Venture Electronics is a Chinese company best known for their Monk line-up of earbuds, with the most famous one being the Monk Plus, which comes in a very affordable US$5 while delivering a decent enough sound. Today we will look at the VE Odyssey which was designed to complement the Monk earbuds.
Specifications:
Input/Output: USB Type C to 3.5 mm Output
DAC Chip: Realtek DAC (identified as Realtek USB2.0 Audio)
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Venture Electronics in any way and do not benefit monetarily or in any other form for writing this review. I purchased this in-ear monitor with my own resources and I am simply giving my honest review of the product!
Review by: “Charlie” from The Little Audiophile
VE Odyssey Retail Price (at time of writing): S$14
THE BOX
The VE Odyssey ships with the Odyssey itself, accompanied by a USB Type C to USB Type A adapter and lastly a carrying case to store your DAC. You don’t get a whole lot of stuff, but come on… it’s a $14 DAC, who are you kidding.
BUILD AND DESIGN
For the price, I can only praise VE for their choice of materials. The build is made entirely out of metal, less the cable and some small parts around the Input/Output (I/O). The DAC has a good heft to it and instils confidence in the user. The USB Type C connector fits securely in place and the 3.5 mm audio jack emits a solid, satisfying click when an IEM is plugged in.
The cable is just under 8cm or 3.15 inches and is quite flexible in the verticle direction, though not so in the horizontal direction due to its bi-wire design. I believe the cable material is SPC as it looks very similar to that found on the Fiio L16 and L17 interconnects.
The Odyssey does not have an internal battery and the power is supplied from the source. While using it slaved to the phone, I did not notice an excessive amount of battery drain, which is really important. Also, I did not experience any EMI-induced noise from my phone or laptop so that’s another big plus.
Overall I have no complaints regarding the build quality of the Odessey.
SOUND QUALITY
Note: Sound Quality was tested with my Laptop with Dolby Digital Plus turned off. The IEM that I have paired with for the review was the KZ ZSN.
There are no descriptions or specifications provided by VE regarding the Odyssey, except for the fact that my computer recognises that the DAC chip is from Realtek. My laptop has a built-in Dolby Digital Plus software which acts as an equalizer. When the Odyssey is plugged in, this software is automatically suspended despite still showing the “On” status. Yet, I’ve still turned it off manually for the sake of the review.
Soundstage is respectably wide (wider than my Huawei Nova 2i with the AKM 4376A DAC chip) and there is a good sense of scale and layering to the soundscape. This is very evident on the track “Call Me Home” from the album “The Aviary” by Galantis. The song starts off with the sounds of birds chirping and the Odyssey manages to deliver a holographic effect in this portion of the track.
The Odyssey definitely adds dynamism and energy to the music. The warm sound signature adds some emphasis in the bass region while still retaining clarity and details up top. The bass is clean and at no point sounds over-bearing though. Sub-bass extends deep, although there is a more mid-bass emphasis as compared to sub-bass. The mid-range and vocals sounded more articulate and organic, due to the improved dynamic and weightiness. Trebles are well extended and details are well defined and some sparkle is added to this frequency.
PAIRING
I had no issues pairing the Odyssey with my Huawei Nova 2i (using an OTG adapter as it uses a Micro-USB instead of USB Type C) or my Laptop via the provided adapter. Either way, the sound quality was improved.
“The lengths I have to go to get it to work with my phone”. Literally.
The Odyssey is also able to deliver a considerable amount of power to power your headphones. I have a Brainwavz HM5 with an impedance rating of 64 ohms with a sensitivity rating of 105 dB/mW and I only had to turn the volume up to 14% to attain a comfortable listening volume. Apart from the volume, the Odyssey was able to drive the HM5 properly without sounding thin or “off”. On the KZ ZSN, I only had to get the volume up to 4%.
The Odyssey, however, does not pair well with sensitive IEMs as you would notice an audible hiss. Take the Fatfreq Eden for example – I had to turn down the volume to 1% to attain a normal listening volume and hisses quite a bit.
CONCLUSION
I apologize that this review is rather short as there really isn’t much to say about this DAC. It does not have any gain or bass boost function. As simple as the Odyssey is, it is a very competent DAC. I am a university student and I have to move around quite a bit. I actually found myself reaching for the Odyssey more often than my DAP stack or Q1Mkii.
Just look at the size difference!
Sure. My DAP stack and QiMkii both best the Odyssey in terms of features and sound quality, but considering the price and size difference, there are sacrifices that VE has to make, and this is completely understandable. I would recommend the Odyssey merely for its compact form factor and audible improvement to sound quality.
THE LITTLE AUDIOPHILE 