Drop today announced its latest Grell headphone collaboration, with the newest edition of the Drop + Grell OAE1. Building on the momentum of the signature headphones that launched earlier this year, selling all 1,000 units in a short period of time, this new edition offers the same world-class engineering and immersive sound profile at a more accessible price.
Based on community feedback, Drop made key adjustments to the new OAE1 headphones to improve the listening and user experience. The OAE1s feature a lighter clamping force and single-sided 6.3mm cable with an insert indicator for added ease of use, as well as a new all-black colourway with dark grey accents. The headphones, rooted in Axel Grells three decades of audio engineering and audio product development, feature a driver-forward, open-around-ear structure to map to the human ear and achieve a more natural and realistic sound field.
By moving the drivers in front of and away from the ears, the new OAE1 headphones enable 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 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.
Drop + Grell OAE1 Specifications
Frequency Response: 1232,000 Hz (-3db) 644,000 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 1kHz 1VRMS: 106 dB
Maximum long-term input power: 500mW
THD at 1kHz 100dB: 0.05%
Weight (without cable): 375g
Cable Specifications
Single-sided, silver-coated OFC cable: 1.8m (6 ft.)
Connectors headphone side: 2.5mm TRRS
Connector device: 3.5mm stereo plug
Adaptor: 3.5mm to 6.3mm screw on
Frequency Response: 1232,000 Hz (-3db) 644,000 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 1kHz 1VRMS: 106 dB
Maximum long-term input power: 500mW
THD at 1kHz 100dB: 0.05%
Weight (without cable): 375g
Cable Specifications
Single-sided, silver-coated OFC cable: 1.8m (6 ft.)
Connectors headphone side: 2.5mm TRRS
Connector device: 3.5mm stereo plug
Adaptor: 3.5mm to 6.3mm screw on
Pricing and Availability
The Drop + Grell OAE1 Headphones are available today for $249 (MSRP $299), $100 less than the previous signature headphones.