[zhibli06]

Lee,

For those of us that already placed the order should we go ahead and cancel the order? I only ask because you say that you do not have enough to fulfill all of the orders.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

if I have adjusted your price , u can make the payment , i did my math this time 
 
if I have yet  adjusted your price, plz do both of us a favor , close the order now.
 
cuz next time it will just be list as 5usd instead.
 
Cheers 
 
Lee
 
p.s. I am personally making apologies for each and every order.....there are like 200  hour them.....and I have like 150 personal msg to reply and again make apologies....

 

[Mike11]

My monks arrived 4 days ago here in the beautiful isles of the Philippines (after about 3 weeks) and I have given them a listen off my iPhone 6, old sony dap, and rockboxed sansa fuze, both with and without my e11k. Just wish to chime in and share the following impression:
 
I have the CAL!, the t51i, and the HD 650 in my stable, and by gum, these monks are holding their own weight. Wait, what, a $5 earbud?? What in the world is going on?!?? is what I was constantly asking myself as I sat stunned, but bobbing my head to the sweet sweet sound from these little miracles.
 
I simply cannot understand how Lee can sell these for $5.. Truly a revelation. Lee (and the wizards at VE), you guys deserve a pat on the back, a hug, and a slow appreciative clap. THANK YOU. My tears are welling up at what great gifts these are to audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike. In fact, I just gave a pair to a good friend who is not so crazy about music and he was so effusive of how it sounded, he shared how he sat transfixed for hours and experienced "eargasm."
 
So, for any doubters out there, let me tell you this - the hype is real. In fact, it is not hype, it is truth! Go get a pair, give some to your loved ones, and share the VE gospel. I know I am. 
 
--
Caveat:
 
Much like all things audio, synergy is crucial. Off my iPhone 6 with my Spotify playlist, the monks were ok. With the sansa, it reacted very well on tweaking treble and bass settings. But man, with my Sony Walkmans on stock settings, these were good. Here's the kicker though, when I added the e11k on high gain, holy moly batman! Soundstage and smoothness came in and whisked me away to audio nirvana.
 
For my ears, no foams led to less bass, but so much better harmonics, more reverb, and better soundstage. So no foams for me, which came as quite a surprise as I thought they would sound shrill and painful. Once again thank you, THANK YOU, Lee and VE. 

 

[deerspace]

Thanks for last tidbit of information @Mike11!!!
I'm very new to how equipment works so I'm still trying to figure out all the technical information (which can be a long process because I'm not that bright 

). I have an iPhone 6 as well so I was curious about how the Monk would sound through it.
 
Cheers!

 

[asymcon]

  Thanks for last tidbit of information @Mike11!!!
I'm very new to how equipment works so I'm still trying to figure out all the technical information (which can be a long process because I'm not that bright 

). I have an iPhone 6 as well so I was curious about how the Monk would sound through it.
 
Cheers!

Drop me a PM if you need to know how certain technicalities work.

 

[shankar]

I have an iPhone 6 as well. Enjoying the monk on it but I realize there is more potential with an amp. So, same question as above.
 
Would an amp like E11k make the monk significantly better? Would something like Fujiyama (much cheaper) be of any use? I am assuming that iPhone 6 is already doing a good job with the DAC and so we won't need a DAC + Amp?
 
tl;dr What's a good portable amp to pair with iPhone 6 and Monk?

 

[listen4joy]

i have 2 questions. where can i buy directly the monk iems? and if they are one of the best earbuds why cant i see them placed in this thread?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/441400/earbuds-round-up-update-april-25th-2015
 
the zen is there the monk isnt.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Lee, you have given the Head-fi world a great gift with your products. They're worth the wait as those who own them have learned. In time, others will learn to understand this. Patience people....patience.

 

[fourrobert13]

i have 2 questions. where can i buy directly the monk iems? and if they are one of the best earbuds why cant i see them placed in this thread?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/441400/earbuds-round-up-update-april-25th-2015

the zen is there the monk isnt.

Read back a couple pages and you'll find your answer, however they are out of stock again.

 

[waynes world]

  i have 2 questions. where can i buy directly the monk iems? and if they are one of the best earbuds why cant i see them placed in this thread?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/441400/earbuds-round-up-update-april-25th-2015
 
the zen is there the monk isnt.

 
Here you go... link:
 

  ClieOS, when are you going to try the monk and put them in this thread?  They are back for sale now, $5!

 

Already have it. It is time I need.

 

 

[ngoshawk]

One pair of my Monks came today, ordered with Lee's permission, via @Yablox...initial impression running naked on my iPhone 6+, is that they are very intriguing! Fit is important, and the upper mids are very forward.

Thank you VE community! Good stuff. Time to burn in...

 

[Mike11]

@deerspace & @shankar
 
For me the iPhone 6 is a rather forward sounding source, especially on the vocals. It has great clarity and for my ears, the vocals are elevated above all else. Unfortunately I prefer sound that is more balanced, with better soundstage. But they can drive the monks well, no doubt.
 
I agree with what djscope and others have said here though that they sound even better amped. My cheapo Fiio e11k amp just flesh out their sound and somehow smoothen it and give it better soundstage. Not sure why, but the added power perhaps allows them to stretch their legs more.
 
Again, try them amp-less first, get to feel their tone and signature with respect to your taste, roll with the foams or without, and find your perfect synergy. happy listening1!

 

[mochill]

Bar none the best earbuds under $150

 

[capnjack]

My first Monks arrived last week,so I've had time to get myself used to the sound signature. Now I have a problem, it's just that my RE400s and MEE M6 pro's sound bloody awful!
Lee it's all your fault why did you make the Monk sound so great, I mean, it's only $5, they have no right to sound that good! How good do the Zens sound, for gods sake what do you get for $120 ?
Thanks Lee, you'll be emptying my wallet for me again soon I think.

 

[shankar]

  @deerspace & @shankar
 
For me the iPhone 6 is a rather forward sounding source, especially on the vocals. It has great clarity and for my ears, the vocals are elevated above all else. Unfortunately I prefer sound that is more balanced, with better soundstage. But they can drive the monks well, no doubt.
 
I agree with what djscope and others have said here though that they sound even better amped. My cheapo Fiio e11k amp just flesh out their sound and somehow smoothen it and give it better soundstage. Not sure why, but the added power perhaps allows them to stretch their legs more.
 
Again, try them amp-less first, get to feel their tone and signature with respect to your taste, roll with the foams or without, and find your perfect synergy. happy listening1!

Appreciate your input, @Mike11. I love how the  Monk sounds with the iPhone and as you mention, I too feel that the clarity is splendid in them. I am just eager to see how much I can push it. Hifi is a recent interest and hence I do not own any amps yet. So, I would like to try out the e11k. Could you please explain how you connect your E11k to the iPhone 6? I obviously don't want to double amp. So, I would like to get the signal from the lightning port rather than the 3.5 jack. So far, I have only learnt that I might need to use a lightning to 30-pin adapter, and then the Fiio L9 LOD to connect to the e11k. Sounds a bit too roundabout to me. Is there a better setup? TIA!

 

[zhibli06]

 

  @deerspace & @shankar
 
For me the iPhone 6 is a rather forward sounding source, especially on the vocals. It has great clarity and for my ears, the vocals are elevated above all else. Unfortunately I prefer sound that is more balanced, with better soundstage. But they can drive the monks well, no doubt.
 
I agree with what djscope and others have said here though that they sound even better amped. My cheapo Fiio e11k amp just flesh out their sound and somehow smoothen it and give it better soundstage. Not sure why, but the added power perhaps allows them to stretch their legs more.
 
Again, try them amp-less first, get to feel their tone and signature with respect to your taste, roll with the foams or without, and find your perfect synergy. happy listening1!

Appreciate your input, @Mike11. I love how the  Monk sounds with the iPhone and as you mention, I too feel that the clarity is splendid in them. I am just eager to see how much I can push it. Hifi is a recent interest and hence I do not own any amps yet. So, I would like to try out the e11k. Could you please explain how you connect your E11k to the iPhone 6? I obviously don't want to double amp. So, I would like to get the signal from the lightning port rather than the 3.5 jack. So far, I have only learnt that I might need to use a lightning to 30-pin adapter, and then the Fiio L9 LOD to connect to the e11k. Sounds a bit too roundabout to me. Is there a better setup? TIA!

or u can just get a portable dac/amp, like oppo ha2,  cayin c5dac.
 
my fans in China has tried out the 30-pin adapter and it is not that good as a source and with two dock cable , it will be very uncomfy to carry around.
 
or even get a ck4 or some budget source will be a better option sq-wise
 
of course， I will just simply buy some serious portable source like the qa360 ， L5pro and x7 if my wallet can handle it.
 
 
with all that being said, Plz do not think all phones are equal.
 
my wife uses iphone 6s , its phone out SQ though can't be as good as any modern dap like the x3k and ap100, should be quite good in comparison with 99% of the android smartphone, you will only get a similar or better SQ with android phone that has dedicated audio-chips
like those tons of "hi-fi smart phones": meizu pro5, xiaomi note, vivo x3s x5m......
 
 
all in all, I will say iphone has decent phone-out at least, but if using external amp, I will just grab one that has a dac inside.
 
Cheers
 
Lee