[nullstring]

I just got my order of VE Monks in. I am downright impressed with how good they sound.
 
There are some obvious flaws but they are incredibly engaging for $5. 
 
Is there anything that is as good or better than the VE Monks that might fit my ears better? Hopefully something in the under $40 range.

 

[Danneq]

The shells of Yuin's line of earbuds are the most comfortable in my opinion. You can find PK3 for $35-40 with shipping included. But at least to my ears Monk beat PK3. Pk2 barely beats Monk, but these cost from around $50 and can usually be found for around $55 with shipping included.

Overall I think that Yuin's line of earbuds is overpriced. When they were released close to 10 years ago they helped breathe some new life in the by then dead earbud market. People gladly paid $50 to hear earbuds that actually sounded good.
But now you can get great sounding earbuds for much lower prices. Monk is an extreme example since they are almost too cheap.

If you could stretch to $80 I'd say that Shozy Cygnus would be your best bet. It sounds great and uses the same sort of shells as Yuin's earbuds. At $80 it can compete with Yuins top end PK1 (Usually sold from $140).

 

[Sp12er3]

Hrm.. I used to feel that VeMonk+ is a bit too big for my ears too, (hurts after 30 min of use, but then I discover that I simply need to fiddle a bit on its placement to fit my ear better, also not using the stock, porosive itchy foam and go naked/ use other earbud foams

 

[Sp12er3]

Hrm.. I used to feel that VeMonk+ is a bit too big for my ears too, (hurts after 30 min of use, but then I discover that I simply need to fiddle a bit on its placement to fit my ear better, also not using the stock, porosive itchy foam and go naked/ use other earbud foams

 

[kiler]

You might need to get the expansion package and try some of the solutions they offer. I have found out that the silicone donuts work really well with the comfort. Or maybe even the earhoox replicas 

 

[B9Scrambler]

The Sennheiser MX470 sounds quite similar. It uses a smaller driver and as a result is more compact and comfortable. They have been discontinued but if you can find them, they should be come in well under that 40 USD cap. 
 

 

[Sp12er3]

I wonder whether Sennheiser will ever release a new model to their earbud line up? I don't have much experience with them mind you, but one I used to have is the best thing I can find without researching first. (through Head-fi etc)