Marcus reviews the Vision Ears VE PRO, a new hybrid 8mm dynamic and triple balanced armature driver custom in-ear monitor priced at €1,400.00.
Disclaimer: This was sent as a sample in return for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. I would like to thank the team at Vision Ears for their support.
Click here to read more about Vision Ears products I have reviewed on Headfonics
Note that this article follows our latest scoring guidelines, which you can read in more detail here.
A few of the monitors in Vision Ears’ updated custom lineup are previous well-regarded models with a few tweaks on paper, or have gone from universal to custom form, such as the flagship VE ZEN.
However, that is not the case with the VE PRO, which seems to be an entirely new model, and a hybrid one at that.
It joins the VE ZEN and the soon-to-be-reviewed VE ONE as a trilogy of hybrids, not seen before in what was once an all-BA custom lineup before the refresh.
Priced at €1400, the VE PRO is positioned below the VE PURE and VE XCON and above the VE ONE and is by no means a budget custom monitor. However, you do get access to all of the same excellent design and options as their TOTL models.
Combined with a very nicely balanced neutral to natural tuning, the VE PRO could well be the sweet spot for the company’s fan base, craving for a slice of the extended lows from the VE ZEN’s dynamic driver, but without the extended price tag.
Features
The Vision Ears VE PRO is a hybrid 4-driver 4-way crossover custom in-ear monitor. Its precise grouping is a single 8mm for the lows, layered with a BA for the lows and mids.
The combination of dynamic and BA for the lows is not unusual in this industry, and is configured to bring the benefits of both the dynamic’s power and texture with the control and speed of the BA driver. Beyond is a single BA driver for the mids and one for the highs.
Like the VE ZEN, the VE PRO uses the Vision Ears PRV system, which is short for pressure relief valve.
The PRV is integrated into the VE PRO faceplates and is designed to create the correct pressure balance in the shells. You will notice the VE PRO shell has the same gold-plated metal ring as the VE ZEN on the faceplate.
The VE PRO is rated at 6.8Ω for impedance with an SPL of 111.3 dB/mW @1Khz, making it, like almost every Vision Ears custom Monitor, easy to drive from most dongles and DAPs.
Design
It’s another dark and subtle design from Vision Ears. I have gone through a lot of the new designs they are offering with this updated lineup, and the theme seems to be quite consistent with subtlety and discretion being promoted over bold and loud.
Not that you cannot get bright, cheery colors, you have up to 58 face plate choices on the Vision Ears online configurator. Rather, this is more about my experience with the new signature designs launched with each new model.
This sample was finished with a mix of VE’s semi-transparent midnight shell, similar to the finish of the previous models I received, and a new Carbon Glow face plate, which is a palette of carbon weaves on a dark background.
Subjectively, it projects a halfway house aesthetics between the VE ZEN’s louder Obsidian gold (complete with a visible PRV value) and the subtle lines of the Copper and Steel Maze plates of my VE PURE and VE XCON samples.
It also needs some light to truly shine. The lower the ambient illumination, the plainer the finish looks. Put a spotlight on the plate, and it lights up like the 4th of July.
The VE PRO form factor is the same as the other models; compact shells with excellent build quality, a very smooth and highly detailed contouring, and a horn-like nozzle chamber and exit system for the bores.
Comfort & Isolation
I picked up on a very slight thickness difference between this VE PRO sample and the VE ZEN, which is the other hybrid configured VE custom monitor I recently reviewed.
The knock-on effect of that additional thickness is that the VE PRO feels a little more secure in my ears compared to the VE ZEN, but in doing so, it also applies a little more pressure on the surrounding ear canal.
The VE PRO’s tighter fit also means the passive isolation is marginally superior to my ZEN sample. However, since both are hybrids, the isolation performance level is below the VE PURE and the VE XCON, which, as all-BA models, do not have any venting in their shells.
As you might expect, the precision fit means the VE PRO is a very comfortable custom monitor to wear. It does not use long, narrow nozzles to extend very deeply, more of a medium insertion depth, so the insertion tactile feedback isn’t terribly unnerving.
The VE PRO’s bulbous horn finish on its nozzle also acts like a final seal, preventing inadvertent movement for users with vigorous lifestyles.
Stock Cable
My VE PRO sample did not come with all standard packaging and stock cable, so I cannot offer too much insight on the new stock cable and how it handles relative to the Premium upgrade cable that comes with the VE ZEN and VE10.
What I can tell you is this is a new 1.35m stock cable with a 4-wire 26AWG Litz geometry, and a mix of 7N Ultra-High Purity Single Crystal Copper and 7N Ultra-Pure Copper Extruded Silver.
Externally, the new VE PRO stock cable seems like an upgrade compared to the old P1 Tech cables that the older models came with.
The external jacket finish is somewhat similar to the original EXT or Phönix cable design. It has a black (or transparent) braided TPE material, with 2-pin connectors, and matching slimline jack and splitter barrels. There is also a dash of purple here and there to match the company’s color scheme.
You can choose between a balanced 4.4mm or a single-ended 3.5mm termination during the online checkout process, but the 2-pin connectors are fixed.
There is also a fairly hefty amount of memory-retentive coating at the terminations to help shape the cable around your ears and keep the shells securely in place.
Based on my experience with similar VE cables from the last few years, this cable should be quite light and easy to manage with low microphonic performance and memory retention.
Packaging & Accessories
Since my VE PRO sample came without the complete accessory lineup you would buy as a customer, I can only tell you what you will get based on the feedback from Vision Ears.
Ideally, you will receive a compact, branded retail box with a very neatly laid out presentation of the accessories, including a carry case (round or square) with the stock cable and CIEMs safely tucked inside.
The rest of the packaging includes a cleaning pick, a 6.35mm adapter (if you have chosen the 3.5mm termination), and a cleaning cloth with an additional bottle of cleaning spray.
Sound Impressions
The following sound impressions of the Vision Ears VE PRO were completed using the Cayin N6iii/R202 combo, the Chord Electronics Mojo 2, and the iBasso DC-Elite dongle DAC.
Summary
Being the 4th monitor down from the flagship, or one above the entry-level VE ONE, I was not expecting as much from the VE PRO compared to the high-end models.
However, save for a slightly reduced level of micro-detail and staging immersion (hello VE ZEN), the VE PRO feels like it could be the company’s sweet spot in terms of price to performance.
The dynamic driver is perhaps the star of the show here. Granted, the mids are forward, the vocal presence is excellent with some welcome contrast, but it is the control and lack of bass bleed from the VE PRO’s powerful lows that impresses me the most.
The last two VE reviews, the VE PURE and VE XCON, are both all-BA driver constructions, with numerically superior BA arrangements ensuring the mids and highs sound refined and smooth with improved body.
However, both monitors lack the weight and density of the VE PRO bass response, with only the VE ZEN able to out-muscle the delivery.
Surprisingly, the VE PRO bass has a little less bloom than the VE ZEN curve, meaning bass bleed is reduced, creating a more natural-to-neutral timbre and some flexibility for genre matching.
Most users will immediately pair the VE PRO with recordings with a strong and deep rhythmic section. It has excellent staging depth with a balanced 1-4k region that ensures the key dramatic or emotional touch points stay connected with the listener.
However, there is also just enough treble and lower-mids dip to inject some necessary contrast and energy into the VE PRO’s upper-mids, making it sound more vibrant than the chilled VE PURE’s performance. So it’s not just about the bass.
Frequency Response
The Vision Ears VE PRO frequency response has a gentle W-shaped tuning with an emphasized but relatively short bass-shelf from 20Hz up to 80Hz before it slowly drops to its lowest point around 700Hz-800Hz.
The drop from the mid-bass to lower-mids is accentuated compared to the higher-tier models such as the VE PURE and VE ZEN, so less warmth and richness come through into the mids.
As a result, the bass-to-mids separation is noticeable, with less textured body in the mids instrumental timbre, relative to the aforementioned models.
However, the fundamental frequency, combined with some welcome contrast in the highs, creates a more vivid, dynamic performance from the VE PRO.
The pinna gain is boosted, perhaps one of the strongest ones in the range, with a noticeable 1-3k lift pushing vocals and percussion to the fore and acting as a nice counter to the bass shelf.
From 4-7k, the VE PRO sounds quite neutral with not too much of a lift here and more of an 8-10k peak or emphasis creating a treble sheen on the gentler upper-mids that is relatively polite.
You will pick up on some additional contrast in the VE PRO’s midrange timbre, but it avoids sounding sharp or peaky in its delivery.
Staging & Dynamics
The VE PRO has some impressive depth from its dynamic driver, but avoids a warm L-shaped sound courtesy of the dropped upper-bass and lower-mids combined with the boosted 1-3k range.
The mix of dynamic and BA produces a slightly slower set of lows with a lingering natural decay, and a faster, drier set of mids and highs.
So the sense of separation between the bass and mids is strong, with sub-bass and vocal performances more to the fore, complementing each other rather than competing for space.
The VE PRO is not quite as wide as the VE PURE or as immersive as the VE ZEN. The 3 BA drivers do a good job in arrangements, but it’s not quite as deep and enveloping as the flagship ZEN.
However, if you find the chilled positioning of the VE PURE mids, then the VE PRO might be the better choice as it pushes them front and center with the additional upper-treble contrast producing some welcome bloom and sparkle in the process.
To that end, the VE PRO can sound like it has a more attention-grabbing presentation with the controlled BA drivers etching out some welcome space and air for each note to be clearly heard and clearly underpinned by the low-end power.
Click on page 2 below for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
