[fleasbaby]

....just posted my review...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ve-zen/reviews/13034

 

[waynes world]

  ....just posted my review...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ve-zen/reviews/13034

 
Very nice fleasbaby! Thanks also for organizing the tours - you're the man!

 

[mochill]

1+ on review ...mine should come next week

 

[miprasetya]

Is anyone had compared between Zen vs Hifiman ES100...

 

[ClieOS]

Is anyone had compared between Zen vs Hifiman ES100...

 
Zen is way ahead.

 

[mochill]

I have es100, but I haven't compared it yet

 

[zhibli06]

  ....just posted my review...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ve-zen/reviews/13034

thanks man, nice review~
 
@mochill  can't wait.
 
p.s. sorry been real busy with our own budget portable amps, I wanted to combo Zen with Breeze E16 or E11, but decided to give Zen what it deserves, even on a entry level setup.
 
Cheers 
 
Lee

 

[fleasbaby]

  thanks man, nice review~
 
@mochill  can't wait.
 
p.s. sorry been real busy with our own budget portable amps, I wanted to combo Zen with Breeze E16 or E11, but decided to give Zen what it deserves, even on a entry level setup.
 
Cheers 
 
Lee

 
Thanks Lee! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with for the amp!

 

[mochill]

I can't wait to try an amp either

 

[AndroidVageta]

I've had these since Thursday and so far can't really say I'm impressed. They don't sound bad at all but compared to my newest and all time favorite, the Baldoor E100, neither one does anything truly better. The Asura have good range but their whole frequency has a bit of a...blur...to it. It's like they're on the brink of being great but everything about them is just step back. 
 
The Zen I think is worse. It's clearer but the mids and lows are veiled and lack detail substantially (to the point where certain sounds are inaudible on some of my well known favorite songs). 
 
I do however like the cable on the Zen more. The Asura does have a better splitter and metal plug but the stiffer cable on the Zen is less prone to crease and tangle. Build quality over all is pretty nice on both for sure, that and they share the same housing. The Asura does have some left over injected plastic though which I'll cover in my full review. Not a big deal in the slightest but just a tad better QA needed on the finish.
 
Over all though...meh...either the E100 is just that good (which it may be according to swbf2cheater's review) or the VE just isn't that great. 
 
Test equipment is a Asus Xonar STX to JVC SEA-33 EQ to AudioTrak ImAmp. 

 

[RedJohn456]

  I've had these since Thursday and so far can't really say I'm impressed. They don't sound bad at all but compared to my newest and all time favorite, the Baldoor E100, neither one does anything truly better. The Asura have good range but their whole frequency has a bit of a...blur...to it. It's like they're on the brink of being great but everything about them is just step back. 
 
The Zen I think is worse. It's clearer but the mids and lows are veiled and lack detail substantially (to the point where certain sounds are inaudible on some of my well known favorite songs). 
 
I do however like the cable on the Zen more. The Asura does have a better splitter and metal plug but the stiffer cable on the Zen is less prone to crease and tangle. Build quality over all is pretty nice on both for sure, that and they share the same housing. The Asura does have some left over injected plastic though which I'll cover in my full review. Not a big deal in the slightest but just a tad better QA needed on the finish.
 
Over all though...meh...either the E100 is just that good (which it may be according to swbf2cheater's review) or the VE just isn't that great. 
 
Test equipment is a Asus Xonar STX to JVC SEA-33 EQ to AudioTrak ImAmp. 

Did you try them with a powerful enough amp? Is the AudioTrak a warm or more neutral amp. if you are driving the Zens with something that is more warm, its gonna sound like how you have described. Being 320 ohms they would benefit from something more akin to the O2 amp, which is powerful and clean, imo  And also it needs quite a bit of burn in.

 

[AndroidVageta]

 
Did you try them with a powerful enough amp? Is the AudioTrak a warm or more neutral amp. if you are driving the Zens with something that is more warm, its gonna sound like how you have described. Being 320 ohms they would benefit from something more akin to the O2 amp, which is powerful and clean, imo  And also it needs quite a bit of burn in.

 
The ImAmp has plenty of power and has a more airy and bright sound to it. Not really a problem with the amp, I just think the bud isn't that great. But again that's comparing it to the E100 which, to my ears, is amazing and bests anything I've ever owned. Check my feedback for just a glimpse of past dealings.
 
They E100 are really that good. And the ZE buds aren't bad...if it weren't for the E100 comparison they might be pretty nice...but I'm just not impressed. The veiling of the Zens and overall recessed sound of the Asura is simply just the nature of them, no matter the source.
 
Have you tried the Baldoor/Mrice E100 yet? If not, I highly recommend it. swbf2cheater puts them past the MX980/MX985 if that means anything to you? I put the E100 past the likes of my old Altone200, MDR-EX1000, JH16Pro, and Dunu DN-1000 (all my more recently owned IEM's among many others this past year alone haha!).

 

[AndroidVageta]

I just wanted to say that, obviously, I put the E100 above all the rest due to my sound preferences. If you like lighter bass then the Altone or EX1000 may be more to your liking. If you like teeth shattering bass and dark mids and highs the JH16, etc. The DN-1000 are similar but with weaker bass and a more, eh, "digital" sound? More artificial I guess. 

 

[golov17]

I just wanted to say that, obviously, I put the E100 above all the rest due to my sound preferences. If you like lighter bass then the Altone or EX1000 may be more to your liking. If you like teeth shattering bass and dark mids and highs the JH16, etc. The DN-1000 are similar but with weaker bass and a more, eh, "digital" sound? More artificial I guess. 

The original taste of the sound preferences. I think you are not using long VE and your hearing needs to be reconstructed after the E100. The longer I personally use Zen, the more it makes a huge difference with other earbuds. Also, do not forget to use the well-recorded music, as the bad road supercar evaluated. IMHO.

 

[AndroidVageta]

The original taste of the sound preferences. I think you are not using long VE and your hearing needs to be reconstructed after the E100. The longer I personally use Zen, the more it makes a huge difference with other earbuds. Also, do not forget to use the well-recorded music, as the bad road supercar evaluated. IMHO.

Well as far as usage goes I pretty much used the Asura all day after I got them. Nothing really changed. 
 
Zen's were used more extensively the day after. Movies, some gaming, lots of music...same thing. Veiled. Lacking lows and mids. 
 
I'm not new to the audio game. I know how adjustments work and all that jazz. I just don't find these to be that good.
 
BUT, again, the E100's I think are just that good. If people are saying they're better than the MX980 and MX985 and I think they're up there with the best I've ever heard then that means they're something special. 
 
I don't think the VE buds sound bad, not at all, compared to what they're up against in their price range and all that I would be happy to have owned them previously. However, as a direct A/B comparison I only have the E100's which just simply crush them.