Back in the old days, when iPod Shuffle was considered the epitome of a small music player, only a select few knew the existence of a better alternative.
The one with the screen and storage capacity far exceeding Shuffle's measly 4GB. Adding songs worked by dragging ang dropping, iTunes who? And with Rockbox firmware, 'twas quite thrilling filling your 128GB Micro SD card. Those days were really the golden days of owning a Sansa Clip+. :'(
As I was minding my own business, listening to music from my nifty Bluetooth speaker, I caught a glimpse of my VE Monk+ PH earbuds and thought, "That's nice."
While using the Monk+ PH in the dark, I never had troubles differentiating right from left, because there's a little light shining through those earbud shells that makes it easy to differentiate red from blue, unless I'm blind, but I'm not. Using different color foams helps in differentiating, too. But it usually involves some squinting because they all look black in the dark.
Once upon a time, Sansa Clip+ was the indirect competitor of the iPod shuffle. It was cheap, small, had a clip and buttons just like a shuffle. It also had a little screen, an SD card slot and you can Rockbox it. It was the best thing for those in the know. (⌐■_■)
But nothing lasts forever, it was discontinued. The price skyrocketed and nothing was the same.
Why you should trust me:
You shouldn't. I'm just someone who likes music but can't afford schiit. So, I'm looking for the best audio stuff that'll bang my buck.
I'm always scouring the web for budget audio gears, and would love to know new recs.
Yes, I went there.
Price: Freebie from a store promotion
They're called Mountain Dew earbuds. But I refuse to be technically wrong, so we'll call them for what they really are True Gamer buds (thanks audiojerk), err, Mountain Dew earphones.
In the spirit of Pride Month, let's stray from our normal analytical articles and sciense-backed findings, and tackle fun topics, instead. Say one of Venture Electronics' pride - their different, colorful editions of Monk Pluses.
I've already posted 2 articles about VE Monk Plus editions/colors in the past. First, when analyzing the significance of their shell colors and sound signature. Second, when making a rainbow chart for Monk+ colors. This time, well, since I've already made the rainbow chart, let's beat this dead gay horse some more and track the number of colors Venture Electronics has released for their Monk Plus line.
How frustrating is it to search for one thing yet another thing shows up - not the thing you're looking for, quite similar, but not the same? Or be fed with questionable information in the form of satire? That's why this article is necessary to appeal to audio gear vendors to please get things right.
Audiophiles know better than to interchange terms when describing stuff. A pure audiophile would forget your existence if you dare describe an IEM an earbud! I mean, I would, and I'm not even a purified audiophile! As a non-purified audiophile with vast knowledge of souwnd sciense, I will try my best to differentiate and encourage everyone, vendors and consumers alike, to use the correct product terms when talking, recommending, buying and selling headphones/earphones. A good way to illustrate my point is by using sanitary products as a comparison; open your mind and use your imagination: