the Monk lineup under 20 USD, right next to the Monk SL. Separation and layering is good enough for its price, with mild instances of congestion on very busy passages. Imaging is as accurate as it can be and have zero problems rendering vocal and instrument positions.

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Other flathead earbud Comparisons!

VE Monk Plus 7th Edition

• The Venture Electronics Monk Plus 7th Edition is a more balanced, midcentric sounding flathead when compared to the Monk Studio, but has lesser thickness and soundstage width when compared. The MP7 is also cheaper if bought without the bundle dongle.

VE Monk A1

• The VE Monk A1 and Monk Studio are siblings, in my humble opinion. Their only difference is where they lean in the spectrum. The Monk A1 leans to the slightly brighter side of the spectrum, while the Monk Studio leans to the warmer side of things. Aside from that, the Monk Plus is thicker and lesser in detail, which makes it a better companion for long listening hours, particularly for those people who are very sensitive to clear, crispy upper frequencies.

VE Monk SL

• The VE Monk SL, just like the Monk A1, leans slightly to the brighter, leaner side of the spectrum when compared to the Monk Studio’s warm, thick character. Their differences in sound is that the Monk SL is airier and more vocal-forward in sound. This also affects the technical performance of the Monk SL compared to the Monk Studio, but not by a lot.

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Pros:

• A warmer, thicker, Monk A1!
• Warm, “relatively neutral” sound signature!
• Punchy, slightly thick bass response!
• Warm, thick mids!
• Non-fatiguing upper frequencies!
• Wide, spacious soundstage!
• Very good fit and comfort! (still subjective, it’s an earbud)
• Longer than usual cable!
• Fairly easy to drive for an earbud!

Cons:

• Has less detail retrieval compared to the Monk A1 (not by a lot though)
• Slight midbass bleed can be observed (compared to other Monk variants)
• A more noticeable visual difference compared (aside from the longer than usual cable) to the other Monk Variants would be a great help for everybody (suggestion)
• A carrying case would be a good treat for this earbud, even if it may add an additional expense to the overall presentation (nitpick)

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Let me say this first: The Monk Studio, is probably the “niche” Monk variant among the Monk lineup, since it still inherits the previous, warm, smooth Monk Plus sound, but shaved off the potential mud and bloat the previous Monk Plus generations had, and made it more neutral in sound, with a longer cable. The overall motif of this earbud in my opinion, lives up to its name, since this is a flathead earbuds that you can just plug straight and directly to your audio interface or sound card in your desktop PC/setup and use it as your daily earphone, instead of using headphones, if we’re talking about accessibility and ease of use. This also makes me recommend to use the Monk Studio more in the house instead of using it outdoors, due to its longer than usual cable. But hey, no one’s stopping you to enjoy the Monk Studio anywhere you go, as long as you prefer warm, smoothened out, mildly vocal forward, thick-sounding flathead earbuds. This one is cozy, Venture Electronics!

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Pairing recommendations:

• Source: The Venture Electronics Monk Studio pairs well with all of VE’s USB DACs and dongles. I find it paired well with their Devastator among all of their budget dongles. Any 2VRMs neutral-sounding source will pair the Monk Studio well.
• Earbud foams: I had no problems using the earbud foams included with the Monk Studio. You may still use your preferred earbud foams.

Thank you for reading!

Non-affiliated links here:

https://shopee.ph/Venture-Electronics-VE-Monk-Studio-Earbuds-Hifi-Earphones-i.477211504.26655724742

Additional photos here: