[RedJohn456]

  it would be the same as the one @golov17 showed earlier, only the logo will be in silver , not like the old version to be red.
 
we are working on new shell, but the will be a lot more expansive than the current Monk Asura , Zen , line.
 
Cheers
 
Lee

Cool, thanks for the details Lee. Any chance you and your team will be working on any iems in the future? Given what you have been able to do with earbuds thus far, would be nice to see what your team can pull off iem wise  

 

[golov17]

We Love Ear Buds!

 

[ClieOS]

   
Fwiw, I don't hear any veil with the Zens, and you would think that a well respected reviewer like ClieOS might pick up on a veil if it existed. They have become my primary listening gizmo, and that wouldn't be happening if they were veiled. Maybe you should let them burn in for a while and see if they improve for you. And if they don't, then maybe it's just that the sound signature for you.
 
At any rate, based on your hype of the Baldor (and since they are so inexpensive), I almost ordered a pair for the heck of it. But then I saw the image of them being worn sideways. Huh? Is that required to get good sound out of them?
 
Edit: they DO require some good amping though, so that needs to be taken into consideration (possibly you have done so already).

 
E100 has a very full and forwarded sound signature - so if a person thought that is how music is supposed to sound like, then I think it is normal that he think Zen is recessed or even 'veil'. That's more of a difference in prospective and listening preference, I think. For example, to me,  E100's excellent fullness renders a beautiful mid range, but hinder the dynamic over bass and treble and limits its soundstage, and makes E100 sounds more toward a mid-centric sound to me. That's where I find Zen to be better - its overall frequency distribution. Neither one of the frequency range stands out nor shadows another frequency. The overall image is grander as a result.

 

[mochill]

+1 , I hear it the same clieOS

 

[AndroidVageta]

   
E100 has a very full and forwarded sound signature - so if a person thought that is how music is supposed to sound like, then I think it is normal that he think Zen is recessed or even 'veil'. That's more of a difference in prospective and listening preference, I think. For example, to me,  E100's excellent fullness renders a beautiful mid range, but hinder the dynamic over bass and treble and limits its soundstage, and makes E100 sounds more toward a mid-centric sound to me. That's where I find Zen to be better - its overall frequency distribution. Neither one of the frequency range stands out nor shadows another frequency. The overall image is grander as a result.

Oh see I don't agree with that at all honestly haha!
 
I find the E100 to be, if anything, V-shaped with a definite emphasis on the lows and highs. Especially the lows...best I've ever heard in a headphone. Digs DEEP, hits hard, and is louder than anything I've owned (well, besides the JH16Pro but that just has a ridiculous amounts of bass...unpleasant really). Mids are still there front and center for sure but the low and highs are on another level. It's almost like the mids are a 10 but the lows and highs are an 11.
 
To me I hear the Zen as a E100 with the mids and lows dialed back some with less over all detail. Like I pointed out...there are some sounds in songs that are barely audible with the Zen where as they're fine on the E100 (and many many other headphones I've owned). I think the emphasized highs are a placebo effect of the lowered lows and mids. Makes them seem brighter and more detailed then they actually are.
 
Maybe it's fit? Who knows...all I can say is that my over all impressions match what other people are saying...I just don't hold them in such a high regard.
 
The Asura, however, is like the E100 over all but with a slight recessed frequency over all. It's almost as if there's a layer of Vaseline on the drivers (metaphorically of course). If they could be just a bit "brighter" over all they'd be really great. 
 
I think I'm special with the E100. I think the way they fit, the way they seal, the way they're pointed to my eardrums...who knows...but I know what I hear, I know what I've owned in the past, and these are the first headphone I've owned that still blow me away every time I listen to them. Something neither VE does no matter how much time I spend with them and get used to them. They just don't have that "wow" factor. 
 
Either way, review will be up shortly! Perhaps tomorrow or the day after.

 

[rymd]

that is really strange man, and you might just be alone with that opinion 

the E100 is definitely not v-shaped and has very forward mids to me as well. most mids heavy earphone I've heard actually. I have tried different foams and all sorts of wacky fits and still feel this way.
for this reason I can't say the Zen has less bass. the Zen sounds like it has a lot more bass, with particular emphasis in the sub bass. 
as for detail, well as much as I like the E100 and its mids centric sound, it's taken a step down from my go-to earbud because the Zen sounds better in every way. Now if only the Zen had a tad bit more mids...
 
and now for some general feedback:
I wish I had some high end Blox or MX98x to make fair comparisons, but I don't so I can't really say much subjectively about the sound. All I can say is that the Zen is in a league above all of the much cheaper earbuds I have and does indeed have incredible bass. Best bass of any earbud or IEM I've owned recently. Maybe the ASG1 had bass this textured? but my memory isn't reliable there. Kick drums sound unreal on this thing.
 
Both the Asura and Zen have near non-existent sibilance, which I haven't seen mentioned yet. good for a relaxing sound.
The beta Asura has some serious sub bass emphasis that makes it sound really boomy. Like a treble peak but for bass. My Edifier H180 had a similar problem that prevented me from liking it, though it was more in the mid bass.
but I guess that doesn't really matter seeing as how the retail Asura will be closer to the Zen in sound signature. the beta Asura is still quite good though, and I'd place it around the level of my E100 and diyMX760 personally. Maybe a bit higher if it didn't have the bass boom. 
 
The Zen's cable is just horribly microphonic. It has the most cable noise out of anything I own. I would at least like to see something like the Asura's cable on the Zen. The jack on my Zen also has some leftover plastic on the metal part, but that's just a minor annoyance.
 
and the freebie yuin lookalike earbud thrown in the early bird deal, which seems to be called the Nigu - uhh I think it's okay-ish, but has as extreme bass roll off as you might hear in a free airplane earbud. I couldn't listen to it very long. I'm sure the Monk will be much better though.

 

[waynes world]

  that is really strange man, and you might just be alone with that opinion 

the E100 is definitely not v-shaped and has very forward mids to me as well. most mids heavy earphone I've heard actually. I have tried different foams and all sorts of wacky fits and still feel this way.
for this reason I can't say the Zen has less bass. the Zen sounds like it has a lot more bass, with particular emphasis in the sub bass. 
as for detail, well as much as I like the E100 and its mids centric sound, it's taken a step down from my go-to earbud because the Zen sounds better in every way. Now if only the Zen had a tad bit more mids...

 
Maybe you have to wear them like this in order to get them to sound the way AndroidVageta is hearing them?
 

Have you tried them with the donut foam on with the driver facing forward in your ear (so that they're basically sideways?). Like this picture:
 

 

[RedJohn456]

  that is really strange man, and you might just be alone with that opinion 

the E100 is definitely not v-shaped and has very forward mids to me as well. most mids heavy earphone I've heard actually. I have tried different foams and all sorts of wacky fits and still feel this way.
for this reason I can't say the Zen has less bass. the Zen sounds like it has a lot more bass, with particular emphasis in the sub bass. 
as for detail, well as much as I like the E100 and its mids centric sound, it's taken a step down from my go-to earbud because the Zen sounds better in every way. Now if only the Zen had a tad bit more mids...
 
and now for some general feedback:
I wish I had some high end Blox or MX98x to make fair comparisons, but I don't so I can't really say much subjectively about the sound. All I can say is that the Zen is in a league above all of the much cheaper earbuds I have and does indeed have incredible bass. Best bass of any earbud or IEM I've owned recently. Maybe the ASG1 had bass this textured? but my memory isn't reliable there. Kick drums sound unreal on this thing.
 
Both the Asura and Zen have near non-existent sibilance, which I haven't seen mentioned yet. good for a relaxing sound.
The beta Asura has some serious sub bass emphasis that makes it sound really boomy. Like a treble peak but for bass. My Edifier H180 had a similar problem that prevented me from liking it, though it was more in the mid bass.
but I guess that doesn't really matter seeing as how the retail Asura will be closer to the Zen in sound signature. the beta Asura is still quite good though, and I'd place it around the level of my E100 and diyMX760 personally. Maybe a bit higher if it didn't have the bass boom. 
 
The Zen's cable is just horribly microphonic. It has the most cable noise out of anything I own. I would at least like to see something like the Asura's cable on the Zen. The jack on my Zen also has some leftover plastic on the metal part, but that's just a minor annoyance.
 
and the freebie yuin lookalike earbud thrown in the early bird deal, which seems to be called the Nigu - uhh I think it's okay-ish, but has as extreme bass roll off as you might hear in a free airplane earbud. I couldn't listen to it very long. I'm sure the Monk will be much better though.

I was comparing the E100 to my IM50 and the E100 is definitely midcentered because it has a similar sound signature to the IM50, which itself has a warm mid centric sound. Also I noticed that the E100 doesn't bring out the details that I normally like to hear but maybe that is its sound signature, warm smooth and easy to hear. I still find the treble to be annoying, there is this stupid peak that makes my ear ring something that I don't get with my IM50s., but they are similar in a general sense aside from the treble issue.
 
Glad to hear the zens don't have a pesky treble, because nothing kills a headphone faster for me than annoying treble.
 
My Zen is almost at the border lol getting restless with the wait

 

[waynes world]

 
Glad to hear the zens don't have a pesky treble, because nothing kills a headphone faster for me than annoying treble.
 
My Zen is almost at the border lol getting restless with the wait

 
Long answer about pesky treble: I get mild tinnitus now and then in my left ear. I haven't had it for a few months now, and I realize now that it is may be because I've been listening predominantly to the Zens (and Asura's). When I threw on my duoza's yesterday, the tinnitus seemed to reappear. People have spoken about the duoza's having a peak way up there that I can't even hear, but I now wonder if it triggers my tinnitus. Something for me to keep my ear on!
 
Short answer: no pesky treble!

 

[n05ey]

i just ordered some from taobao，and it will go with zen and old monk to the coming AU tour, let see how this.plays out.

Awesome, an Australian tour!!! That is great news, been following the thread for a while now, thanks for sending the love down to us

 

[golov17]

rymd,Buzzing bass on beta Asura, can be reduced by using a thin pen. For comparison, Monk put a thick, thin on Zen.

Spoiler

 

[RedJohn456]

   
Long answer about pesky treble: I get mild tinnitus now and then in my left ear. I haven't had it for a few months now, and I realize now that it is may be because I've been listening predominantly to the Zens (and Asura's). When I threw on my duoza's yesterday, the tinnitus seemed to reappear. People have spoken about the duoza's having a peak way up there that I can't even hear, but I now wonder if it triggers my tinnitus. Something for me to keep my ear on!
 
Short answer: no pesky treble!

Thank hallelujah for that Wayne. The last couple of my purchases have been giving me trouble with tinnitus and I honestly am thinking of shifting my gear over to darker sounds now. And your DuoZA example perfectly highlights. Even if you aren't able to necessarily hear the frequencies, it can still negatively affect your hearing unfortunately. I can't necessarily hear the exact peak on the E100 but my ears ring everytime  To make it worse, my beloved SoundMagic HP150 has a similar issue but to a lesser degree, just a bit too exciting treble. 
 
 
 
I have a feeling that the well behaved treble on the Zens maybe my fav feature. I want to be able to have them in my ears all day and not have ear fatigue. Are you able to keep them in for hours without having to take a break? That would be absolutely killer! Also, are you using the Zens with or without foam? Does the foam have any effect on the sound? 
 
One last question: Have you tried gaming with them? I plan to game with them to see if they can make awesome gaming iems. Looking forward to your review  

 

 

[mochill]

No fatigue for me on the Zen plus finished burning in the alpha1 only to realize that the Zen is still technically better and balance and more open sounding

 

[ClieOS]

   
Maybe you have to wear them like this in order to get them to sound the way AndroidVageta is hearing them?
 

 
Tried that. It pretty much ruins all the goodness in E100's sound for me. Glad that I don't need to wear it that way for a good fit.

 

[waynes world]

Thank hallelujah for that Wayne. The last couple of my purchases have been giving me trouble with tinnitus and I honestly am thinking of shifting my gear over to darker sounds now. And your DuoZA example perfectly highlights. Even if you aren't able to necessarily hear the frequencies, it can still negatively affect your hearing unfortunately. I can't necessarily hear the exact peak on the E100 but my ears ring everytime  To make it worse, my beloved SoundMagic HP150 has a similar issue but to a lesser degree, just a bit too exciting treble. 

 
And here I was getting all intrigued by the HP150 since it's now on massdrop! I'm going to have to pay a bit more attention to what gear might be triggering the tinnitus. I listen to the Titan1's quite a bit, and they don't seem to, even though their highs are quite forward.
 

 
I have a feeling that the well behaved treble on the Zens maybe my fav feature. I want to be able to have them in my ears all day and not have ear fatigue. Are you able to keep them in for hours without having to take a break? That would be absolutely killer! Also, are you using the Zens with or without foam? Does the foam have any effect on the sound? 

 
I listen to the Zens for extended periods (hours) and I never stop listening to them due to fatigue - the only reason I stop listening to them is because someone or something forces me to lol. So if you are looking for a nice sounding non-fatiguing long-listening bud, the Zens might be for you!
 
I use the donut foams. They provide me with excellent comfort, and I like the quality of the details and highs with them:
 

 
I must stress again though that the Zens need a good amp to shine. I thought at first the Lee might be exaggerating about this, but it's absolutely true. With a good amp, the headspace just expands beautifully, and yet they remain balanced and natural sounding.
 
Ampless (ie off of my ifihi 770 dap), I really enjoy the beta Asura's. In fact, I like them so much that I fall asleep with them lol.
 

 
One last question: Have you tried gaming with them? I plan to game with them to see if they can make awesome gaming iems. Looking forward to your review

 
I have not tried gaming with them (or with anything for that matter). I should put that PS3 to some good gaming use one of these days!