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

[darkdoorway]

really need a mic in monk plus... so i can use it with my phone

Would be nice. Isolation won't be great. Use etymotic with mic myself - great isolation, but monk with mic would be welcome.

 

[Arttt]

ö.Ö
 
yehhhhh add the mic to monk , and personaly i want my Monk to glow in the dark with neon blue lights ,  would be cool if neon lights would change it pace and blink depending on the music i listen to , like a visualization on Winamp!
 
Can cable be done with Alligator leather instead of cheap black rubber ? and stereo jacket could be made of red wood with a little golden plate on it , and on that plate i want Lee to write a few words to me , like  " Enjoy your Monk+ , Arttt " and his autograph ....

 

[zhibli06]

  guess i'm late because my monk+ took 3 weeks to arrive but i'll give my impression anyway
 
so first thing - im sorry but dear god, the included red/blue foams are TERRIBLE. uncomfortable and just barely better than wearing naked. pretty unfortunate, as I'm sure many people won't have a very good impression if they could only hear what I was hearing for the first few minutes. tinny, agh the highs, and virtually no bass. I seriously thought I got janked up drivers or something. Idk but maybe this explains some of the varying impressions i've seen from some light skimming of the last 50 or so pages i haven't kept up with.
But anyway, I tossed the foams immediately and put on random donuts I found - I think red ones from either the OG monk or zen. then bam, SONIC BLISS!
 
the changes/improvements from the monk 1 are substantial and brilliantly done IMO. the sound is more balanced without significantly altering the signature. bass/mids/highs, everything is more detailed. this evolution is everything I wanted in the Zen 2 - just a bit more mids/upper mids pweez and throw in improved detail in every area as a nice bonus. the monk+ still lacks ultimate sub bass extension just like the monk 1, but that'd be awfully mean of me to criticize when this thing costs 5 freakin dollars. no bully.
 
I'll be recommending the monk+ to friends and family whenever I can but i'm not sure if i want them to buy it. i think i'll just buy it myself, swap out the foams with some spares i have, then pass it along.

 
Thx for your feedback~ 
 
I am very relived to hear from a loyal fan like u that the monk plus is indeed a improvement.
 
To be honest, It was not easy to beat our own Monk-fame~ But I would like to think that we actually did it.
 
And yes, I do not think the stock foam of Monk Plus is very high quality,
 
but I found many fans in and out of China, prefer this stock foam to our thick red foam.
 
we all have different taste in sound, and in the same time, we all have very different gears.
 
so I had to include the ultra-thin foam in the monk plus, I know it is not the most long-lasting foam u can find on the market.
 
but We did put in 4 pairs , so people can double-wear them if they wanna.
 
Of course, the Ex-Pack is a must for anybody who wanna get their own best sound out of the MP.
 
We are working very hard to improve the thick red foams in the EX-Pack as well.
 
Which should be out in a week or two , I hope
 
 
Cheers
 
Lee

 

[ilmothedude]

I haven't found Monk plus foams uncomfortable at all, but I'm new Monk fan and haven't experienced older version. But I think plus foams are good enough. I even cut centre holes to one pair so there would be a bit more treble. But yeah, some say too much treble, some want more treble... it's all matter of preference. And that makes whole audio hobby interesting!

 

[vapman]

@rymd we will have to agree to disagree on the red/blue foam covers! i put them on all my high end earbuds. i think when you get more used to the monk sound and want something more clear than the donuts you'll enjoy them, and if not, there are the rubber rings in the expansion pack which are really nice by themselves

 

[zhibli06]

  I haven't found Monk plus foams uncomfortable at all, but I'm new Monk fan and haven't experienced older version. But I think plus foams are good enough. I even cut centre holes to one pair so there would be a bit more treble. But yeah, some say too much treble, some want more treble... it's all matter of preference. And that makes whole audio hobby interesting!

it can't be as fine as the thicker one 
 
cuz it is so thin, we have to use special material 

 

[golov17]

These foams are brilliant! Analog on the market does not exist! Special thanks for them!

 

[ilmothedude]

  it can't be as fine as the thicker one 
 
cuz it is so thin, we have to use special material 

Yeah, probably thicker ones are more comfy, I just haven't used better or any foams at all for a long time because Monks are actually my comeback to earbuds after long time. I don't have comfy reference foams to compare to.

 

[myemaildw]

did brooko listen to monk with 75 ohm adapter? science is good but one line cant show resolution or 2d image that sound makes on tympanic membrane.

 

[Brooko]

did brooko listen to monk with 75 ohm adapter? science is good but one line cant show resolution or 2d image that sound makes on tympanic membrane.

 
Of course I listened.  I'll make a list of the things that were claimed with the adaptor by others:
 

1. Increased soundstage
   
2. More sparkly highs
   
3. More intimate mids
   
4. Deeper bass
   
5. More details
   
6. Clearer and cleaner sound
   

Changes in all of the above - if they were real changes - would show in a frequency plot, a CSD, or in other measurements (square wave etc). And in the case of most of those claim - I should be able to hear them too.  After volume matching - I don't.
 
The same changes are often claimed when comparing two of the same device, and one is louder than the other.  What the impedance adaptor does is drop the volume.  I showed that with the measurements.  I'm willing to bet no-one making the claims would be able to differentiate the two in a properly controlled volume matched blind test.  If you'd like to volunteer to test it, I'll see if I can set it up with an independent observer arranging the controls and assisting with the tests. Just let me know.

 

[Brooko]

Oh - and by the way - the idea I would make any claims without listening shows you really don't know me or my reviewing style and methodology.  This may help:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/f/7898/brooko

 

[Arttt]

I just bought sennheiser mx170 just to have something to compare monk to. Since last time I try ear buds was at middle school at math classes at the back of classroom ...was like 10000 years ago, so I didn't know what to be expected from buds today.

I also bought new foam pads, not just thicker foam, but also tighter fit.

Mx170 looks simple and good, typical German design. Very light and build quality doesn't feel cheap.
From the first seconds they feel very comfortable in the ear, no need to adjust for sweet spot.
So I pressed play on my iPad Air and the smile from my face ( I always smile when I put on new headphones/iems) was gone ....
All sounds harsh thin and artificial, vocal makes you wanna pull them out of ears and throw them under the soffa...
Instruments had no body, Plastic - sound.

I pluged monk with new foam I bought seperatly,and boom.... Music flows thrue my ears ....
You won't know how good monk is till you direct compare it to something like mx170, and mx170 suppose to be not that bad for ear buds...

As for foam arguments, here is what I think. With thicker foam you gain more body to the sound , warmer mids, more bass and smoother treble.
Depending on the gear you use with monk, those things could be something that you was missing with thin foam or it could be too much and you will be missing sparkle air and clarity...

So it's about balancing the sound with thin/thick foam to the gear you have and the taste of yours...
Would be cool if Lee added both options of thin and thick foam , and a bottle of 25 years old Whiskey , I'm sure it would increase sound quality ...

 

[ngoshawk]

Oh - and by the way - the idea I would make any claims without listening shows you really don't know me or my reviewing style and methodology.  This may help:

http://www.head-fi.org/f/7898/brooko

I think what @Brooko did was isolate the one mechanism which some were claiming was a near-game changer for the Monk/+. He kept the source the same (which we all should have learned in 6th grade Science), and changed ONE item (again we learned this in 6th grade Science). His results speak for themselves, and I applaud the test he did.

Of course changing sources might show slightly different numbers, but you have taken out all impartiality by changing two variables. It shouldn't (and doesn't) matter a hill of beans what the source is, as long as it is consistent. To those that want/purchased the adapter, best of luck, but as I stated much easier in this thread, it kind of defeats the purpose of the $5 earbud...I like them as they are.

Well done, Brooko and thank you!

 

[Fabi]

Hi Brooko,
 
I read your reviews with a lot of interest.
You have measured Monk Plus with impedance adapter.
But I am very curious to know if there is any change in sound with original Monk with impedance adapter in measurements.
If you have time to do it, can you please measure it? 

 

I love my Monk. I have Monk Plus and 75 ohm adapter in transit. Can't wait to try it. 

 

[ngoshawk]

Thx for your feedback~ 

I am very relived to hear from a loyal fan like u that the monk plus is indeed a improvement.

To be honest, It was not easy to beat our own Monk-fame~ But I would like to think that we actually did it.

And yes, I do not think the stock foam of Monk Plus is very high quality,

but I found many fans in and out of China, prefer this stock foam to our thick red foam.

we all have different taste in sound, and in the same time, we all have very different gears.

so I had to include the ultra-thin foam in the monk plus, I know it is not the most long-lasting foam u can find on the market.

but We did put in 4 pairs , so people can double-wear them if they wanna.

Of course, the Ex-Pack is a must for anybody who wanna get their own best sound out of the MP.

We are working very hard to improve the thick red foams in the EX-Pack as well.

Which should be out in a week or two , I hope


Cheers

Lee

I must second @rymd's findings. I hesitated posting until I had the same number of hours on the + as I have on the original. To me, the + is a more "mature" sound. Deeper bass, more controlled mids, without losing the highs. And a warmer sound, which I am beginning to understand is what I like.

It is not as "in your face" sounding as the older Monk. Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate the original, and gave away SEVERAL pairs to VERY satisfied co-workers/family members who DO love them, as do I. But I truly appreciate the improvements of the + that much more.

I find myself listening to the + much more than the original, with a much more diverse set of music. The original was limited mostly to rock music by me, due to my preferences and taste. The + on the other hand I use much more aggressively across genres. I am still fiddling with the expansion pack, to finalize my listening pleasure, too.

I truly appreciate the time and effort Lee has put into this little $5 earbud. It shows his true passion (to me) that he cares enough about his "bottom end" product to make it better for us. An excellent effort it is, too.

Cheers, Lee.