Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Mr. Lee and Venture Electronics for providing a review unit of the Zen LL. Rest assured that my impressions written in this review are my own personal thoughts and opinions and in no way influenced by outside parties.
I am not an expert in this hobby nor claim to be an audiophile. I just love listening to music and am fond of writing articles.
Introduction:
Venture Electronics. Arguably one of, if not the most iconic earbud maker, at least in this present time. They have a wide range of products – from the legendary “hyperbudget” Monk series, up to the TOTL Sun. I have here the VE Zen LL (standard), selling for 69.80 USD, with an impedance rating of 150 ohms. It can be ordered with either a 3.5mm, 2.5mm, or 4.4mm jack. There’s an SLQ version as well, with the same driver but different colorway and cable, selling for 128 USD.
Oppo Reno 4 > KGUSS BH3 > Takstar HA101 > Transducer
It was possible to reach my listening volume using only my phone, with lots of headroom. While it is 150 ohms, I have a feeling that it has a high sensitivity that compensates for the impedance. However, compared to a phone, when plugged to the HUD100 MK2, the Zen LL experiences slight improvements in clarity (as well as treble, in extension), separation, soundstage, note weight and bass response when volume matched (only by ear). Not to a degree that prevents usage with a weaker source. A phone will be enough to enjoy the Zen LL but you will definitely benefit with further amplification.
Build and Comfort: Not a lot to talk about. Compared to MX500? this shell is a million times better, at least for my ears. Considering the price tag, the shell doesn’t feel “premium” at all. Plastic. Light. But a practical design nonetheless. It just disappears in my ears and I keep on forgetting that I’m wearing earbuds. No sharp edges whatsoever. Earbud fit is more personal and subjective than IEMs so as always, YMMV.
Cable, is, well… something I don’t particularly like. It feels jelly-like on hand, a bit sticky, holds some folded shape, and the worse of all – I doubt the durability. Mine arrived with a rip in the insulation. Cable was stiff OOTB but with some use it became more manageable, though not by much. One favorable aspect of the cable is that it’s not that microphonic compared to other non-removable cable earbuds. Good thing as well that it’s very easy to do recabling and/or MMCX mod with earbuds. I got the 4.4mm variant and the jack is metal and feels pretty solid. Splitter is nondescript with the tightest cable slider I’ve ever encountered (not efficient to use).
Isolation is non-existent and sound leakage is negligible.
Package: Carrying case. EX Pack Lite. Zen LL.
Now, onto sound:
For this review, the earbud was left in stock mode, without mods using the standard foams included with a listening volume of medium. I cannot use the included doughnut and thinner full foams because the former keeps moving around and falling off the driver while the latter ripped apart. Going foamless will help with clarity and soundstage (more airy) at the expense of bass extension (though is much, much cleaner sounding). I actually prefer foamless but as the majority cannot go this route, I did this review with foams.
I had a tendency to increase the loudness when listening to music due to the tonality of the Zen LL.
----------
Bass: big, thumpy bass that's a step away from bloated. Large mid-bass emphasis which gives that noticeable weight in the sound. While you can get to “sub-bass” frequencies with a sine sweep, the tuning of the Zen LL doesn’t provide enough for this region and as such, there is little-to-no rumble when listening to music (you hear a lot of mid-bass, though). Surprisingly, it renders texture well but struggles to maintain control with more complex bass lines and loses definition. Average attack, slow decay.
Midrange: warm, full-bodied and intimate. Sounds thick and sort of veiled. With that, this will be controversial, – it doesn’t sound natural. It is definitely colored leaning on the warmer side. BUT I get how it can become a very pleasing tonality (subjective). With the weight that the bass brings, acoustic guitars have this mahogany-esque sound to it. Resolution leaves me wanting for more considering the price. Midrange texture as well – vocals sound too smooth, distorted electric guitars lack bite, and the like. Well, that does make it fit for getting you to sleep, the purpose it was made for. Depending on the track, vocals are overpowered by the mid-bass and sound recessed.
Treble: relaxed and warm. Too warm. Others can think of this as recessed and rolled-off. How you will like this type of tuning will be highly subjective. However, it was made to serve as a sleeping “bud,” and the Zen LL embodies this image perfectly, both in comfort and tuning. It sure does make me sleepy when I listen to them. Going foamless will help bring more energy if you like that. No instances of splash.
----------
Timbre: sooo organic. There’s just something with earbuds and timbre, at least with those that I’ve tried.
Soundstage, Imaging, and Separation: This is the part that surprised me the most, particularly in staging – it’s intimate. It’s not what you’d expect from an earbud and actually reminds me of a good IEM’s soundstage along with the sweet layering. Depth is not that perceivable and just enough to not sound 2D. There is no weird imaging going on but the driver struggles when lots of things happen at once.
Detail-retrieval: Nope. Macro and microdetail are hard to notice with the tuning. Resolution, as well. Acceptable, considering the form factor. But for the price…
----------
Conclusion:
The contribution of earbuds in the audio world is that it is so rare to listen to a bad bud, regardless of price with a few exceptions (from those I've read about). The Zen LL is advertised as “the best sleeping-bud” and I fully agree with that. It’s a sound that holds you in a warm embrace, nothing offensive with it and something you can just put on your ears and get sleepy listening to music. One thing very important to consider is that the price-to-performance factor is crazy with earbuds, and I can’t say that I’ll 100% take the Zen LL over the multitude of hyperbudget models out there.
I would like to thank Mr. Lee and Venture Electronics for providing a review unit of the Zen LL. Rest assured that my impressions written in this review are my own personal thoughts and opinions and in no way influenced by outside parties.
I am not an expert in this hobby nor claim to be an audiophile. I just love listening to music and am fond of writing articles.
Introduction:
Venture Electronics. Arguably one of, if not the most iconic earbud maker, at least in this present time. They have a wide range of products – from the legendary “hyperbudget” Monk series, up to the TOTL Sun. I have here the VE Zen LL (standard), selling for 69.80 USD, with an impedance rating of 150 ohms. It can be ordered with either a 3.5mm, 2.5mm, or 4.4mm jack. There’s an SLQ version as well, with the same driver but different colorway and cable, selling for 128 USD.
Oppo Reno 4 > KGUSS BH3 > Takstar HA101 > Transducer
It was possible to reach my listening volume using only my phone, with lots of headroom. While it is 150 ohms, I have a feeling that it has a high sensitivity that compensates for the impedance. However, compared to a phone, when plugged to the HUD100 MK2, the Zen LL experiences slight improvements in clarity (as well as treble, in extension), separation, soundstage, note weight and bass response when volume matched (only by ear). Not to a degree that prevents usage with a weaker source. A phone will be enough to enjoy the Zen LL but you will definitely benefit with further amplification.
Build and Comfort: Not a lot to talk about. Compared to MX500? this shell is a million times better, at least for my ears. Considering the price tag, the shell doesn’t feel “premium” at all. Plastic. Light. But a practical design nonetheless. It just disappears in my ears and I keep on forgetting that I’m wearing earbuds. No sharp edges whatsoever. Earbud fit is more personal and subjective than IEMs so as always, YMMV.
Cable, is, well… something I don’t particularly like. It feels jelly-like on hand, a bit sticky, holds some folded shape, and the worse of all – I doubt the durability. Mine arrived with a rip in the insulation. Cable was stiff OOTB but with some use it became more manageable, though not by much. One favorable aspect of the cable is that it’s not that microphonic compared to other non-removable cable earbuds. Good thing as well that it’s very easy to do recabling and/or MMCX mod with earbuds. I got the 4.4mm variant and the jack is metal and feels pretty solid. Splitter is nondescript with the tightest cable slider I’ve ever encountered (not efficient to use).
Isolation is non-existent and sound leakage is negligible.
Package: Carrying case. EX Pack Lite. Zen LL.
Now, onto sound:
For this review, the earbud was left in stock mode, without mods using the standard foams included with a listening volume of medium. I cannot use the included doughnut and thinner full foams because the former keeps moving around and falling off the driver while the latter ripped apart. Going foamless will help with clarity and soundstage (more airy) at the expense of bass extension (though is much, much cleaner sounding). I actually prefer foamless but as the majority cannot go this route, I did this review with foams.
I had a tendency to increase the loudness when listening to music due to the tonality of the Zen LL.
----------
Bass: big, thumpy bass that's a step away from bloated. Large mid-bass emphasis which gives that noticeable weight in the sound. While you can get to “sub-bass” frequencies with a sine sweep, the tuning of the Zen LL doesn’t provide enough for this region and as such, there is little-to-no rumble when listening to music (you hear a lot of mid-bass, though). Surprisingly, it renders texture well but struggles to maintain control with more complex bass lines and loses definition. Average attack, slow decay.
Midrange: warm, full-bodied and intimate. Sounds thick and sort of veiled. With that, this will be controversial, – it doesn’t sound natural. It is definitely colored leaning on the warmer side. BUT I get how it can become a very pleasing tonality (subjective). With the weight that the bass brings, acoustic guitars have this mahogany-esque sound to it. Resolution leaves me wanting for more considering the price. Midrange texture as well – vocals sound too smooth, distorted electric guitars lack bite, and the like. Well, that does make it fit for getting you to sleep, the purpose it was made for. Depending on the track, vocals are overpowered by the mid-bass and sound recessed.
Treble: relaxed and warm. Too warm. Others can think of this as recessed and rolled-off. How you will like this type of tuning will be highly subjective. However, it was made to serve as a sleeping “bud,” and the Zen LL embodies this image perfectly, both in comfort and tuning. It sure does make me sleepy when I listen to them. Going foamless will help bring more energy if you like that. No instances of splash.
----------
Timbre: sooo organic. There’s just something with earbuds and timbre, at least with those that I’ve tried.
Soundstage, Imaging, and Separation: This is the part that surprised me the most, particularly in staging – it’s intimate. It’s not what you’d expect from an earbud and actually reminds me of a good IEM’s soundstage along with the sweet layering. Depth is not that perceivable and just enough to not sound 2D. There is no weird imaging going on but the driver struggles when lots of things happen at once.
Detail-retrieval: Nope. Macro and microdetail are hard to notice with the tuning. Resolution, as well. Acceptable, considering the form factor. But for the price…
----------
Conclusion:
The contribution of earbuds in the audio world is that it is so rare to listen to a bad bud, regardless of price with a few exceptions (from those I've read about). The Zen LL is advertised as “the best sleeping-bud” and I fully agree with that. It’s a sound that holds you in a warm embrace, nothing offensive with it and something you can just put on your ears and get sleepy listening to music. One thing very important to consider is that the price-to-performance factor is crazy with earbuds, and I can’t say that I’ll 100% take the Zen LL over the multitude of hyperbudget models out there.
****If you have other questions/concerns with the earbud mentioned, feel free to message me****
For the price, I will just skip the Zen LL.
It seems these has been praised with no reason.
Plastic shells at $70 is a no go... Twice the price for a better cable... well, VE is always overpriced.
Thank you for sharing your thoughs.