Disclaimer: Please note that I am not an audiophile, and this review does not delve into the technical aspects of the IEMs. My impressions are based on my personal preferences.
This unit was sent to me by Venture Electronics. All opinions of the unit will be my own and will remain independent.
You can purchase the VE Monk SL Plus on the Venture Electronics website and other online stores.
Pros
- Very light and easy to wear for hours
- Excellent cable quality
- Clear and forward vocals with a neutral leaning tuning
- Better bass slam than expected for flatheads
Cons
- Treble gets harsh without foam covers
- Foams degrade fast if you have sweaty ears
- Distortion appears in the treble at high volumes
- Narrow soundstage affects imaging and gaming performance
What's in the box
The Monk SL Plus comes in a resealable plastic bag
- The flatheads with cable
- cable clip
- 4 pairs of different colored foam covers
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General Impressions
- The Monk SL Plus’ earpieces are made of plastic, making them lightweight. In spite of that, they fit my ears very well and don’t move around or feel like they are going to fall.
- While fitting the foam covers on the earpieces, I slightly tore the two red ones because I lacked dexterity and finesse.
- Treble without the foam can sound harsh. If you are not treble sensitive, you might prefer it without the foam, but most people will want the foams for smoother highs.
- If you have sweaty ears, the foam covers will degrade faster. Good thing VE includes replacements in the bag. Foam replacements are also cheap on their store.
- The Monk SL Plus pairs best with VE’s own USB dongle DACs like the Odo and Devastator.
- Tuning: This set is Neutral-ish with a slight push in upper frequencies. It’s going for clarity and detail rather than warmth.
- Bass: Controlled and clean. Not a basshead set; no chest slam or sub-bass rumble party, but the presence is enough to feel balanced. It doesn’t bleed into the mids. More refined than fun.
- Mids: Vocals are clear and crisp, but the upper mids can get spicy. On tracks or singers with naturally strong “s” and “sh” tones, the sibilance can get pretty sharp. Slight volume adjustment and tip rolling helps a lot.
- Treble: Bright and sparkly. Definitely energetic. If your ears are used to treble forward sets, you’ll probably love the clarity. If you're treble-sensitive (like me), long sessions can get a bit harsh after a while.
- Technicalities: Soundstage is above average, with a good sense of height and width. It feels fairly open. Imaging accuracy is respectable and good enough to track instruments and sounds.
- Gaming: I used these for a few Overwatch 2 comp matches. The wide soundstage made it easy to track footsteps and positional cues. Definitely viable for gaming, not the absolute best, but clearly above many “music-first” IEMs.
- Xiaomi 13T/14T + Odo
- Xiaomi 13T/14T + Devastator
- PC + Devastator
- PC + Fiio K11 R2R
- Snowsky Echo Mini
The Monk SL Plus offers a clean, vocal focused sound that punches above its tiny price tag. While it has clear limitations in stage size and gaming performance, it stays enjoyable for casual listening and daily use. The combination of lightweight comfort, decent bass for a flathead, and strong vocal clarity makes it a solid pick for people who want an inexpensive but capable pair of flatheads.
That's all for now, I will be reviewing two other flatheads from Venture Electronics: The Monk Metapod and the Monk SM T, so please look forward to those! I'll make sure to compare them to each other!