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| The Grell OAE2 open-ear headphones use angled transducers to better simulate musical performances. |
Let’s be honest: have you ever closed your eyes while listening to a well-recorded jazz trio or orchestral piece and felt like the musicians were somehow inside your skull? That’s not your imagination – it’s physics.
Traditional headphones place transducers directly to the left and right of your ears. This arrangement has produced high-quality sound for decades, but Grell argues it fails at one crucial task: recreating the sensation of being at an actual live event. In a real concert hall or recording studio, sound waves travel from the instruments in front of you, interact with the unique contours of your outer ear (the pinna), and only then enter your ear canal. Your brain uses those subtle pinna interactions to locate sounds in space – to know that the violin is slightly left of center, or that the singer is standing ten feet away.
Conventional headphones bypass that natural process entirely. The result? Incredibly detailed, often beautiful sound that still feels “stuck” inside your head. It’s like watching a concert through a keyhole instead of standing in the room.
Meet Axel Grell: The Engineer Behind the Magic
If that name sounds familiar, it should. Axel Grell spent over three decades at Sennheiser, where he led the development of legendary models like the HD 600, HD 650, HD 800, and HD 800 S. Those headphones are still reference standards in studios and homes worldwide. But even as he helped perfect traditional headphone design, Grell grew restless.
“I kept asking myself why we couldn’t bring the sensation of loudspeakers – of sound coming from in front – into a headphone,” Grell explained in a recent interview about the OAE2’s engineering. “The technology existed, but nobody had committed to solving the problem properly.”
After leaving Sennheiser, he founded his own company and got to work. The first product was the OAE1, a bold experiment. The OAE2 is the refined, production-ready evolution – and it’s now shipping globally.
How FSFM Technology Changes the Game
At the heart of the Grell OAE2 lies a proprietary approach called Front-sided Sound Field Modulation (FSFM). In plain English? Angled drivers that fire sound not directly into your ears, but slightly forward, mimicking the natural angle of monitor speakers or a stage performance.
The OAE2 uses custom 40 mm angled transducers housed in an open-ear frame. By carefully controlling the direction and phase of the sound waves, Grell’s design allows the sound to interact with your outer ear just as it would in a natural listening environment. Your brain then does what it evolved to do: localize that sound in space, creating the convincing illusion that the music is unfolding in front of you.
This isn’t just marketing speak. Early reviews from the German launch consistently noted a startling “out-of-head” experience – listeners describing the sensation of a vocalist standing a few feet away, or a drum kit spreading across an imaginary stage. It’s the kind of spatial realism that usually requires complex DSP or binaural recordings, achieved here through pure acoustic engineering.
For a deeper dive into the science, materials, and design philosophy behind the OAE2, visit Grell Audio’s official website – where Axel himself walks through the frequency response charts, driver selection, and the decades of listening tests that shaped this headphone.
Technical Specifications: Built for Serious Listeners
The OAE2 isn’t just about clever angles. Grell sourced premium components to ensure the fidelity matches the spatial ambition.
- Drivers: 40 mm dynamic transducers with bio-cellulose diaphragms – a material prized for its stiffness-to-weight ratio, delivering fast transient response and low distortion.
- Frequency Response: 12 Hz – 34 kHz (-3 dB). That’s deep sub-bass rumble all the way past the upper limit of human hearing, ensuring no harmonic information is lost.
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.05% at 1 kHz. Exceptionally clean, even by high-end standards.
- Weight: 378 grams (13.3 ounces). Substantial but well-distributed for extended listening sessions.
- Cables Included: 3.5 mm unbalanced (for most phones, laptops, and headphone jacks) and 4.4 mm balanced (for high-end portable DAC/amps and desktop gear).
- Origin: Made in Germany, with Grell overseeing production quality.
The open-ear design – sometimes confused with open-back – means these headphones allow ambient sound to pass through naturally. That’s intentional: it further reduces the “closed-in” feeling and can be safer for use in home offices or low-noise environments where you still need to hear a doorbell or conversation.
Availability, Pricing, and Where to Buy
Starting today, the Grell OAE2 is available for worldwide purchase through three channels:
- Direct from Grell Audio – The company’s own webstore offers full warranty and direct support.
- Bloom Audio – A trusted specialty retailer for high-end headphones and portable audio.
- Audio46 – New York’s legendary headphone boutique, shipping globally.
The MSRP is set at $499 USD (pricing may vary slightly by region due to taxes and shipping). That places the OAE2 squarely in the mid-to-upper tier of enthusiast headphones – competing with models from brands like Hifiman, Beyerdynamic, and even Sennheiser’s own HD 600 series.
Is it worth the investment? For listeners who have grown tired of “in-head” presentation and crave the spatial openness of a good pair of studio monitors, the OAE2 offers something genuinely unique. No DSP trickery, no virtual surround gimmicks – just clever acoustic physics.
First Impressions from the German Launch
While global reviews are still rolling in, German audiophile forums and early magazine coverage have been intriguing. Common observations include:
- A wide, deep soundstage that actually extends forward of the listener, not just left-right.
- Excellent instrument separation – you can pinpoint the rhythm guitarist’s position relative to the lead singer.
- A relaxed, non-fatiguing treble – typical of Grell’s tuning philosophy.
- Bass that extends low but doesn’t overwhelm – the open design trades some sub-bass impact for clarity and space.
Critics noted that the OAE2 benefits from a decent amplifier; while the 32-ohm impedance (implied by the specs, though not explicitly stated in the release) allows portable use, a dedicated headphone amp or quality DAC brings out the best in the soundstage.
Who Are These Headphones For?
The Grell OAE2 isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. If you primarily listen to EDM or hip-hop in noisy environments, a closed-back, bass-heavy headphone might serve you better. But if you’re:
- A classical, jazz, acoustic, or live‑recording enthusiast,
- A gamer who wants accurate positional audio without “virtual surround” processing,
- A mixing or mastering engineer curious about a different monitoring perspective,
- Or simply an audiophile tired of the “inside your head” feeling…
…then the OAE2 deserves a serious audition. It’s a thoughtful, almost philosophical response to a problem most listeners have learned to ignore – but once you hear music unfolding in front of you like a pair of invisible speakers, it’s hard to go back.
The Bottom Line
Axel Grell could have spent his retirement consulting or releasing minor tweaks to his classic designs. Instead, he chose to challenge one of headphone audio’s oldest assumptions. The Grell OAE2 is not a perfect headphone – no such thing exists – but it is a genuinely original one. For $499, you’re not just buying drivers and a headband; you’re buying a different way of listening.
Global shipping has begun. Whether you order from Grell directly, Bloom Audio, or Audio46, expect to wait a few weeks as initial demand catches up with production. But for a chance to hear your favorite albums as if they’re happening live, a few feet in front of you? That might be worth the wait.
Learn more, see the full engineering whitepaper, and place your order at https://grellaudio.com/.
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| The Grell OAE2 open-ear headphones. |