Drop + Grell OAE1 Headphones

Launched earlier this year in a limited-edition run, the OAE1 Signature is our first pair of over-ear headphones made by the legendary Axel Grell.   Now, we’re bringing the OAE to a broader audience—with a few small but important changes. The most noticeable change is the subdued black finish. Complementing that finish, there are now large Left and Right indicators on the dust covers inside the earcups to help with orientation and placement. Beyond the aesthetics, the clamping force of the headband has been reduced from 3.5 N to 3 N (Newton Meters) for a slightly more relaxed fit. Finally, the OAE1 will include a single sided 6.3 mm TRS cable with an indicator stripe to help reduce cable insertion errors. Most important, however, is what’s staying the same: the sound. The tuning is identical with the original OAE1 signature.  The Drop + Grell OAE1 Headphones launch on November 13th, 2024. The initial quantity will be limited as we work to ramp up production. Hit "Request" to be...

To minimize unwanted artifacts in the listening experience, it was important that the OAE1 signature headphones avoid reflecting any secondary sound waves back toward the ear.  Much like sound waves bouncing off walls when speakers are played in an empty room, the echoes from the reflections off the headphone body can cause interference, leading to dips—and even worse, peaks—degrading the quality of sound and imaging.    Findings of the Institute für Kommunikationstechnik (IKT, Institute of Communications Technology) of the Leibniz University Hannover (Dr. Roman Schlieper, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Peissig et al.) shows that there is a greater impact of the closed area and the acoustical impedance of the headphone to our hearing than just the influence on the measurable frequency response.  (grell®  and IKT have partnered to undertake ongoing research into acoustics.)   So, according to what is known today, the acoustic impedance of the headphones measured from the ear should be as...

At the time work began on the upcoming Drop + Grell headphones, Drop and Axel Grell were showing off their first collaboration – the wireless TWS1X – at the New York CanJam show. Behind the scenes Axel had been working on his next concept to develop and the discussion evolved into Drop asking Axel to create a version exclusively for its Audiophile members. Axel himself was, of course, already well known among this crowd for the sound of the highly popular wired headphones he developed while working at Sennheiser. So, the pursuit began to create the ideal-performing Axel Grell wired headphone with the most open-back design possible.   The headphone was to originally share many of the same parts as his starting concept, such as the headband and most of the earcups. As development progressed it was decided that rather than design a headphone which could lead to two models it was better to optimize the design for one to maximize its performance. This led to a complete redesign...