To add to the open-back headphone lineup, Grell Audio is entering the ring with its model, the OAE2 headphone. This model is a $500 open-back headphone that impresses with a wide soundstage that is meant to replicate what speakers sound like in a room. The sound is spacious and detailed, but is it the right fit for your collection? Our review here will give you all the details on the OAE2 and whether it’ll be worth adding to your collection.
Like a lot of other headphone companies, Grell Audio gives you a lot of accessories with the OAE2 headphone. Inside the box of the Grell OAE2, you get the following:
- Grell OAE2 Headphones
- Protective Carrying Case
- 2 Cables (3.5mm and 4.4mm terminations)
- 6.35mm screw-on adapter
- Manual including safety instructions
The first impression of any headphone is how it feels in your hand. The Grell OAE2 is a beautifully crafted headphone that is comfortable in your hand just as much on your head. You have soft, velour earpads and a matching headband for optimal comfort. The clamping force is tight but not painful, allowing you to use this for extended periods without fatigue. As someone who wears glasses, it was easy to wear the OAE2 without any discomfort or pressure from the glasses stems.
The Grell OAE2 comes with two cables: one with a 3.5mm termination and a 6.35mm screw-on adapter, and the other with a 4.4mm termination. The cables attach to the headphone with a 2.5mm plug, which you can attach to either the right or left side. It depends on your comfort. The cable itself is a little tricky to click into place initially, but once it is in, it is stable for hours. If you plan to switch out the cable, be careful that the cables are compatible; the port on the OAE2 is recessed and will likely not fit many 3rd party cables.
SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING
As for the sound quality, the Grell OAE2 impresses with a wide and immersive soundstage. You are immediately put into the center of your tracks, with a presentation that is wide both horizontally and vertically. The imaging is tight together, making everything sound cohesive, but there is enough distinction between instruments to give them space to shine in every track. I wasn’t left searching for features or wondering where certain elements were; instead, everything was clearly laid out in front of me, and it gave me an accurate picture of the track in front of me. Where depth was a little lacking, it was made up for in height and color.
The overall signature of the Grell OAE2 is balanced and quite bright. The bass takes a backseat and serves solely for support as opposed to being a prominent feature in the signature, which is a common trait in a lot of open-back headphones. I appreciated the brightness coming from the treble and how it was very present, revealing details that would otherwise go unnoticed. It makes a big orchestra or ensemble very entertaining to listen to, as well as all the more transparent.
BASS FREQUENCIES
Moving on to the more specific ranges, we start with the bass. The low end was definitely not the strongest part of the signature, but it didn’t disappear completely. Instead, the bass took a big step back to let the midrange and treble do all the talking in the signature and help reveal all those finer details that sometimes get swept up in the thickness of a bass response. Fear not: the bass isn’t lost in the OAE2’s signature entirely. The bass is still present in a very detailed and controlled reproduction that drives the beat and rhythm of a lot of tracks. I liked how you got some warmth from the lower strings but could still hear the punch of percussion, all while it does not overwhelm the signature or lose detail. Timbres and textures in the low were entertaining to pick apart, so you can listen with ease and not feel overstimulated.
MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES
In the midrange, the OAE2 is great for letting vocals and melodic instruments lead. Guitars sat right behind voices, as did pianos and other midrange percussion. This range tends to be the most crowded, but the OAE2 did an excellent job in creating a unique space for each element and letting it ring out naturally. The color of these instruments was natural and honest, but also detailed enough to be revealing and almost transparent during some listening. I was a fan of how the Grell OAE2 handled very busy tracks, giving elements their space but also having them work together in harmony, so it wasn’t as clinical as some other headphones in the same price point. While the sound reproduction was more natural and analytical with detail, I could see how the midrange was tuned to be more entertaining than something used for mixing.
TREBLE FREQUENCIES
At the very top end sits the treble, which was the most prominent and noticeable part of the Grell OAE2’s signature. The OAE2 was bright upon a first listen, and at first, I thought I would grow tired or fatigued by the amount of detail. I was happy to be mistaken, because the OAE2 balanced detail with space quite well to make the headphone enjoyable to listen to for hours. The treble had a lot of color and airiness to it, making elements much lighter and transparent in the sound field. You could hear the space that the OAE2’s soundstage gave more clearly in the treble, especially with how reverbs and higher tones rang out into the upper frequencies. It balanced out the relaxed low end quite well, and carried detail throughout the signature with ease.
The Grell OAE2 open-back headphone is a great choice for new audiophiles. At the $500 price point, you get multiple cables to integrate into any setup, and the easy-to-drive nbuild makes it a simple but effective upgrade. If you’ve not tried open-back headphones before, you’ll definitely want to check out the wide soundstage that rivals some competing models from Sennheiser or Hifiman. For the price, it’s an excellent value, and it would make any new audiophile pleased to add to their setup.
You can get the Grell OAE2 at Audio46.
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