So, I feel kind of puzzled now. I've been listening to these ADDIEMS daily now for a full week and I've also compared them to my AKG K412P, semi-open portable can that doesn't isolate well, beeing the reason I got the ADDIEMS in the first place. My source is an iPhone 3GS and the files are ripped on my mac through iTunes in the format AAC320. I've mantioned this before and want to get other listeners thought on the matter. My experience is that the ADDIEMs have a difficult time getting the lower midrange or upper bass region right. I might be wrong of course, but my feeling is that they have a raised level somewhere in the region around 80-150hz (I'm guessing now) but it makes the sound boxy and hard as opposed to smooth and liquid. There also seem to be a lack in the highfrequency response which I also think adds up to the hardness or the congested feel of the sound. When I only listened to the ADDIEMS I got used to the sound and could enjoy it but when compared to the much cheaper AKG K412P they feel lacking in musicality and liquidity, spaciousness. I'm not shure it's the frequencies I'm talking about that causes the effect but it seems logical to me. If the upper bass region (a hard sounding tones) is elevated they might make the entire impression of the phones seem hard and they might also muffle the oresentation in the midrange area giving problems with ringing (I notice this with the ADDIEMs) and the feeling of congested sound becuase it hides the microdetail in the mid and high mids. It might also hide details in the higher region of the frequency spectrum, above, say, 10khz. But there might also be an issue with the reproduction of the higher frequencies. I have no clue on wether they are rolled off or not. However I am experiencing some disturbing distortion and am curious about your experiences. They get a lot of apraise here and I don't know if they deserve it or if it's a question of preference. I do enjoy them with certain genres, especially music that isn't so complex in the arrangments. The song can feel close and real and instrument detail is quite good but not on par with the AKGs. That beeing said I must say, I don't have any recent experience with iems in any pricerange so this might as well be how iems in this pricerange sounds. People here have made claims they are one of the most affordable iems under 100 dollars. Is this the truth? Is this as good as it gets if you spend under 100 dollars?
