[2021 Update] Venture Electronics (VE) Monk V2, Monk Plus & Monk Go: a $5 earbud that taking the world by storm!!!

[yangian]

  Received the Monk+'s. 
 
The hype is real with this one. They sound very natural and still have a decent amount of bass. They sound unquestionably better than the ones which come with the Benjie S5. Larger soundstage, better mids, more refined highs. The bass is less solid yes. But that's it.

 
Benjie earbuds has larger soundstage than M+, very obvious. Especially on better amplifier, it's much larger than M+

 

[RedJohn456]

  been using the monks since i got them and i agree the hype is real 

 
Yeah they are stunningly good for the price. I just heard the 2.5 mm balanced one out of my FIiO X7 today and they sound fantastic. The Balanced output of my Geek Out V2+ infinity is better though, makes the monk + sound like an open back

 

[RedJohn456]

   
Benjie earbuds has larger soundstage than M+, very obvious. Especially on better amplifier, it's much larger than M+

 
The soundstage of the M+ balanced out of my geek out V2+ is just cray cray

 

[mochill]

Did you update the firmware to 3.0.3 redjohn456

 

[vapman]

Maybe it's just the new gain opamp in my portable amp, but I went back to the candy Monk after weeks of not using it. Blown away! forgot how great it was!

 

[vapman]

Sorry for double posting but lee and KK are streaming a live event!
(never mind, delayed an hour due to bad internet connection)

 

[thamasha69]

  Maybe it's just the new gain opamp in my portable amp, but I went back to the candy Monk after weeks of not using it. Blown away! forgot how great it was!

Would you say different sounding now from regular Monk Plus, or the same?

 

[Ira Delphic]

I'm listening to an album with delicate vocals over the NAS, source lg v10, no eq changes and I'm blown away! The slighly gritty treble, and warm sound is exquisite! Do not underestimate the Monk+!!!

 

[torpu]

Received my monk plus's over the weekend took about a 3-4 weeks to get to the UK and I have been burning them in over sat / sun , I  was dubious about the hype (sceptical 

)  and initially had concerns about the sound signature especially when listening to some of my favourite smooth jazz as I do on a Monday when working  

.
 
By accident I found that my headphones seem to have been wired  ( L as right and R as left). Had to check this on my laptop as my other portable sources don't have balance adjustments. 
 
Reversing the headphones and ignoring the markings on the headphones ..........I can see what the hype is about the soundstage is so open and balanced for this price point. I need to burn them in a bit more to really enjoy them to the maximum .......  
 
I have quite a few in ear headphones ,but hate using them for a long period of time .. these are really comfortable and airy which is a suprise ......
So something to check? ( Or it  might be just my pair) ......

 

 

[karloil]

By accident I found that my headphones seem to have been wired  ( L as right and R as left). Had to check this on my laptop as my other portable sources don't have balance adjustments. 

I have quite a few in ear headphones ,but hate using them for a long period of time .. these are really comfortable and airy which is a suprise ......
So something to check? ( Or it  might be just my pair) ......:atsmile:  

I have (and most of us) a few Monk+s and they don't have any issues with swapped channels. Try looking for an album XLO RR, the 1st track is a Channel Identification track. This should determine if you really have a swapped channel issue.

 

[torpu]

You are right  just tried XLO RR and the left and right are ok

   must be something up with my hearing

....

 

[danmlr]

I seriously doubt burn in has any impact on sound quality with earbuds. It's just time wasted when you could be enjoying listening to them instead. 

 

[AT Khan]

I seriously doubt burn in has any impact on sound quality with earbuds. It's just time wasted when you could be enjoying listening to them instead. 

I second this. I had to replace one monk driver of mine. Several hours used pair got one side driver from a brand new pair. Couldn't tell any difference at all in the resulting set of monks.

 

[ilmothedude]

I think single thin foam configuration is the best and most optimal for Monk+. I have used thicker foams, hiegi donut foams which are thick aswell and always with thicker foams bass becomes over emphasized and affects whole airiness of sound too much. Naked monks have great air and treble and mid balance but bass is a bit thin. So thin foams, are the ones for me.

 

[vapman]

 
Would you say different sounding now from regular Monk Plus, or the same?

You know I've been saying since I got it the Candy Monk sounds no different from a normal Plus.
 
Well after getting my shiny new Parasound amp (you guys think 45W per channel is enough for the Monk? I dunno...)
I decided to do some A/B with a plain monk+ and my Candy. (I have 2 but one's still unused/unopened)
 
And while I'm not prepared to say it's not all just in my head, but I would swear the Candy Monk has an ever so slight amount of more body to the sound. As in everything is slightly less "thin" sounding.
 
Would I say it's enough of a change to make it worth freaking out over and trying to get a Monk+? No.... I would suggest, if you're unable/unwilling to buy a candy, get a really nice cable* and change it yourself.
 
 
 
 
 
* = Just because a cable is expensive doesn't mean it's good. The Monk/Monk Plus has a better stock cable than the majority of headphones on the market. Therefore, if you're going to upgrade your Monk cable, be very dang sure it is very good and worthy of the asking price! And, anyone who wishes to recable with pure silver should not come crying to the thread when their Monk has no more bass and a thin but sharp treble.