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Showing 1 of 1 reviews about:
Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones
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FULL DISCUSSION
Evshrug
3989
Keyboard Club Member
May 9, 2024
This Challenger Takes a New Angle
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The grell OAE1 was not what I was expecting. At first, when news that Axel Grell was making an analog, open back wired headphone, I thought it was squarely within his wheelhouse, the perfect move to show what grell is best at. But the show impressions on prototypes started trickling in, and it was a bit confusing because there were multiple different tunings being explored. Then, people started quoting a high-profile reviewer or two who were setting the expectation that the defining characteristic was a treble spike, combined with fears that the more open a headphone is the weaker the bass presence would be. Remembering my past mixed feelings about earspeakers and the very open, also-biocellulose-driver Sony MDR-MA900 and F1, I almost declined to review the grell OAE1 when Drop reached out to me (no compensation or editorial oversight, and as far as I know this is just a loaner). However, my curiosity won out, and my at-home impressions are far better than I was expecting. Build Quality Let’s start describing the headphone with the way most people first interact with a headphone, the presentation and build quality of the OAE1. I’d guess the packaging will be something to encourage recycling, but the semi-circular black case is worth keeping. It would fill a significant portion of a backpack if attempted to carry it that way, but it’s way more transportable than a storage box; the OAE1 earcups fold flat so it isn’t too thick to fit, the case’s smooth design doesn’t have any protrusions, plus there’s a contained space between the headband and earcups area that holds the two included cables (more on that in a bit) and has enough room for me to fit a USB Dongle. The OAE1 design itself is essence of headphones, evoking smooth circular shapes and perhaps a smiley face 😀. Katrin, Axel Grell’s wife and a graphic /product designer by trade, is to thank for the sleek modern design language, and perhaps also influenced the choice to use matte finish rounded aluminum and contrasting black PU leather instead of the wood accents of other brands and the plastics dominating Axel’s past headphones. The silver grilles strongly evoke studio microphones 🎤.
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Little but thoughtful design touches abound. Lifting the OAE1 reveals that it’s still very light for a full-size headphone, and the earcup extension mechanism has a generous range and smoothly has infinite adjustment with well-dampened resistance against slipping. No need to worry about elastic bands wearing out here, and my question was answered that the headband and earpads are also clipped on and easily replaceable. I asked about the headband because my balding head was concerned that the smooth arch aesthetics would create a hot spot at the peak of my head, but Axel told me the center point of the headband actually has a lower density foam inside, so even though it doesn’t look like an HD 650 headband it does kind of feel like one, with a more moderate clamping force. The pads themselves are very plush and soft, heat escapes easily from them easily and I was told they’re also quite acoustically open. To wear them, the OAE1 earcups swivel a bit more than 90° without flopping around.
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My first con: it was not obvious at first glance to see the tiny L & R legends, which are not bright and printed on the 2.5mm cable plug protection nubs, and I suspect it will be common to see people put the mostly symmetrical looking headphone on backwards. Looking inside the pad cavity though, it’s very easy to see the extremely front-biased drivers even though they’re covered by a black dust-and-hair shield, and the jacks are placed and angled so that the cables will drape easily on the wearer’s shoulders. The OAE1 does come with a thin 3.5mm cable with a nice screw-on 6.5mm adapter and 2.5mm TRRS plugs for each earcup, and also a cloth-braided 4.4mm terminated balanced cable that, very uniquely, has a single 2.5mm TRRS tip that can plug into either earcup, with the connection to the other earcup made via a hidden cable in the headband. These configuration options are great for purists or usage at a desk with the cable routed to one preferred side. Sound Taken on its own merits, the OAE1 is tuned for entertainment rather than analytics, and yet delivers timbre and music insight with the ease you would expect from a master craftsman. The frequency balance has forward but not extreme mid bass and upper mids, with loads of extension into the treble and sub bass range, HiFi level separation and clarity of simultaneously playing instruments. I am not able to hear a treble spike, in fact the treble is just a little "safe" without sounding dark to me, and the upper mids don't irritate the resonance that my ears have. The headphone is able to convincingly reproduce both intimate and expansive soundstage, often in the same song if it’s well-recorded. The elephant in the room is the most radical part of the OAE1 design. Whether labeled as innovation or gimmick, the extreme angle of the drivers does have an impact on the sound and is more extreme than I’ve seen on any headphone previously, unless perhaps putting earspeakers like a RAAL or Mysphere at their most open setting, and even then I think those drivers would be more distant from the ear than the OAE1, and have certainly not been able to produce this level of sub bass. Grell has been very careful NOT to claim his design creates “In-Front Localization (IFL),” but that’s an industry term specifically referring to that sense of a phantom center, like the headphones are able to recreate the center speaker of a surround system. There is a bit of modesty and careful setting of expectations though… the angled drivers DO reflect substantially off the folds of the wearer’s ear shape, folds and cups that are more unique than fingerprints, and makes full use of our body’s physical mechanism for pulling more timbral information out of a performance, but this sense of timbre “realism” does help increase the believability of distance and soundstage (along with careful L/R driver matching), and also makes the OAE1 an excellent candidate for adding Spatial Audio processing, which DOES achieve not just a phantom center but also a full surround experience with the right recording media. Please check the comments on this review for my per-song listening notes, also my experience watching movies and playing video games, to get a better idea how each illuminates an aspect of the OAE1's character:

Gear Testing I tried the OAE1 on a wide variety of amps, DAC/amps, and I do feel the headphone is transparent enough to show how these gear changes affect the sound. Like the listening notes, please check the comments for details. I also have a few notes regarding comparisons to well-known headphones. Who is it cool for? “The customer is always right, in matters of taste.” There will be people who prefer more niché tunings, or require a different form factor such as closed backs or in-ears. This may not be the headphone for treble-heads. I have a relative who can’t stand audio that is “too clear,” without a lot of resonance and slow decay its sensory overload for her. The cost is not free. That said, this might impress people who wished for a less expensive HD 800S with great soundstage and clarity, but wished for more body in the mids and especially bass for a less airy and more grounded emotional weight. Anyone who has wished for an HD 650 that has a bit more sparkle in the highs, deeper sub bass reproduction, and less head clamp. The HD 6XX has sold over 190,000 units exclusively on Drop as of the time of this review, and the HD 650 before it has sold an unknowable hundreds of thousands more, so I think it’s a safe bet to say the majority of people will find something to like here.
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Why? What makes it cool?  The OAE1 is the make-it-or-break-it point for grell audio, so Axel is using everything he has learned in his approximately 30 years of industry experience PLUS his best tradition-breaking ideas that he couldn’t try while working for someone else, to pull out all the stops and make a headphone squarely in his wheelhouse. I love the design touches added by his wife, and no doubt literally the entire Grell family influenced the design. Comparisons will inevitably be made to Axel’s previous designs such as the HD 800 and the venerable classic HD 650, but if anyone could surpass the HD 650 it would be the man who originally created it. To put it in other words, this is Axel’s ideal headphone for the masses. The marathon comfort both physical and audible, impressively solid sub bass, pinpoint soundstage imaging, and last but not least energetic and lively timbre are all points from my wishlist - for me it’s like grell audio checked off every single one. How often do you get a headphone with both a WOW factor and you don’t get tired of using it?
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
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Makami
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May 9, 2024
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EvshrugNice coincidence, having just read the complete thread at Head-Fi and your review is done here. Would you be so kind to tell me/us the width.
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Thanks a lot!
May 9, 2024
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Evshrug
3989
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May 9, 2024
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Makamiuuuh, let me find a tape measure or something, my metal ruler and calipers are at my eyeglasses job XD The pads do appear/feel to be circular rather than oval, btw. Outer diameter: 10cm / ~4 inches Inner opening: 5.5cm / ~2 and 1/4 inches
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May 9, 2024
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Makami
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May 9, 2024
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Evshrug... circular ... That's what I thought, just need to know the width to compare with my headphones at home. It's always hard for me to judge, if big enough or too small for my ears. Shipping to Germany to find out, not fitting, would be a crime.
May 9, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 9, 2024
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MakamiHead-Fi review: 10 minutes ago I'm quashing down my listening notes and adding them... it's kinda like a live service, lol. But I figured that might be too much detail / a wall of text for some, so I posted the overall summary right away.
May 9, 2024
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voo.hoo
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May 9, 2024
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How does the soundstage compare to the HD 800? Does it beat it? About the same?
May 9, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 9, 2024
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voo.hooHeadphone Comparisons: Edit 5-26-24: Today, I’m choosing to compare the grellphone to the HD 650, because they are closest related and the HD 650 (and HD 6XX) is such a common standard for comparison, and also the HD 800, a headphone noted for big soundstage and insight into recordings. I want to emphasize; I think you could listen long enough to any of these for brain burn-in and end up enjoying any of them, but certain strengths remain. For fairness sake, I’m using stock 6.5mm cables with all headphones, running off my 0 Ω output impedance Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp, and using my HDV 820’s XLR output as a DAC, with a really short usb cable going to my iPad Air on battery power. Classic rock: “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zepplin. I think this track is actually a strong point for the HD 800. This is especially evident in the easily picked out reverb from off stage, and I think the percussive cymbals sound more realistic here. The HD 650 takes a bit more concentration to pick up on the soundstage and it sounds more intimate, a tighter stage, but pretty good. The OAE1 has perception of the reverb almost as well as the HD 800, but the rolling snare drum impacts seem a bit more recessed, making me want to turn up the volume a bit more. Switching back to the HD 800 after the OAE1 sounds more splashy and brash though. Alternative Rock: “Undisclosed Desires” by Muse The HD 800 here emphasizes the violin plucks, and has very good “buzz” texture. The texture is also very good on the HD 650, but there’s a drop more bass and the plucked violins take a step back in emphasis, changing the feeling of the song a bit. The OAE 1 vocals at 51 seconds in takes a step into the audience after the HD 650, less intimate, but overall I think it takes the crown for this song. The bass is emphasized more than on the other headphones, the bass guitar flourishes are punchy with impactful leading edge, the synths swim around the head, and the “call and response” bass event at the end of this song is just so much more significant here than on the other headphones: it throbs rather than murmurs. The OAE1 both more chill than the HD 800, it makes the HD 650 sound a bit rolled off on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and after a second of adjustment sounds very rich. Alternative (2019): “bad guy” by Billie Eilish This whole album is really well mastered, very clear, and on the HD 800 it sounds like Billie is singing right up against my ears. Her little forced exhales, overlapping vocal takes, and the electronic chirps are just as evident on the HD 650 though. The OAE1 stands out as the most different here, with the intimate multi personality vocals sounding the same but the electric bass and electric synth (and the… muted bass drum?) sounding stronger, and the rest at 2:29 hitting back all the more stronger when slammed by the bass, and the tight bass doesn’t mask the cool “thock!” sound popping off down the hall. Trip Hop: “Angel” by Massive Attack The HD 650 comes in right away with the bass guitar rumbling in, Andy Horace’s voice sounds so velvety smooth, and honestly this is a balanced take that feels very familiar to me after all these years. The cymbals sound distorted and weird though, and when the electric guitar kicks in at 2:23 things sound a little hectic, busy, and furtive. Putting on the HD 800, there is much less “wall of sound” and it’s a little more relaxed to hear each instrument playing, and it’s more obvious that the metronomic percussion isn’t cymbals but actually drums with a digital “swimming” effect applied to them (the cymbals come in clean at near 2 minutes, kinda stealing the show as far as emphasis goes), and I think this headphone is good for percussive fans. The bass is tight like two large marble balls making impact, but restrained. The OAE1… the bass is still tight, but it’s so much bigger! The distorted drums starting at 1:39 still sound like drums, and I’m aware of the cymbals, vocals are a little less intimate than the HD 650, but again at 2:23 the sound doesn’t devolve into confusion despite how many instruments are playing at once. I might choose to EQ up Horace’s vocals a bit, but the threat of this song is emotionally portrayed with strength. I also like how the final beats, when played alone at the end of this song, show an abrupt end of decay. Classical: The Planets Suite, Op. 32: IV Jupiter by Gustav Holst, performed by Vladimir Jurowski & London Philharmonic Orchestra Let’s start this track with the OAE1, eh? There are MANY different orchestras that have performed this, but I chose this one because it was newly featured in Apple Music’s Spatial Audio showcase. Before hearing any other headphone, I’m hearing a good balance between harp and violin, big drums and brass, and the Spatial Audio is doing a good job of laying out the musicians in front of me. I especially am enjoying a moment near the end at 6:30, where various flutes flourish and things get a little more magical, before a big drum roll builds up and releases a nice climax. How’s the HD 650 by comparison? It feels lighter, that’ll be the lower bass presence and more forward lower mids. It’s not doing the sense of Spatial Audio as well though… the instruments seem lined up straight between my left and right ear. There’s some sense of the spatial effect, but the imaging is just more hazy. It’s also a bit harder to pick out the harp among the other instruments… it’s there, just not as well separated. Emotionally, I don’t think this would put me on the edge of my seat or send shivers up my spine, but the brass horns do tizz a little bit. The violins near that 6:30 end sequence are a bit more in line with the flutes and stuff, but I was less impressed by the drum roll. Sometimes plain is good, but this was a less exciting listen than on the OAE1. Now, the HD 800 is the ace of classical, right? Well, it certainly does make me perk up a bit now! The spatial perception is back, the brass horns are forward and have strong texture but doesn’t seem to stick out like a sore thumb among all the other “air” happening. The harp feels more visceral. How’s that point near the end? Well, the flutes and violins are all cool, the drums build up less of a crescendo but it’s still an exciting finish because of how energetic everyone is playing. What’s it like to switch back to the OAE1 again? Yeah, it sounds about as open as the HD 800, also exciting, but again the drums just thunder more and fill in that end of the spectrum more. In conclusion, I’d like to reiterate that all three of these are great headphones. It does seem like the lower mids are the HD 650’s greatest strength but overall it’s more mild sense of air and sub bass (and less clear sense of separation) don’t give me the fizz. The HD 800 has fantastic separation and clears up the confusion, as well as having more clear imaging and responds well to Spatial Audio or Headphone mastered music, really tight attack, but it’s airy flavor gives me the fizz but the bass impact is undeniably lighter. The OAE1 can rip that bass and sub bass, giving me the fizz in a different way, and also shares that separation and soundstage, though lower male vocals and notes around those frequencies seem more laid back. The lower mids do not seem dry and dull to me though, just a bit quieter, so a bit of EQ might be enough to match the presence of the other two headphones when comparing… so far simply turning up the volume a bit fills that in for me, and the OAE1 handles higher volumes well. When NOT comparing side by side with other headphones, I quickly got used to it as-is without EQ. A/B comparing headphones is deep in the weeds of gear focus and is only for teasing apart what gives each headphone a unique character, the differences may seem exaggerated. On pure technical performance, the OAE1 is punching above its price, and subjectively I find it a fun emotional headphone.
(Edited)
May 9, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 9, 2024
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EvshrugAmp/Gear setup comparisons [placeholder while I condense my notes]
May 9, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 9, 2024
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EvshrugMusic Listening Notes: I think the best way to describe the sound of a headphone and how its frequency balance and performance traits work together is by sharing listening notes… plus it’s fun to share and discover music! I’ve shared this playlist before, and maybe my dear reader has sampled them to hear what they sound like on familiar gear, but let me briefly explain the standout features of each of these music tracks: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/grell-oae1/pl.u-dNLXTyZeBb Notes based on using a midrange DAC/amp USB dongle, the Apogee Groove, and Apple Music HiRes. Track 1: Unfinished Sympathy - The opening booms and record scratches dig deep and resonate in a large, reverb soaked, underground sounding space. The timbre of this track hit me just so, YMMV but this headphone gave me a pleasant spine-tingling sensation, one of only 5 headphones ever to do that for me. Track 2: What Is the Code - This synthetic/cyberpunk song demonstrates how the OAE1 can perform the sound suck-out before the bass drop, also frequency sweeps from mids to bass showing how the amplitude doesn't drop off and maintains a tight bass even with extended notes. Track 3: The Great Divide (Seven Lions Remix) - This electronica track shows the leading edge impact of mid bass hits, also how the big bass doesn't bury the airy female vocals that float around the stage before the vocalist snaps into place. The voice is clearly processed through a vocoder, but it fits the song, and the vocals also don't sound shouty alongside the bass, but this is still clearly a fun rather than analytical tuning. Track 4: Moonlight Sonata: I. Adagio sostenuto (Arr. for Cello & Electronics) - Less fantasy, more organic. The rain and thunder at the beginning gave me shivers again... but the headphone is able to portray the distant rumble and percussive pitter-patter well. The violin is not veiled, it has good presence despite being mic'd from a distance (or at least made to sound so by the sound engineer) but still has sparkling moments. Track 5: White Summer - A sparse but lively arrangement of just guitar, bongos, and a recorder (or some kind of woodwind, I'm not an expert haha). It's definitely good to play around and find the sweetspot for where the headphones rest around your ears for this song... helps get rid of some mid suck-out and sound more natural. Wearing the OAE1 backwards on this track collapses the soundstage, arranging all the instruments along a 1D line from ear to ear, also muffles the highs and sense of the recording room almost entirely. A slightly more lo-fi recording than the next one, but still fun to listen to. Track 6: Strive (Binaural) - This is an intimate track, it sounds like we're up on the stage with the string performers, but also its easy to hear the reverb of the big empty hall. This was a song recorded with headphones in mind, without any special processing it has a great sense of imaging and soundstage. Track 7: Dronning Fjellrose - Another track specifically great on headphones due to Dolby Atmos processing baked into the recording file, the OAE1 is able to pinpoint place the singer and each instrument in their own space on the stage. Axel is careful to point out that the OAE1 by itself doesn't apply In-Front-Localization... but here the sound is very 3D. Track 8: Liberty - Forward and intimate female vocals. Not hearing any sibilance, but you can easily hear her wet mouth and breathy softness. Forward, but for me it's still comfortably short of being shouty, it just sounds like there's less separating me and the singer, but this might be a good track to EQ to taste. Track 9: We Are Not Alone - This song has two layers... the saxophone that performs at the forefront, but the mood sounds very different depending on the headphone if all the little flourishes of instruments in the back are audible alongside the frontman. On the OAE1, the playful and weird slurring and shifting instruments playing simultaneously with the sax and rhythm bass are all played confidently and my brain is calmly able to hear each instrument or just wash in the full arrangement without straining to focus. Track 10: Sakura - Lo-Fi Chill song. The binaural beats here work, for a headphone with forward bass and vocals it's still easy to sit back and relax to something like this. Track 11: Dark Fate - GOOD MORNING! This ought to wake you up! Good impact and slam, switching between grand clamor and intimately hopeful guitar. If you were going to try EQ'ing the headphone, this would be a good evaluation song to check that you don't lose what makes this headphone special. Bonus: Hotel California (Live on MTV, 1994) - The OAE1 sounds like it was tuned for this song! Male vocals do sound less forward than female ones though. Movies: Dredd and Wall*E I remember the first time Dredd was brought onto Netflix for streaming, I had been loaned a Sony MDR-MA900, which was also an extremely open and easy to drive headphone with a Bio-cellulose driver like the grell OAE1... but the MA900 felt like listening to tiny speakers, the sound was clear with almost no resonance BUT the bass and treble extension was weak, making guns wheeze and explosions melancholy. Fast forward like 12 years, the OAE1 is even more open, but it has a full cinematic feel with a better sense of air and especially weighty explosions that really sell the excitement and adrenaline of the action movie. On an entirely more peaceful and curious note, WALL*E's opening few chapters are dialog free, focused almost entirely on Ben Burt's brilliant sound design. These opening scenes were portrayed by the OAE1 with a big sense of stage depth or even open air, selling the desolate open spaces convincingly, but the focused moments with just a little robot's antics felt important rather than laid back, appropriately intimate (and curious). Gaming: Helldivers 2 and CoD: MW2 (2022) These familiar games don't have their own Spatial Audio processing built in... so on PC or Xbox the default would be regular stereo, with strong separation between the left and right channels (separated by your head, of course). You will be able to get a good feeling for distance, and generally left or right, but you won't be able to hear the difference between front and rear sounds. However, with a bit of crossfeed, or ESPECIALLY with some spatial audio processing applied like Sony's Tempest 3D Audio that comes with the Playstation 5, the processing considers what something like 120 speaker positions would have sounded like by the time their sound waves would have reached your ears, and then the headphones play that back in realtime. WITH Spatial Audio/ HRTF Processing / Headphone Surround applied to the audio signal, the OAE1 provides a spectacular platform for very precise positional imaging that smoothly pans around you, and it's easy to hear someone running along the other side of the wall and predict exactly when they'll come into view. Helldivers is a little more vague than CoD, because the bots and bugs don't make footstep sounds, so you just hear when enemies or allies call out, but you do hear everything... tonight was the first time I noticed the backpack shield makes it's own quiet shimmering sound. Bonus: the Hitman series of games are usually more methodically paced, but it's super immersive to hear people talking all around you (and easier to hear where someone shouts "Hey!" from if they spot you), really making me feel in the game. Stream-of-conscious first impressions on head-fi here… https://www.head-fi.org/threads/axel-grell-headphone.967413/post-18088983
(Edited)
May 9, 2024
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WordsandMusic
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May 9, 2024
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EvshrugWell, now I'm even more excited. About two months to wait ... if the ship date is accurate.
May 9, 2024
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EniGmA1987
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May 10, 2024
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EvshrugWhat about gaming with these? Things like FPS games and such for positional audio like gunshots and footsteps? I'm wondering how the different mounting and design style translate to positional accuracy changes vs "regular" headphones.
May 10, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 11, 2024
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EniGmA1987Listening notes added: https://drop.com/buy/drop-grell-oae1-signature-headphones/reviews/2954022 Spoilers: it's great with gaming, works really well with Spatial Audio, I'm impressed after hooking up a USB DAC and amp to my PS5.
May 11, 2024
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scottoo
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May 12, 2024
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EvshrugKudos to Drop and Grell for creating a great unique headphone at a real world price! Very nice review, well written! Looking forward to hearing this, hopefully at SoCal CanJam ’24!
May 12, 2024
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A.DL
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May 14, 2024
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EvshrugThank you. I am really looking forward to and appreciate your comparisons against the HD 800. I am using the HD 8XX EQ'd through HeSuVi on PC w/ Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads for gaming soundstage purposes and I have yet to find anything that comes anywhere close to it. Very curious to see where these end up when accounting for EQ.
May 14, 2024
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Evshrug
3989
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May 14, 2024
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A.DLMy limited experimenting so far shows plenty of EQ (digital or analog) headroom. Also, good point… I have Dekoni Elite Velour pads on my HD 800, and they’re stuck on there so tight I’m not interested in pulling them off LOL! I have an HD 8xx with stock pads too.
May 14, 2024
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wolfywolfywolfy
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May 15, 2024
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EvshrugHi Evshrug! Just preordered this. Will a balanced cable be available for this?
May 15, 2024
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Evshrug
3989
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May 16, 2024
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wolfywolfywolfyComes with a Pentaconn 4.4mm balanced cable! I saw Axel say he’s looking for an XLR-4 cable to sell later. Pentaconn is my favorite though, I can use it on the go (stronger than 2.5mm balanced like A&K players) or with desktop amps, and then I have adapters for it to XLR4 and 3.5mm single/ended.
May 16, 2024
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fresh1024
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May 20, 2024
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EvshrugHow do these compare to the HD650's? Are they worth double the price?
May 20, 2024
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Faust3D
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May 20, 2024
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fresh1024Double the price? OAE1 - $349 PRE-ORDER HD650 -  $349 on Amazon. What exactly is double the price?
May 20, 2024
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fresh1024
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May 22, 2024
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Faust3DMy apologies, I understand your confusion. It's well known in audiophile circles that the HD6XX is a very very similar to the HD650 (if not outright identical). As an HD6XX is $199 on Drop my question was is the Grell OAE1 worth double that price.
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May 22, 2024
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Evshrug
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May 22, 2024
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fresh1024While the question is based on stats, the answer relies on personal taste. You could take the perspective that both are good headphones, which would value them closely, or you could list the differences, which would be rather long and make the OAE1 seem like a bargain. Bass, sub bass, soundstage, imaging, more open sound, angled driver, softer pads, clamp force, more metal parts, included case, 2x as many included cables, 3x cable attachment configurations, less power required for amplification, indie brand, different aesthetics, etc. In the end, I cannot decide for you how much you weigh the differences; sometimes a little difference makes all the difference. For me, there’s a lot of differences and they add up. I’d easily reach for the OAE1 for enjoyment, I had already relegated my HD 650 to reference purposes years ago. But I can’t sell my HD 650 either.
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May 22, 2024
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Fly2High
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May 26, 2024
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EvshrugHow do they compare to a similarly priced Hifiman Sundara?
May 26, 2024
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Evshrug
3989
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May 27, 2024
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EvshrugComparisons and contrast between OAE1, HD 650, and HD 800 added to the comments: https://drop.com/buy/drop-grell-oae1-signature-headphones/talk/2954019?utm_source=linkshare&referer=Z2JXCA It’s still linked in the review too.
May 27, 2024
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Enzo_5600
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Jun 12, 2024
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EvshrugHow does the OAE1 compare to planar magnetics like the Hifiman Edition XS or Arya in separation and layering? Is it competitive with these or similar planars?
Jun 12, 2024
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Evshrug
3989
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Jun 13, 2024
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Enzo_5600I’m more familiar with the Edition X, which I liked… but I don’t own one to compare with side by side comparisons. Season this “from memory” as you will: I think the Edition X was pretty good at separating multiple instruments played at once, and it was decent at separating “layers” of distance so I know this group of bstrunents are close, that group is further back, and that group is further still, but the OAE1 was almost equal to the HD 800 in presenting the layers instead as 3D objects at different distances within the headstage (the HD 800 was better than the Edition X at that… especially with a nice amp, I was impressed with the HD 800 on the Cavalli Liquid Gold). As far as an “out of the head” experience vs a head stage, I think any of those headphones benefits greatly from Spatial Audio processing. That’s like a combo of crossfeed, EQ, and other DSP effects like reverb and delay, or it can also happen with music recorded with a stereo head-simulator microphone: https://songwhip.com/ottmar-liebert/the-river-binaural
Jun 13, 2024
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Enzo_5600
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Jun 13, 2024
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EvshrugThanks for the reply along with comparisons to the HD800s. My main pursuit has always been wide immersive soundstage/imaging alongside great separation/layering without breaking the bank with an HD800s since my main use is gaming. I'm coming from an HD599 and have tried Hifiman Arya V2 which had been very impressive for soundstage and separation but seemed to be very soft and a downgrade over the HD599 in every other aspect. High hopes on this one as I'm one of the pre orders, from your review it seems to be roughly a combination of HD800s soundstage and treble but with more ability to be close as well as HD6xx mids but with good bass quantity which would be completely ideal for me if it's the case. Additionally if you have the time, how's its detail and clarity compared to Edition X/HD800s?
Jun 13, 2024
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Evshrug
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Jun 15, 2024
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Enzo_5600There’s a spot on the lower mids where the OAE1 seems (for my ears) to have less volume than the HD 6xx/650, not enough to be a problem and it doesn’t have weird timbre either IMO. The HD 800 upper mids (~6 kHz) and treble is louder/more forward than the OAE1’s, but I actually feel the OAE1 is easier to listen to longer due to that, and there is more “air” in the OAE1 than the HD 6xx/650. I think detail is closely related to how well you can separate multiple instruments playing simultaneously (and the tiny cues that make soundstage and imaging more believable), the HD 800 may have a slight edge here but it might be hard to tell without comparing side to side; they both have a trait of allowing me to focus on something without straining to concentrate, while HD 650/6xx sounds more busy. it’s absolutely amazing how much the price has dropped on the Arya. I couldn’t tell what year vintage it was, but I saw an Amazon return up for bid two weeks ago for a stupid cheap price… I impulse bid on it for a bit, but because I didn’t know if a driver had failed or if QC had missed a short, I didn’t bid much, and I let it go once it was past my “impulse buy” range… it sold for $84 (local pickup). Thus, I still haven’t heard an Arya 😅 I have an HD 599 too, it’s great for meditative yoga background sound and I’ve pretty much donated it to my mom for that purpose, but by comparison the OAE1 will seem like someone (Axel Grell) washed away all the mud and brought the soundstage into clearer focus.
(Edited)
Jun 15, 2024
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