Apple ME186LL/A Dual Driver Improved Revision?

[tinyman392]

Quote:

 
I have a TF10. It's one of my favorite IEMs ever, actually.
 
But those IEMs seem to be the exception rather than the rule. As much as I love the TF10 and BA IEMs, I still love my dynamics for bass impact, texture, body and rumble.

 
I actually haven't heard the TF10s (out of that entire list, I've only heard the PFE232 and 3.Ai ), probably never will have a chance too (no longer in production)   As for having great bass impact, texture, body, and rumble, it really all depends on how the engineer wanted it to sound.  A BA can be tuned to sound like a dynamic; a dynamic can be tuned to sound like a BA. 

 

[tomscy2000]

I looked up the details of the picture file of the FR on Apple's site. It has been created since late 2010. Then haven't changed it since. So, either Apple is getting lazy, trying to hide the fact that they changed something, or most likely: they didn't change anything.

 

[goodvibes]

The link Inks supplied is neat and I think the distortion at 3k may be what some of us hear on top as the highs, while informative, are a bit grungy. The resisitor mod is great for the mids but it's not an IEM that I would personally want to reduce bass energy on by 4db or more in the process. Clearly a try and see for yourself type deal.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  The link Inks supplied is neat and I think the distortion at 3k may be what some of us hear on top as the highs while informative are a bit grungy. The resisitor mod is great for the mids but it's not an IEM that I would personally want to reduce bass energy on by 4db in the process.

Agreed. Distortion is weird. Sometimes, it plays to the advantage of musical appreciation, other times, it sounds bad. This is probably a case of the latter. It's like digital vs. analog noise; the latter looks more "organic". For me, personally, I find FAD's distortion to be "pleasant", while I don't particularly like the sound of Sony's XBA-1's distortion nor the ADDIEM's... I also personally found it to have really poor fit with my ears, they just didn't feel like they wanted to stay in, whereas the EarPods fit decently.

 

[goodvibes]

Try Klipsch ovals. The apple tps are good at pushing themselves out. Well tuned but....
 Hybrids could be tighter on the nozzle and can be left in your ears on removal.

 

[tinyman392]

Try Klipsch ovals. The apple tps are good at pushing themselves out. Hybrids aren't tight enough and can be left in your ears on removal.

If you have a new pair of Somy hybrids, the rubber isn't stretched yet, so it actually won't come off as easily. If you're using a pair of Hybrids that has been used with a larger nozzle IEM, then you are correct, it will fall off.

 

[tomscy2000]

I have Klipsch ovals; they don't fit on the ADDIEM... Hybrids should work, but I feel on some kind of weird principle that they should have clear tips... something about the Apple aesthetic. Someone should probably reshell them.

 

[TheGame21x]

Quote:

The link Inks supplied is neat and I think the distortion at 3k may be what some of us hear on top as the highs, while informative, are a bit grungy. The resisitor mod is great for the mids but it's not an IEM that I would personally want to reduce bass energy on by 4db or more in the process. Clearly a try and see for yourself type deal.

That's my feeling, pretty much. I'm a diehard basshead and like my IEMs to have a nice presence down below. The resistor mod is nice for those moments when I feel like I want that kind of abundantly clear and mid-centric sound but I have my HD 600s for that.

 

[Inks]

Well, that is why I recommend 30ohms instead of like 75, it reduces the bass less. I think the bass reduction at 30ohms is more adequate, imo. 
 
You know, here are some though Rin shared with me.
He thinks these have the best tonality he's heard to date of any IEM [with 30ohms] and thinks it has a pretty darn good soundstage as well. Of course as mentioned, the distortion is audible, many IEMs like FADs, ATH, JVCs, etc have audible distortion. IMO, in all the cases it takes away from the true nature of the recordings, but may not be so unpleasant for certain genres. Rin likes it for rock, pop, electronic, but certainly not for classical. Despite this flaw, I think this IEM is a very good value, I'll be complaining a lot more if it were in the 150$ price range, but its' a lot cheaper than that. 

 

[riker1384]

Has anyone owned both of these and compared them side by side? Do they sound the same?

 

[PeterDLai]

Quote:

I have Klipsch ovals; they don't fit on the ADDIEM... Hybrids should work, but I feel on some kind of weird principle that they should have clear tips... something about the Apple aesthetic. Someone should probably reshell them.

 
If you want to match the ADDIEM better, there's a pack of used white hybrid tips here... "Shows moderate wear or finish marks"

 

[TheGame21x]

Quote:

 
If you want to match the ADDIEM better, there's a pack of used white hybrid tips here... "Shows moderate wear or finish marks"

Ewwww...
 
And not just because they're used. The cheapest shipping option available for me is $3.99. I might as well buy a new pair!

 

[PeterDLai]

Quote:

 
Ewwww...
 
And not just because they're used. The cheapest shipping option available for me is $3.99. I might as well buy a new pair!

 
That's the thing, I couldn't find a new set in white in stock anywhere.

 
I suppose you could buy a relatively cheap pair of Sony earphones that come with a few pairs of white hybrid tips. Those only come with 3 pairs, missing the smallest pair (red core), I believe.

 

[TheGame21x]

Quote:

 
That's the thing, I couldn't find a new set in white in stock anywhere.

Oh yeah, there's that. Wow. Guess I should've gotten a couple pairs a while ago when I had the chance.

 

[tomscy2000]

It turns out there are indeed two driver versions of the ADDIEMs.
 
A few notes:

1. Contrary to discussion from previous years, the drivers used in the ADDIEM are NOT the GQ series. Instead, they are a combo unit likely composed of the HC driver and the FK driver, custom-specified for the ADDIEM. The GQ are a combination of the WBFK and the ED.
2. This is not to say that the 60021 and 60500 are fundamentally different; they may very well measure identically, just with different serial numbers (either to confuse people or to signify a different production series), as Apple's unchanged graphs show.
3. Cosmic Ears seems to use this driver in their old "Twin BA" model; how they got a hold of this driver assembly, I don't know.

 

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