Wired headphones were supposed to be confined to the dustbin of audio history. Ever since headphone jacks began disappearing from smartphones and the rise in popularity of wireless earbuds, the old, wired technology’s days seemed numbered or relegated to a few hi-fi enthusiasts who think Bluetooth will never be able to compete with the quality of wired and analog headphones.
Except that’s not how things have panned out. Recently, wired headphones have seen a remarkable resurgence, with some analysts estimating sales have risen by 20% over the last year. It’s a story like the resurgence of vinyl record sales, which have risen remarkably in the past decade, when everyone thought the format was dead. It’s a similar story with the humble cassette tape, which is also seeing its own comeback.
The current popularity of wired headphones hasn’t been wasted on acoustic engineer Axel Grell. The man is something of an icon in the audio industry. He was the engineer responsible for designing some of Sennheiser’s classic headphones, such as the HD280, HD 580, HD 600, HD 650, HD 800 and flagship HE 1 model.
Open Back Design
Now Grell has announced a new design of over-the-ear headphones — the Grell Audio OAE2 It’s an open-back design aimed at a new generation of audiophiles who want wired headphones. Grell says our ears have become accustomed to the sound of traditional headphones, which produce a sound inside the listener’s head, with very little phasing or direction that loudspeakers create. Can Grell design a pair of headphones that sound as if you are listening to a great pair of loudspeakers?
The new Grell OAE2 are designed to sound as if the music is being played in a “real space.” Unlike traditional headphones that beam sound waves directly into the listener’s ear canals, the OAE2 has drivers positioned slightly forward of the ear canals so the sound waves interact naturally with the outer ear or pinna.
Using frontally positioned drivers creates a soundstage with more stable imaging for a more natural spatial perception. Instead of the artificial and exaggerated width created by a pair of near-field studio monitors at the mixing desk, the Grell OAE2 are designed to recreate music as it would have sounded in the recording studio with a more natural and organic character. Grell wants users of the OAE2 to experience the kind of sound you’d hear from a high-quality pair of loudspeakers.
Engineered In Germany
The Grell OAE2 headphones were quietly unveiled and tested in Germany last year before the global rollout, which starts now. The headphones could bring Grell’s in-depth and personal approach to sound to a much wider audience.
Engineered in Germany, the OAE2 have been deliberately made to sound like premium loudspeakers. Music played through speakers sounds entirely different to how we experience it played through headphones or earbuds. Speakers produce a more realistic sense of depth and placement of instruments and vocals, creating an airier quality with a lighter and less oppressive sound. Unfortunately, a whole generation of music lovers has only ever experienced music played through a pair of Apple AirPods or noise-cancelling headphones.
Grell says the new OAE2 are not just another pair of open-back, audiophile-grade headphones. Instead of positioning the sound directly over the ear and pumping sound waves into the ear canal, the OAE2’s acoustic output works with the shape of the listener’s ears to enhance the sound, like cupping a hand to the ear. The way the sound interacts with the outer ear produces natural localization cues, which the brain interprets as a larger space.
When listening to music played through loudspeakers, sound waves reach the ears after interacting with the listener’s head, pinna and upper body. It’s a different sound to most headphones and produces subtle timing, phase and tonal signals that feed the brain with cues to help determine the direction and distance of sound, in much the same way a cat listens out for prey when hunting. Grell says he is preserving more of the cues to produce a more open soundstage with a wider, deeper and more externalized sound.
Stable And Believable
Grell says: “Instead of exaggerated width or artificial spatial effects, the design goal is a presentation that feels more stable, believable and closer to nearfield monitors, particularly over longer listening sessions.”
With the launch of the new OAE2, Grell is operating on a smaller and more focused scale. Thanks to his reputation in the industry, he has been able to assemble a team of experienced engineers and sound designers to adopt a more innovative approach to headphone acoustics, tearing up the rulebook of the last 100 years.
The new OAE2 headphones are a statement of Grell’s determination to combine decades of engineering experience with a new generation of acoustic researchers and engineers with the aim of rethinking how headphones should sound.
A New Foundation
Although Grell has been producing his own headphones and earbuds for some years, the OAE2 is a new foundation for the direction of the brand’s development. Further models using a similar philosophy are already planned. Using the same frontally positioned drivers for applications like mixing, mastering and gaming.
These headphones are the culmination of Grell’s lifelong interest in how humans perceive music when listening through headphones. As well as developing his own audio products, Grell works closely with Hanover’s Leibniz University where he’s researching spatial hearing and headphone perception. The findings of his research will be fed into the Grell design process instead of designing by specification.
The research-led approach of Grell has informed the construction of the OAE2 and how they are tuned. The result is a pair of headphones with coherent imaging, a more natural treble and a tighter and more-controlled bass response. While there’s an open and airier character to the OAE2, they are underpinned by a solid bass that’s neither shallow nor cold.
Give It Time
Anyone used to traditional headphones will notice that the OAE2 headphones sound different. Grell says listeners need to take time to adjust to how the music is presented. That’s true of many headphones; never judge a pair by your first five minutes of listening. It takes time for our ears to adapt to sound. With the OAE2, the brain needs to rewire itself so that the sense of space and placement feels more natural. It doesn’t take long.
Beyond the acoustics, the OAE2 have been designed to be serviceable, rugged and sustainable. The 40mm dynamic drivers are constructed from a bio-cellulose membrane, which is dampened using a precision-manufactured mesh of stainless steel that’s made in Germany.
The OAE2’s frame is a modular design with replaceable metal parts for a more sustainable and repairable approach. Grell’s packaging embraces an environmentally friendly approach with plastic-free materials and lower waste levels for headphones that are more sustainable and a long-term investment.
Pricing and Availability:
Following their initial release in Germany, the Grell OAE2 headphones are available now in the U.S., U.K. and other markets priced at $599 / £499 / €499 from grellaudio.com and selected retailers.
Tech Specs:
- Frequency response: 12Hz – 34kHz (-3 dB) / 6Hz – 46kHz (-10 dB).
- Transducer principle: Dynamic.
- Ear coupling: Circum-aural.
- Nominal impedance: 38Ω.
- Sensitivity: 100dB (1kHz, 1VRMS).
- THD: 0.05% (1kHz, 100dB).
- Weight (without cable): 378g.
