I've had FX Audio DAC-X6, then moved on to Little Dot MKII and upgraded the tubes. I've used couple of more headphone amplifiers and finally I managed to get my hands on a ASGARD 2. I was simply blown away by the sound of it. my HD-6XX never sounded better than this. It simply put my previous LD MKII with upgraded tubes to shame. I have this paired with SMSL M100 MK2 Dac.

Recently I came across a Magni 3 and I really thought Solid State amps (specially from the same company) should sound same, at least similar. Well I was so wrong. I found Magni 3 to be piercing and fatiguing, I couldn't' listen to it for more than a hour. Vocals are shouty and It's a pain in the ears. The difference of sound with Magni 3 and Asgard 2 on my setup is like night and day.

Final verdict ~ Probably the best sounding headphone amplifier I heard so far (to my ears).

however there is something I must mention in this review someone who stumble upon this might find this useful. If you're one of those folks who are running 115VAC Asgard 2 on a 230V or 220V Power grid with a stepdown transfer and experience a kind of HISS ( like SSSSSS ) in the background. Check your power out from the stepdown transformer. If its below 110V, around 105 or 102 or lesser it happens. Same thing applies to Magni 3 with 120V wall wart on a stepdown transformer.

First of all, I must tell you that I am not a professionally qualified person to review audio equipment nor that I have the knowledge to do so, I am not an audiophile either, But I do love good music and I have a certain understanding of how they should sound. Also, I do own a humble little collection of equipment to cater to my music needs. I have been a fan of "V.E Monk Plus" for quite some time but there was a constant problem remained, it is the "Pain" that caused by it on the ear after wearing it for a while. Then came the first affordable yet mythically rare "Venture Electronics Bonus IEM". I have tried to obtain one several time but I failed because they were limited in quantities. Last May I was lucky enough to get one from their official website and here goes my idea about what it is compared to my other IEMs.

I compared it to "KZ ZS5", "V.E MONK PLUS" Using "MI Redmi Note 5 AI" and "HP Sleekbook" as sources. I listen to "Jazz", "Psychedelic Music", "Classic Rock", "Ambient, Classical" and many other genres.

Comparison to "V.E Monk Plus"

The first thing I noticed is the comfort of wearing it. Since both of the earphones coming from the "Venture Electronics", BIE is super comfortable to wear since it is an IEM. The build quality is also made with steel makes it appear much expensive, well, of course, it has to be because there is a big price difference between these two models even though they are two completely different headphones. Some of you might be wondering why am I comparing these two, well the reason for that is they both are coming from "VE".

Soundwise I always loved the "V.E Monk Plus" for its mellow warm sound with a hint of bass. I was surprised by the V.E BIE and I knew it is going to be "Love at first sight (Sound)". V.E BIE is everything that MONK is and better, It has more bass but didn't overwhelm other frequencies or cripple them. BIE definitely leans towards lower frequencies in a very good way. The sound was least fatiguing and warm that I could listen to it all day.

finally "V.E BIE" is not "VE MONK PLUS", they are two different headphones, it's just that if you are one of those people who wanted a "VE IEM" just like me, then look no further, go ahead and buy the BIE, you won't be disappointed.

Comparison to KZ ZS5 (V1)

KZ ZS5 has been long venerated by me due to its extreme detail, Well it has to be, that thing has four drivers in each IEM. But there was one thing that kind of lacks in certain songs that it has lesser bass on songs that do not have much bass. I know that we are supposed to listen to tracks the way artists intended but I still love a little bit of bass on certain tracks because the sound is a personal thing, different people like it differently.

In this case, BIE may not have that superb detail that KZ ZS5 has but it does come halfway there with wonderful mellow bass.

I am surprised how VE has archived this sound signature with a single driver IEM when I compared it to multi-driver hybrids like KZ ZS5.


Conclusion

V.E BIE has easily become my daily driver because of its comfort and sound signature. I also must mention that compared to all my IEM's it is the easiest to drive. My portable source Redmi note 5 AI is a very weak source and cannot drive anything properly according to my understanding but it drives V.E BIE to perfection so I don't have carry around an amplifier with me.

What V.E BIE definitely full fills all my hopes and dreams when it comes to daily use "IEM" and it is definitely a steal for the price I paid. I can easily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great IEM without breaking the bank.

First headphones I have ordered from the internet and the worst piece of crap I have bought with my hard earned money. The first day the right earpiece broke, (I am very careful with handling things), Yes came out and I used duct tape to fix it. Then after four months of use, the other one came off and less than 10 months everything went down the crap hole and then to the garbage bin. I understand that it is cheap but there is far cheaper stuff that stands the test of time and sounds better. If you're ever to buy this for your self, I say don't even buy it for an enemy. I contacted the KOSS thinking I bought a fake from AMAZON, they don't give a crap about their customers. Don't waste your money, don't even think about buying this.

I bought this for 26$ and with shipping it came close to 50$ (shipping to where i live) and it was a lot of money when turned in to my currency.

I was on a search to find a good sounding cheap dynamic headphones for my collection. I tried KZ ZS3 and didn't like it because when i wear them it gets all muffled and can't fix that problem. I tried two pairs and second pair also didn't sound good as they say about them on the reviews. Then couple of weeks back i read about MONK PLUS and decided to order them off the eBay. Today i received them and i am listening to them while i type this review. It sounds amazing on everything i throw at them with my ultra cheap setup. My search for cheap perfect sounding dynamic headphones ends here.

If you're looking for similar set of headphones then look no further, buy a pair of VE MONK PLUS and you'll see what i am talking about here. I really wish they were IEM so i would have been much comfortable to wear.



Unlike many of you i am not a audiophile, just a cheap little enthusiast in music and how they sound. I only have a very cheap system powered by a laptop, A matisse clone tube preamp with russian tubes and a super cheap class D headphone amplifier which i bought over eBay. I can imagine how they might sound in a decent system and how good their other highest end tier products will sound on good dacs and amps etc.

I am not an audiophile, just an enthusiast so you may not be able to take my idea about these headphones as a professional review. Reason for me to buy these because i felt almost everything i listened to was too bright. I can listen to them but then i get the fatigue quickly. After doing a bit of research someone recommended me KZ ZS1. Out of curiosity i bought them. It is exactly what i need for my treble (Highs) sensitive ears. They sounds so warm, mellow and laid back with heavy bass sound and they also sound dark. I can listen to them all day if i want to without feeling any listening fatigue.

Build quality is ideal for its price and i really wish they had detachable cables so i could replace them without replacing the monitors when something happens.

I highly recommend this to anyone who feels everything is too "BRIGHT".

( I am comparing them to KZ ZS5, KZ ATR, KZ ZS3, Panasonic RP-HTX7, Audio Technica S600, Philips SBS-HP200 (VERY OLD) )

I have number of IEM's and over ear headphones with me. None of them are super expensive models. All of them are below 80$. I already own the KZ ZS5 but i still prefer this ATE over all of these i own because of its relaxing, laid back warm sound signature with ample bass. I like listening to lot of vocal based music and this is my favorite pair when it comes to that. If you like non fatiguing casual listening which will not break the bank. Go for these. I don't think there is any IEM out there that can beat this with it's price tag and sound quality.