[Deril Adha]

This is the Monk 2.0s.
It's the upgrade version of the discontinued Monk 2.0 (32 ohm, easy to drive, old spc cable, new jack) (discontinued in 2015 I think).
At the time, VE did not have any good quality suppliers for this driver, so he had to discontinue Monk 2 and move to Monk Plus (64 ohm, harder to drive, required proper DAP, DAC/Amp, and Amp).
Since then, scalpers have sold Monk 2.0 for 10x–40x the original price.
Now that VE has all the connections they need, they can make a comeback with an upgraded version of Monk 2.0.

ah really?! very nice to know that, now I can get myself the good ol' VE buds soundsig without having to buy $50 V2 lolol

 

[reaperzero]

oh hello there. just realized i had an account since 2012 but never used it

some photos of my gear

 

[demol3]

ah really?! very nice to know that, now I can get myself the good ol' VE buds soundsig without having to buy $50 V2 lolol

Yeah I guess as much since Lee posted something about it on facebook. The discontinued was too sudden though. I even sold my monk v2 for x4 the price lol.

 

[Deril Adha]

oh hello there. just realized i had an account since 2012 but never used it

some photos of my gear

nice collections u have there bro, btw how was Master paired with E44? I was eye-ing on E44 since its initial release but afraid to pull the trigger lol

 

[reaperzero]

nice collections u have there bro, btw how was Master paired with E44? I was eye-ing on E44 since its initial release but afraid to pull the trigger lol

its not too bad with the e44. though it sounds best with megatron but as a portable thing its really good with the master and almost any ve bud.
well those that are under 100ohms anyway

 

[reaperzero]

Latest stack
basically my old poco f1 used as a streamer with a gulikit nintendo switch dock

 

[SenyorC]

Latest stack
basically my old poco f1 used as a streamer with a gulikit nintendo switch dock

Does that dock charge the F1 at the same time?

 

[reaperzero]

Does that dock charge the F1 at the same time?

yeah it does.

 

[SenyorC]

yeah it does.

Cool, I may need to grab one of those.

 

[demol3]

So, my friend Đỗ Thành Luân has a discovery regarding RA2BL, if you have a pre-amp you can try this:
Gear:
+ iPhone + Lightning to USB Camera Adapter
+ ifi micro idsd bl (RCA line out pre-amp mode, 0db gain)
+ RCA to 3.5mm IC SPC
+ RA2BL (in SE mode)
+ ZOE 2.5mm balanced
He discovered that when he use pre-amp to lower the volume input into RA2BL and increase the volume on RA2BL itself, it lead to improve in sound quality and soundstage.
Here are some combination, as there is no volume indicator on both device please refer to a clock to determine volume position:
+ ifi 12h – ra2bl 12h: emphasis on mid, the vocal is more forward and sound fro
m music equipment stay at the background.
+ ifi 12h – ra2bl 13h: bass and treble are more emphasized alongside mid (mid is still the most emphasized) and keep the sound more balanced.
+ ifi 11h – ra2bl 14h: balanced on all spectrum, very detailed, wide soundstage, powerful sound. The imagine is also precise, he can effortlessly determine the position of sound equipment.
If you have a pre-amp please try it with your zen. We are very new to this pre-amp things, so please share with us your knowledge as well.

 

[demol3]

This blue silver cable pair quite well with the Zen Omega Edition, but still a few notch below the Asura Pure White.

 

[reaperzero]

Monk Pro Vita Review
to start off I'm going to mention a few things about my music preferences.
I mainly listen to post rock, so instruments are one of the main factors for me.

The Monk Pro Vita, for me they are THE definitive Monk.
my initial impressions right when i got them were (compared to monk plus spc)

*has less bass then the monk + spc
*but it has way bigger headroom and clarity.
*the new cable gives it a slightly heavier feel on the ears.
*wider feel and more neutral sound.
*louder too at the same volume

the specs as far as i know is that the Monk Pro Vita, (from here on out will be referred to as the MPV) has LCP Dynamic Driver installed with an impedance of 32ohms

while being easier to drive then my then favourite Monk Plus SPC, it has greater range when it comes to instruments and vocals.
for example im using a track by Mika Nakashima - Bokuga shinouto omottanoha,- from the first take

while listening to this the emotions of the song really carry through
the singer has a condition called Patulous Eustachian tube, which caused all sounds within her body to be amplified to her ears.
and you can really her the pain she feels every time she sings. its heart wrenching, and beautiful at the same time

now for instruments, theres another track i like from an old RPG called chrono cross
Radical Dreamers the unstolen jewel
the start has a nylon string guitar solo. For the longest time i had a hard time listening to this as most of my gear starts crackling at the higher notes of the singer (noriko mitose) and the strums of the guitar
The MPV carried the vocals and instruments really well. smooth as velvet

personally for me the MPV is basically the TOTL for the Monk series. excels in almost everyway from the monk plus and monk v2

 

[Charlyro222]

This blue silver cable pair quite well with the Zen Omega Edition, but still a few notch below the Asura Pure White.

I love my APW Shining for Vocals. I think is the best bud for that kind of music.

 

[FranQL]

Brief generic and surely not very useful opinions of VE APW (Asura Pure White) with whom I am spending the month so far (thanks @Charlyro222 ). As always I do not go into intangibles because I do not have that ability, and there is no graph, because I accidentally broke the microphone of my measurement equipment.



(Yes, my table is a complete mess, don't reprimand me, there are more people at home who do it constantly)

The bell shape is recurrent in the high-end models of VE and for me the fit is good, they do not move and I find it very comfortable simply with donut foams (with complete this bud loses many of the things that I indicate here). This ultra thin and quite stiff silver cable is very very nice and feels of superior quality, gives a fragile look to the set (but it isn't) and is different from anything else I've ever had (except the goddess cables that I use on my DIY), without microphones.

A bud focused on Upper Mids but with clarity, air, separation, great scenery (I don't know how to say it, super atmospheric and more laterility than depth) and a tonality that makes the voices perfect as well as the strings, keyboards, pianos, very natural guitars and even more perfect are the female voices, it reaches high, without hissing or harshness, it can be rejected by sensitive people, for me there is no problem. If you like Jazz, Soul, vocal etc, I think he is a great specialist, he works great with soft ambient and with soundtracks (here the bass hits dry and is fast, without much depth and that speed leaves sometimes without juice or without that resonance of the timpani, it is not an all-rounder, for me it did not work with another of the great genres that I like: rock, progressive rock, heavy, metal, etc, where something is missing and the presentation is not complete.

Personally I liked it, because it works well with most of the music I listen to, I wouldn't say it's just one trick, it just doesn't stand out in some genres.

Reference tuning, very enjoyable and specialized. I've used it on a portable DAP and DAC, and I understand there will be other amps where it will improve overall.

 

[reaperzero]

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