Thursday, May 9th 2024
Drop and Axel Grell Collaborate on Pure Audio Headphones
Drop, a leading community-driven e-commerce brand, and audio pioneer Axel Grell have achieved a new pinnacle in stereo imaging and audio engineering with the Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones. Leveraging Grell's three decades of audio engineering and product development experience designing some of the industry's most iconic headphones, the driver-forward, open-around-ear OAE1 headphones lean into the structure of the human ear to achieve a more natural and realistic sound field much closer to a speaker listening experience.
The most notable aspect of the Drop + Grell OAE1s is the radical and acute placement of the drivers in front of and away from the ears, enabling the sound field from the transducers to take advantage of the ears natural structure to direct sound into the ear canal. The open-around-ear design minimizes acoustic reflections and controlling sound pressure, with the culmination of both innovations resulting in improved stereo imaging, a natural sound field, and the uncovering of the deepest dimensions of any song. "Our ears are as individual as fingerprints, so when you put a driver right on top of the eardrum like most headphones do, it will sound good for some and bad for others," shares Grell. "By positioning the driver in front of the ear, we're bringing the natural geometry of the ear into the sound forming process, allowing the brain to equalize the sound. Combined with its open-around-ear design, these signature headphones create a rich and pure audio experience."
Drop + Grell OAE1 Specifications
The Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones are a limited-edition product with only 1,000 pieces available for pre-order at $349 (MSRP $399). For more information about the Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones, please visit: drop.com/buy/drop-grell-oae1-signature-headphones
The most notable aspect of the Drop + Grell OAE1s is the radical and acute placement of the drivers in front of and away from the ears, enabling the sound field from the transducers to take advantage of the ears natural structure to direct sound into the ear canal. The open-around-ear design minimizes acoustic reflections and controlling sound pressure, with the culmination of both innovations resulting in improved stereo imaging, a natural sound field, and the uncovering of the deepest dimensions of any song. "Our ears are as individual as fingerprints, so when you put a driver right on top of the eardrum like most headphones do, it will sound good for some and bad for others," shares Grell. "By positioning the driver in front of the ear, we're bringing the natural geometry of the ear into the sound forming process, allowing the brain to equalize the sound. Combined with its open-around-ear design, these signature headphones create a rich and pure audio experience."
- Frequency Response: 12-32,000 Hz (-3db) 6-44,000 Hz (-10db)
- Transducer principal: Dynamic
- Ear coupling: Circumaural
- Sound characteristic: Front oriented loudness diffuse field equalization
- Adaption to the individual hearing curve: Soundfield pinna interaction
- Nominal impedance: 38 ohms
- Sound pressure level at 1 kHz 1VRMS: 106 dB
- Maximum long term input power: 500 mW
- THD at 1 kHz 100dB: 0.05%
- Weight (without cable): 365 g
The Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones are a limited-edition product with only 1,000 pieces available for pre-order at $349 (MSRP $399). For more information about the Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones, please visit: drop.com/buy/drop-grell-oae1-signature-headphones
11 Comments on Drop and Axel Grell Collaborate on Pure Audio Headphones
An entirely new headphone model limited to 1000 pieces should ring alarm bells too.
(to be honest I don't know how important the extreme ranges are)
I may pick a pair up just to add to my collection and for testing purposes.
My guess is the new Senn HD620S closed back at $349 will be pretty decent, but market is saturated, especially in this economy, so I expect them to be $199 on Black Friday, I will grab some then if they are. My goal is either really nice closed backs or ANC.
"By positioning the driver in front of the ear, we're bringing the natural geometry of the ear into the sound forming process, allowing the brain to equalize the sound. Combined with its open-around-ear design, these signature headphones create a rich and pure audio experience." - what a load of BS.
Angling the drivers should in theory make it sound much alike the equilateral triangle loudspeaker setup. If that's the main goal, good. But there's not a single mention of a word loudspeaker in the whole press release. So I must digress, and say that natural listening experience is a 360 degrees surround sound. Using your ears in the natural environment? Ever been out there, perhaps in the forest, when the wind starts to play with the trees? Spatial, 3d or w/e the tech used in any kind of headphones can't replace that experience. So the whole quoted paragraph (not yours) sound just like a good marketing, nothing else.
However, there are still different levels of coming closer to the ideal. Using earbuds will place the sound entirely within your head, which is extremely unnatural. Some open headphones will make sounds appear from the left or right only. Improving that sensation to be a bit more natural and being able to discern the direction of some instruments is already a big step.