Wayback Wednesday: VE Monk – Resistance is futile

Disclaimer: This article about the Venture Electronic Monk is part of the new Wayback Wednesday series which is replacing our “Favourite album of” series. Check out the other Wayback Wednesday articles HERE.

When I first heard of the the famous VE Monks the hype had been going for a while already and ever since the review was published the hype has only gotten bigger. The Monk made room for the Monk+ and Lee has added a whole product-range of Monk-versions with special cables, colors, wires, etc. There now even is a Monk with an XLR termination. Crazy? Maybe so, but as long as the customers are getting what they’re asking for, there’s no reason not to go all the way.

Some new versions of the Monk earbuds have gotten more expensive than the original $5 one, but again, as long as people are requesting and buying it, that’s perfectly normal. Do I still use the Monk? I sometimes do but not that much. The reason isn’t because I don’t like them or that they’re no good, but most of the time I’m playing with higher-end gear which logically sounds even better. Right now I’m listening to the Astell&Kern KANN with the Basslet strapped between it and the custom Vision Ears VE8 monitor.

Of the 15 Monks that I bought, I only have one left to giveaway. Half of my friends never spoke of it again, but the other half keeps mentioning how awesome these earbuds are sounding and they’ve even asked for an extra set for their wife or girlfriend. One couple even got in a fight over who could take the Monk with them to work. I quickly gave then another set.

Have you been able to resist ordering one or have you caved in? Let us know how you feel about the/your Monk(+) or why you’d like to have one. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll send you that last one I have here.

Not convinced yet, then check out our full review right here, after the click

4.3/5 - (10 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

7 Comments

  • Reply May 3, 2017

    iani

    I bought a pair of the monk+ for my younger sister, for her birthday. Now I am the one who always wanted to borrow it from her. I really find its details way better than my ty hi-zs. I should have just given her my hi z 32 instead of the monks. lol

  • Reply May 3, 2017

    andy

    Right now listening to Sinatra on good ol’ Monk (not plus which I didn’t like). Monk is one of my favourite office headphone (in addition to Titan 1 and Odin). Although it costs less then a sixpack, I like it for soo smooth and relaxed bud full-bodied presentation, especially for old records. And imo it requires some power to express its capabilities. Never will sell my Monk!

  • Reply May 7, 2017

    William

    I really want to see how these 5$ earbuds compare to other iems in the 100-50 dollar price range. I mainly listen to hip hop music and instrumentals so I really wonder how the monks in particular handle such tracks. I also think the colors are cool (yay purple colors). Overall I wish I could cave in and buy them for 5$ but I don’t think I’m ready to commit that.

    • Reply May 7, 2017

      dale thorn

      The Monk cannot reproduce deep bass, unless your ears are very unusual and the earbuds sit right on your ear canals. IEMs go into your ear canals, and if you get a good seal, you usually get excellent deep bass.

  • Reply May 7, 2017

    Zeon

    I read a lot of good reviews about VE Monk, so I bought a VE Monk+. After the comparison with Fiio EM3, I prefered EM3, and I couldn’t understand why so many people like Monk(+).

    • Reply May 7, 2017

      dale thorn

      I measured** both (by ear) and found the Monk+ has decent response deeper in the bass than the FiiO, and the Monk+ treble is smoother too. **measurement compared to a number of headphones.

      • Reply May 13, 2017

        Zeon

        In my view, Monk+ just presents more upper spectrum bass, and EM3 presents more lower spectrum bass. EM3’s soundstage is better. Monk+ concentrates on mids.

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