Drop + Axel Grell Pure Audio Headphones Limited-Edition Available for Pre-Order

Drop has already seen a few exciting collaborations over the years, such as their work with Sennheiser, and now they’ve teamed up with audio pioneer Axel Grell to launch their latest headphones, the Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature. They’re described as having “achieved a new pinnacle in stereo imaging and audio engineering”.

Grell

Grell has 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.

OAE1

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 ear’s natural structure to direct sound into the ear canal.

The open-around-ear design minimizes acoustic reflections and controls 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.

What Grell Had to Say

“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

• Frequency Response: 12-32,000 Hz (-3db) 6-44,000 Hz (-10db)
• Transducer principle: 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

What Drop Had to Sat

“To be able to bring Axel’s audio vision to life at Drop with the OAE1 is incredibly gratifying,” said Lukas Mondoux at Drop. “Other products touched by Axel’s genius have been among the most popular and well-rated among audio aficionados and our Drop community for years, so we have no doubt this new level of natural, pure audio will delight audiophiles. “

Price and Availability

The Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones are a limited-edition product with only 1,000 pieces available for pre-order at $349 (MSRP $399). More information about the Drop + Grell OAE1 Signature Headphones is available here.