[Rumblefish]

Damn the language is a problem to me, do you want to buy for me 4?
I send you the zen v2, what is the euro prices for one monk v1 in the site?

If you use Google Chrome it will automatically translate the pages for you, so that you can order.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Monk + arrived!!!!​

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[Podster]

Monk + arrived!!!!​

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Woot Woot

 

[B9Scrambler]

They're pretty darn nice but was I really expecting anything other than that? HA! No. Obviously too soon to say whether I like them more than the originals.
 
On a side note, the ear hooks from the expansion work very well with the Titan 1, haha.

 

[Podster]

They're pretty darn nice but was I really expecting anything other than that? HA! No. Obviously too soon to say whether I like them more than the originals.

On a side note, the ear hooks from the expansion work very well with the Titan 1, haha.

Those ear hooks are like a bonus that you are using which make the Monk+ an even better deal

 

[B9Scrambler]

Those ear hooks are like a bonus that you are using which make the Monk+ an even better deal

 
Admittedly, they were why I bought the expansion, haha. They're great with the Monk as well, but I prefer them with the Titans. The Monk fits me perfectly enough without them. The red/blue foams are what I've settled on so far.

 

[music4mhell]

 

Those ear hooks are like a bonus that you are using which make the Monk+ an even better deal

 
Admittedly, they were why I bought the expansion, haha. They're great with the Monk as well, but I prefer them with the Titans. The Monk fits me perfectly enough without them. The red/blue foams are what I've settled on so far.

I use Monk+ thin foam with Zen 2 and Thick red foam with Monk+.

 

[chavez]

   
Admittedly, they were why I bought the expansion, haha. They're great with the Monk as well, but I prefer them with the Titans. The Monk fits me perfectly enough without them. The red/blue foams are what I've settled on so far.

Try the double thin foams.Sub bass exists!

 

[B9Scrambler]

  Try the double thin foams.Sub bass exists!

 
Double up the foams eh? Maybe I'll give that a try later. 
 
I've spent a fair bit of time with the Monk+ today and decided to listen back-to-back with the original. Still not sure which I like more but there are a couple things I've found.
 
I compared with my preferred foam setups using my laptop (Asus G73J) and phone (HTC One M8); Monk+ on colored foams, Monk on Sennheiser foams. Could have used the same foams on each but I wanted them to be at their best to my ears and preferences. These findings are of course based on only a couple hours of comparing and with more time, different setups, etc., could very well change.
 
Positives:
- Monk+ is way easier to drive from both my laptop and HTC One M8.
- I'm finding the Monk+ to have lessened mid-bass presence with about the same sub-bass extension. Feels a bit punchier and better controlled.
- Treble is cleaner and more focused. Really beneficial with rock and metal.
- Extra treble and upper mid emphasis gives the impression of greater clarity and detail.
- Soundstage is similarly massive.
 
Negatives:
- Monk+ seems to have lost some of that warmth I loved about the Monk's mids. Female vocals just sound so much better to my ears out of the Monk (used Massive Attack's Mezzanine album for testing here).
- With poor qualify files the Monk+ suffers; bass sounds cheap and hollow. This is not an issue I ran into with the original. Monk+ will not be coming with me to work as a result since all I have access to is low quality audio. 
 
If I were to sum up what I'm hearing; Monk+ has reduced mid-bass, less warmth, more detail, more emphasized upper mids/treble. Contrary to the majority, I actually find the Monk notably bassier (particularly in the mid-bass) than the Monk+ and as a result I am still preferring it with my favorite genres; Drum & Bass and Hip Hop, foam type non-withstanding. I like the Monk+ more with pretty much everything else. Rage Against the Machine sounds gawd dang epic! Give 'Ashes in Fall' and 'Pistol Grip Pump' a whirl. I'm very glad I'm lucky enough to own both. Big thanks to Lee for a very worthy follow up to the original Monk. 

 
PS: The 8-bit print of 'Monk' on the stem is awesome!
 
PSS: I prefer the look of the Monk+, but the plastic used on the Monk. Not sure if there is any difference in the quality of plastic used, but the Monk just feels a little more solid in-hand. Could be my mind playing tricks due to the clear vs. solid coloring, but alas, that's how it comes across. *shrug*

 

[Brooko]

@B9Scrambler - interesting observations.  Check the graphs in my review - results my surprise you compared to your impressions (graphs are in the comparison area "Monk + vs Monk")
http://www.head-fi.org/products/venture-electronics-ve-monk-monk-plus/reviews/15998
 
Surprised you find the Monk Plus easier to drive as well.  Both have similar sensitivity, but Monk Plus has higher impedance.  Both are fine out of a portable device - but actually the Plus is slightly harder to drive.

 

[B9Scrambler]

  @B9Scrambler - interesting observations.  Check the graphs in my review - results my surprise you compared to your impressions (graphs are in the comparison area "Monk + vs Monk")
http://www.head-fi.org/products/venture-electronics-ve-monk-monk-plus/reviews/15998
 
Surprised you find the Monk Plus easier to drive as well.  Both have similar sensitivity, but Monk Plus has higher impedance.  Both are fine out of a portable device - but actually the Plus is slightly harder to drive.

 
I was quite surprised by my findings as well. Ended up pulling up all four reviews while I was writing my comments as I thought I remembered reading that the Monk had a lower impedance, but what I was hearing wasn't matching up with expectations. The + should be easier to drive but for some reason it isn't, at least not out of the two sources I used. The other reviews are also saying the + should be bassier, but again, thats not what I'm getting out of them; with the same foams or sans foams.
 
For example, using the Fn+volume up/down feature of the laptop I have the volume set to 1/15 and use WMP's slider to adjust volume. With the Monk, I have to max out WMP to reach my standard (still very low) listening volume. With the Monk+ I need to drop WMP to ~70-75%. Through my HTC One M8, I listen to the Monk at volume 4 to 5/15.The Monk+ I listen to at 3 to reach what seems to be the same volume. Not as drastic a difference but still notable. I don't have a reliable way to volume match outside of using my earballs, which we both know is not an overly reliable method, so this could certainly be effecting impressions. Still, the two are pretty similar sounding earbuds so getting them within reasonably similar volume levels should be attainable.
 
Also, when I say easy or hard to drive, that's just relative to each other. Something as underpowered as the PSVITA (or maybe it's just volume limited like the PSP was) can drive both to pretty uncomfortable (for me) volumes.
 
I'm sure some of these differences come down to ear anatomy or other phenomenons that some subscribe to *wink, wink  nudge, nudge* but the volume thing....that's just weird.
 
In the end, both are great and can't realistically be faulted when they cost $5. I can only think of one other product in this price range that gives listeners the same bang for the buck.

 

[gattari]

Yes both monk are good... but I think the monk + after a little is a bit fatiguing . The original monk has a magic midrange, my ears prefer it for long listening session and expecially with classic.

 

[jackwolf24]

I had ordered some monk original from another seller in TB which arrived and making comparison with the old one I have (bought directly from VE thru AE), I don't notice any differences. The price of the newly aquired is a little higher and they were the only one carrying the old version I could find. Some say that if the product is not bought directly from VE, it could be fake. In this instance, could a fake one sound as good as the genuine one? Also, the newly arrived monk does comes with the red donut and full foam which i assume is proprietary to VE. Could this guy be just a "reseller" and earn a marginal profit only?

 

[golov17]

I had ordered some monk original from another seller in TB which arrived and making comparison with the old one I have (bought directly from VE thru AE), I don't notice any differences. The price of the newly aquired is a little higher and they were the only one carrying the old version I could find. Some say that if the product is not bought directly from VE, it could be fake. In this instance, could a fake one sound as good as the genuine one? Also, the newly arrived monk does comes with the red donut and full foam which i assume is proprietary to VE. Could this guy be just a "reseller" and earn a marginal profit only?

Of course it can. Any link?

 

[gattari]

A fake for a 5$ earbud? Is it possible?