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

[Arttt]

True head-fiers use their ears, graphs for old people ... Boring stuff....

 

[RedJohn456]

True head-fiers use their ears, graphs for old people ... Boring stuff....

hey now no need for statements like that, a bit of reproducible objective data can help identify what it is that you are exactly hearing. Its not the end all be all in terms of sound, but important nonetheless.
 
I myself am curious what effect an impedance adapter can do. @Brooko mate whats a simple way to decently volume match? I have multiple pairs so I can a/b an adapter and a non adapter one simultaneously and see if I can hear a difference. Not sure if u mentioned this, but where did you get an adapter? I might get one just out of curiosity.

 

[vapman]

Any yuin pk1 owners around? I´d be interested how they compare to the monks.

There are a couple PK1 owners hanging out in the earbuds thread who also have monks, but I won't name names if they don't want to be disturbed

 

[Arttt]

monk scaled a lot going from iPad air to my home system.   hahahaha i can't believe i even plugged a 5$ buds to it =)  sounds real good by the way, and i can almost feel how my hifiman he560 staring at me from a distance while I'm listening to Monk ... its a 3rd time today i chose Monk over he560 )
 
Hmm i wonder how monk sound on Chord mojo , anyone heard that combo ??
 
 
P.s
 the thicker foam is , the better is sound....comfort wise its really the same .....
 
and i did tried putting double foam , the ones that come with monk....
double stock foam vs thick tight foam i bought  , well putting double foam made sound just muddy .... and the new foam i bought wasn't much thicker but more consistent and had tighter fit , it gave more warmth and body , really improved bass and vocals now sound full-bodied  treble does not feels rolled off at all ...so basically no compromises with new thicker foam , only improvements .
 
Testing different foam is highly recommended with monk+

 

[endia]

Any yuin pk1 owners around? I´d be interested how they compare to the monks.

it will be not fair..
I love monk/+ but nowhere near to resolution,soundstage and timbre of pk1, imho..

 

[ilmothedude]

Thanks Arttt for foam info. Sounds like I have to buy different foams to test with Monk+. It sure feels fun to plug little 5$ Monks to desktop headphone amp but it sure sounds great aswell. I have also chosen Monks over my Hifiman he-400 lately, seems odd but monks are just so good. Mostly when I don't feel like wearing heavy hifimans on my head.

 

[birdman]

  Any yuin pk1 owners around? I´d be interested how they compare to the monks.

I have both. Regarding price I'd say Monk+ is a $5 earbud that sounds like a $15-30 earbud, and Yuin PK1 is $100+ earbud that sounds like a $70-100 earbud, depending upon whether it's amped or not.
 
Both on the warm side. I think PK1 is more balanced, much more clear (but could be better for the price), easy to listen to, the bass is strong (but not real snappy for that price). It has a wonderful natural warmth that sounds richer than Monk+. Monk+ can sometimes get a resonance at certain pitches that I find irritating, but not as bad as the original Monk. PK1 never does that. If the size of your ear canals is an issue, PK1 housing is smaller so it suits smaller ear canals. PK1 is never fatiguing.
 
I have a couple biases against the PK1. It needs an amp to sound at its best, and I'm usually going portable and prefer not to carry an amp, even a small one. Another bias is that I went through two PK3's and one Yuin G2A in six months, with all three failing at either the plug or earphone. So I started avoiding using the PK1's in any physically active situations, paranoid about an expensive earbud failing if I moved too fast. I do most of my listening while moving around.
 
PK1 is great, has some shortcomings, I probably wouldn't pay new price for it. I'll have it recabled at some point so I can be comfortable abusing it. 
 
I think every earbud fan should get at least one Monk+. They're the perfect on-the-go, get-sweaty-at-the-gym-or-on-the-trail, throw 'em-on-when-you-want-to-listen-to-something-right-now-and-your-other-buds-are-on-the-other-side-of-the-house kind of bud.
 
Just saw endia's post about how it's not a fair comparison, and I agree, the prices are too different, the Yuin SHOULD sound a lot better, and does. 

 

[Arttt]

@ilmothedude 
 
jähhh, something about monk+ is so simple and convenient , makes u wanna simply listen to music....

 

[ilmothedude]

Arttt
Spot on!

 

[ngoshawk]

Thanks Arttt for foam info. Sounds like I have to buy different foams to test with Monk+. It sure feels fun to plug little 5$ Monks to desktop headphone amp but it sure sounds great aswell. I have also chosen Monks over my Hifiman he-400 lately, seems odd but monks are just so good. Mostly when I don't feel like wearing heavy hifimans on my head.

I use the donuts on both Monk/+ and really like that sound. I didn't like the full foam at all on the original. I do like the thin foams on the +, but still prefer the donuts. Cheers and best of luck.

 

[zhibli06]

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 ...

how about a 25 years old Whiskey for 2 set of ex-pack lolol
 
But seriously, I don't think our fans need to buy them extra foams separately any more, we are working very hard to get the ex-pack back on the shell.
 
we had about 1000 prepared last time, thought this will last us quite a while.
 
and .....~ well , u all know what happened, I think it is an error my end, for that I apologize to all our fans.
 
 
Cheers
 
Lee

 

[Brooko]

Hope its OK - I'm going to answer both of you together.  The 75 ohm adaptor is from DUNU.  I also have a 150 ohm - I might repeat the test with that today.  Someone has asked me to measure the monks, so I'll set that up after I get back from Church this morning.
 
What I will state is that I'm surprised at the lack of audio knowledge when I presented some simple yet unavoidable facts about the Monk Plus. Lets look at the Etys.  If you check Tyll's graph of phase and impedance (http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/EtymoticER4PT.pdf) you'll note that the Ety's have big changes in the impedance curve from about 1 kHz onward. What this means is that if you change impedance, the frequency curve will change dramatically - ergo they will sound different.
 
The Monk Plus on the other hand has a very flat impedance curve.  Tyll hasn't measured them - but he has measured the VE Duke so I can show you that (http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/VentureElectronicsDuke.pdf).  Notice how the impedance curve (3rd graph) is virtually flat. If you have the Duke - put an imepdance adaptor on that and volume match.  There should be very little difference in that either (other than volume).
 
When I commented on the Monk Plus - I was talking about a common phenomena which can easily be proven.  It isn't magic.  It isn't me having "old ears" as another poster so eloquently suggested.  It is simply me questioning whether there was that much change.  No-one could tell me so I bought my own adaptor, volume matched, listened, and didn't detect a difference.  After that I measured. And that proved to me that there practically is no difference. BTW the proof is self-evident, and I am really surprised you guys are debating it.  Anyone with basic audio knowledge should be able to see that.
 
Now if you guys want to go on believing there is a difference (other than volume), I have no issue.  The measure of the machine is the pleasure it brings you. But for you to state it to others as fact  when it clearly is not - that is where I have issues. Has either one of you completely volume matched (not by ear - but by SPL meter - or mutlimeter measuring voltage) when you've been making this comparison?  Because if you haven't I'd suggest you do so.  I'll also have a word to Lee - I know he'll back me.  Perhaps if he comments to you then you'll listen to him.
 
And Ozkan - you can make all the claims you like.  Until I see evidence I will remain sceptical - I'm simply wired that way.  I have enough friends and family in Australia that I'm sure I can get an independent test set-up with proper controls. We'll set up the Monk Plus with and without the adaptor - use a switching box so it can be instantaneous.  Volume match to within 0.1 dB.  Play whatever favourite track you like.  Test would be blind.  I'm willing to take the time to set it up - because I am 100% sure you will not spot a difference.  My ears tell me this. Measurements confirm it for me. It's not your ears at fault here either - I'm not suggesting that.  What I'm suggesting is that you have clearly not volume matched when you have tested, and now you're taking the difference in volume as an indicator of changes in frequency.
 
As I have proven - that is not the case.
 
 
Quote:

Well I'm really surprised to hear you couldn't hear any sonic differences except some volume drop. Don't want to sound rude but your answer to the 75ohm adapter ignores Etymotic ER4S conversion cable which a lot of people buy to transform their ER4P to ER4S. So according to your measurements we are all dreaming about the sonic difference the adapter reveals. Sorry but I won't take your test seriously as I heard a huge change in sound using both Etymotic 75ohm conversion cable and Bocur Audio 75ohm adapter cable. I can also hear the differences between 2 brand new IEMs earbuds or headphones of the same brand and model or burned in or new ones btw.

There is a significant amount of difference when using a 75ohm adapter with either Monk or Monk plus for me!

May I ask which adapter brand did you use for testing the effects on the sound? Any link would be appreciated.

 
 

 
I dont want to sound rude too but I echo your thoughts. I keep using the ER4PT to ER4S as a classic example why the 75 ohms adapter will affect the sound. Btw I am using a Dunu 75 ohms impedance plug. There is an increase in sonic performance although the graph suggests otherwise.

 
Ric - same challenge.  If I can find someone to set up a test - will you take it?  All I ask is that both of you publicly state on the forum that you were wrong after I've shown that you can't tell the difference.  BTW - what did you use to volume match when you compared?
 
Note - I am talking about Monk Plus here - not the Etys

 

[Brooko]

 
hey now no need for statements like that, a bit of reproducible objective data can help identify what it is that you are exactly hearing. Its not the end all be all in terms of sound, but important nonetheless.
 
I myself am curious what effect an impedance adapter can do. @Brooko mate whats a simple way to decently volume match? I have multiple pairs so I can a/b an adapter and a non adapter one simultaneously and see if I can hear a difference. Not sure if u mentioned this, but where did you get an adapter? I might get one just out of curiosity.

 Tamal - I use a calibrated SPL meter with a tube.  
 

• Set your listening level without the adaptor.
• Without touching the volume level on the device, attach the earbud to the tube and play a 1 kHz test tone and note the SPL read by the meter
• Add the impedance adaptor - repeat the measurement, and adjust the playback volume until the SPL matches the first reading.
• Note the new volume to use.

 
You can now switch between the two devices - changing the volume each time you switch.

 

[RedJohn456]

   Tamal - I use a calibrated SPL meter with a tube.  
 

• Set your listening level without the adaptor.
• Without touching the volume level on the device, attach the earbud to the tube and play a 1 kHz test tone and note the SPL read by the meter
• Add the impedance adaptor - repeat the measurement, and adjust the playback volume until the SPL matches the first reading.
• Note the new volume to use.

 
You can now switch between the two devices - changing the volume each time you switch.

Thanks Paul, I will be looking into setting something up and seeing what comes of it I appreciate you taking the time to spell it all out for me. 

 

[Brooko]

I was asked via PM to also measure the original Monk - so I repeated the test.
 
Set-up was Monk earpiece, connected to Veritas, connected to external soundcard.  External sound card connected to E11K (low gain, no bass boost).  E11K is used so that when I first measure I know I am using a perfectly flat piece of equipment with under 1 ohm of impedance.
 
Monk has original full foams (they make it easier to have consistent seal at the coupler). I then use rubber bands to perfectly attach the Monk so that it cannot shift - that way I have the same seal when I am measuring.  Original frequency curve will be slightly bass heavy  - because the bands hold the Monk tightly to the coupler and make a tighter seal that you would actually experience in real life. 
 
I then measured without the adaptor, with the 75 ohm and with the 150 ohm.  After volume matching, all three graphs are the same - apart from a slight increase in sub-bass at 20-35 Hz. For normal music, this will be inaudible.
 
Both listening and also measuring - there appears to be no difference with original Monk either.