In this article we review the $158 Venture Electronics BIE aka Bonus IE.
Disclaimer: The Venture Electronics BIE was sent to us directly by VE in exchange for our honest opinion in this review. The $158 USD BIE doesn’t need to be returned to the factory after this review.
VE – Venture Electronics
Gosh, I know we haven’t covered VE in quite a while now, but I was surprised to see that it already takes us back to April 2016. In audio years, that’s decades ago. To be honest, there’s not a specific reason for that and it’s a shame really as Venture Electronics (still run by Lee) still offers great value for money.
The unit we covered 4 years ago of course was the legendary $5 USD VE Monk. The Monk is still selling strong today in a Plus and Light version, but since then many new VE IEMs and earbuds have seen the light, my personal favourite being the the ZEN 2.0. But VE is much more nowadays that earbuds and IEMs, and they offer cables, amplifiers and so much more. VE and Lee are also famous for sending out free masks all over the world to protect his customers and friends against COVID19. A wonderful gesture.
Still no idea what we’re talking about? Alright, let’s do a short summary.
VE aka Venture electronics aka VE Clan is a Chinese company that became famous with ridiculously cheap and good sounding earbuds. You can find the VE Clan website here: https://www.veclan.com/
Venture Electronics is all about giving the best possible quality for the price, something we’ll also see later in this article. VE’s philosophy is to provide uncoloured and faithful music reproduction with their gear. If you want to find out more about what Venture Electronics stands for, feel free to read up here: https://www.veclan.com/aboutus_eng_index
Previous Reviews
As said we’ve only covered one specific VE unit on Headfonia, and it was the revolutionary $5USD VE Monk. If you’ve never heard of it or listened to it, we strongly suggest reading up on that model here:
We did actually do a quick follow-up article on the Monk a year after we did the full review, You can find that here: https://www.headfonia.com/wayback-wednesday-ve-monk-resistance-is-futile/.
TL;DR : It rocked in 2016 and it still rocks to day – for the price, it’s incredible. The only downside for some: it’s an earbud and not an IEM you insert in your ear. Though there are hooks and clips to keep them in to place.
In this article we will cover the BIE aka the Bonus IE.
The Bonus IE
The Bonus IE is also know as BIE, is available in a standard IEM of which the cable can’t be removed as well as a version with MMCX.
The standard version terminated with a 3.5mm plug only sets you back $20 USD. The MMCX version can be terminated in 3.5SE, 2.5 balanced, 3.5mm TRRS and 4.4mm balanced. Its price is $158 USD which is quite a big step up from the standard version.
You can find the BIE product page right here: https://www.veclan.com/engappliance_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=35
VE Clan states:
The Bonus IE is our second-generation IEM that we created to make a statement in the highly competitive budget sector. With the BIE, we set out to provide an IEM that offers great price-to-performance as much as the Monk Plus. It’s our personal take on how a proper IEM should sound like and how you need not pay a ridiculous amount to join the Hi-Fi world. In addition, we wanted to create an EDC IEM that is durable and reliable.
The Bonus IE features a single 10mm Dynamic Driver (N52+), and the IEM comes in an aluminium alloy shell with a matte finish. The standard version is grey, the MMCX version is copper-like.
The version we’re looking at in this review is the $158 USD MMCX version, with a 4.4mm termination. The cable is copper, to be more precise: 99.99% OFC 4 x 32x 0.06mm
Technical Specifications
Some people hate it when we publish technical specs, others want us to put everything in one article so they don’t have to go elsewhere to get all the info. I’m with the second group, so here you go:
Product Name: Bonus IE
Type: In-Ear
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Headphone sensitivity:115db
Frequency range: 17-22000Hz
Size (diameter of shell):12mm
Driver: 10mm Dynamic Driver (N52+)
Shell: Aluminum Alloy – matte finish
Cable Length: 1.2m
Cable: 99.99% OFC 4x32x0.06mm
Headphone plug type: straight PLUG
Whether with Mic and remote: Optional
Box & Accessories
The Bonus IE comes in a simple and typical blue carrying case, with VE’s logo on it. On the inside you will find a set of black silicone tips in 4 sizes, the IEM and according to the site a TRRS Adapter, but I can’t remember seeing that in our package.
VE’s Aliexpress shop page also shows you will receive a free MONK PLUS if you choose the more expensive MMCX version. It will come with the same termination as you chose for your MMCX cable of the BIE. We logically didn’t get this with our review sample, it’s normal.
The article continues on the second page. Click HERE or just use the jumps below.
