[oslpag]

I have always been curious to what drivers were inside the ADDIEMS so I decided to take them apart. 
 
They are definitely Knowles balanced armature but they are not standard off the shelf, they look like they have been created for Apple specifically. What is interesting is that they have not been rebranded to Apple, they still have the Knowles logo and part numbers on the drivers. 
 
They seem to be using 1 half of a TWFK and as it is the unvented half I am assuming it is the tweeter. The other driver I can't identify. They have also put on a passive 2-way crossover which has 3 caps and 3 resistors.
 
In theory this should mean the ADDIEM is very good and theoretically superior to other duals that use the basic TWFK, however from reviews this does not seem to be the case as more people seem to criticise than praise the ADDIEM. This leads me to 2 thoughts.

• People just don't want to admit or agree that Apple can actually produce good earphones
• Or that the TWFK cannot be improved beyond it's standard configuration.

 
I am going record my own frequency chart for some unmodified ADDIEMs and then I will remove the crossover and rerun the tests, I am interested in seeing what the difference is.
 
After that I will add a CI into the mix and see how a hybrid triple ADDIEM looks, theoretically it should be much better as the CI will provide much needed added bass to what is regarded as a bass empty setup in standard configuration. I will not be able to do these tests for another week but let me know if you want to be kept updated.

 

[ClieOS]

Putting a super engine onto a Ford Model T doesn't make it a super car. It is about combining the right components together and fine tuning to maximize performance. Thanks for the pictures, won't have thought Apple (or the company that OEM'ed for Apple, most likely Foster JP) is capable of creating such a strange looking single unit dual receivers.

 

[goodvibes]

And here I though the ADDIEMS already used a twfk. Thanks for that. Hard to tell but probably one cap and one resistor to the tweeter. The woofer is obviously vented. Is that readily visible?

 

[oslpag]

Quote:

And here I though the ADDIEMS already used a twfk. Thanks for that. Hard to tell but probably one cap and one resistor to the tweeter. The woofer is obviously vented. Is that readily visible?

I removed the crossover and neither of the drivers are vented
 

 

[goodvibes]

I'm dumbfounded. I guarantee that playing with the back slot opening on the addiem case changes the bass character rather radically. I wonder how and why if not vented. I would guess that the front is sealed to the nozzle. I just noticed that it looks more like 3 resistors and 2 caps. oops

 

[oslpag]

 
 

 

[goodvibes]

I wasn't doubting you. I was just wondering what the mechanism could be for the rear vent of the case and why it's tunable. Thanks again. I'll be interested in you results.

 

[oslpag]

Quote:

I wasn't doubting you. I was just wondering what the mechanism could be for the rear vent of the case and why it's tunable. Thanks again. I'll be interested in you results.

No worries, I never took it that you were doubting me I just thought it might be of interest to see more pictures. 
It is strange why they have the vent, when you open up the ADDIEMS not only is the back covered by the crossover but the both drivers are encased in a rubber moulding so I too wonder why they have the vent.

 

[DervishD]

Interesing pictures! I must admit that since the first time I listened to iBuds I confront any Apple headphone with extreme prejudice. Still, I've listened the ADDIEM a couple of times, and I don't consider them bad at all. In fact, given the price, I have a positive opinion towards these phones.
 
They don't sound better than most single BA's I've heard, but they're very cheap to be a dual driver, and I consider them a quality product.
 
I may think differently weren't because the first time I tried them I didn't know they were an Apple phone. Otherwise, my prejudices would have beaten me and I would talk crap about them. Who knows

 

[oslpag]

You must be one of the first people I have heard being open about being prejudice on testing something by name, if you get my drift. I follow another thread here on testing 3 different cable qualities without knowing which is which and it makes interesting reading and then when the results came back that showed a high percentage of people not seeing a difference between expensive and cheap there was a mass of defensive arguments.
 
In saying that I do agree with you on the fact they don't sound better than a lot of single driver units, which is a mystery to me at the moment hence my continued investigation and testing. It would be fun to put the ADDIEM drivers in a expensive custom remould and send it out for review without telling where the drivers came from originally, I must admit at my temptation to do this. However there does need to be some improvement on the sound quality before this could be done, or maybe not 

 
Thanks for your honesty, it is refreshing to hear.

 

[DervishD]

Quote:

You must be one of the first people I have heard being open about being prejudice on testing something by name, if you get my drift.

 
I was just being honest. I'm affected by prejudice, as anyone I know. Life's not about not having prejudices, but about having them and still try to be neutral. I think it's better to know you have bias and try to compensate than to pretend you don't have bias. I have bias towards some brands, and I have bias against others. And as far as I know, I'm not the only one...
 

In saying that I do agree with you on the fact they don't sound better than a lot of single driver units, which is a mystery to me at the moment hence my continued investigation and testing.

 
Yes, I find that confusing. Supposedly, the extra driver should compensate for the characteristic lack of basses and other problems, but IMHO they don't sound better than the SoundMAGIC PL50. It's just my opinion, of course, but I expect more from a dual armature.
 

Thanks for your honesty, it is refreshing to hear.

Thanks! I learnt a couple of things about listening bias a long time ago...

 

[goodvibes]

http://www.knowles.com/search/family.do?family_id=GQ&x_sub_cat_id=10 Looks like a different xover board but specs match pretty well.
Shows a small vent in the rear instead of the usual side of case. http://www.knowles.com/search/prods_pdf/GQ-30783-000.pdf 
 
Does show a small vent in the back  

 

[oslpag]

this is obviously a new driver setup from knowles, it looks on paper very good, it has a very smooth response, will have to get my hands on one. 

 

[goodvibes]

I knew that I had seen this config in the past but as I looked for them when the thread started, I couldn't find them. I think they've been around and just off site for a bit. The efficiency and impedance spec of the 83 matches the addiem pretty well. It's 22 ohm at 500hz and the addiem is 23 at 100hz.

 

[Yggdrassilious]

Wow nice work. Subscribing to this post to hear on further testings/findings