Grell Audio OAE1
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
The Grell Audio OAE1 is a highly polarizing, experimental headphone that prioritizes a holographic, speaker-like soundstage over traditional tuning. While it is praised for its unique "out-of-head" imaging and performance with jazz or acoustic tracks, it is widely criticized for its extremely finicky placement, poor physical comfort, and tendency to sound congested during complex musical passages. Originally launched at a higher price point, the community sentiment has shifted toward it being a worthwhile "experiment" for collectors following a significant price drop to around $99.
Pros
- Holographic, speaker-like soundstage that makes sounds feel like they are bouncing around the room
- Excellent for jazz, acoustic music, and gaming where air and reverb are beneficial
- Unique design experiment by renowned engineer Axel Grell
- Strong value proposition at the $99 sale price compared to its original launch price
Cons
- Extremely sensitive to positioning; sound quality changes drastically if not placed perfectly
- Poor physical comfort for many users, with reports of ears hitting the drivers and the headband sliding
- Lacks sub-bass presence and impact, making it poor for deep electronic or hip-hop tracks
- Becomes congested and "blurry" when playing busy or complex music like orchestral scores
- Polarizing tuning that some describe as "scratchy" or requiring specific EQ filters (e.g., 4400Hz)
Caveats
- Performance is highly dependent on individual head and ear anatomy due to the driver angle
- The "IMAX" soundstage effect can vanish completely if the headphones are not positioned exactly right
- Many users consider EQ mandatory to fix sharp or unusual frequency responses
Best for
- Jazz and acoustic music enthusiasts
- Gamers looking for a unique sense of space
- Headphone collectors looking for an affordable, experimental piece
Avoid if
- You listen to busy, complex orchestral or heavy electronic music
- You prioritize out-of-the-box comfort and a secure fit
- You want a versatile "all-rounder" headphone for your only pair
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 6-month half-life. The evidence comes from a window approximately 6-7 months ago (median age 205 days), which reflects the community's reaction to the product's long-term usability and price adjustments.
Sentiment
18 positive (51%) · 8 mixed (23%) · 9 negative (26%)
Trust + time weighted score: +39% · raw score 26%
What redditors said (10 of 35)
I keep coming back to my very open sounding but strong bass grell OAE1 headphones.
The OAE1 has always had some extra sentimental value to me for that reason. After I bought my pair, I spent the better part of a day with them. I found the physical nature of my head and ears didn't play very well with the design. Finding the right position for the driver had the band sitting in that spot thats not quite the top or the back of your head, leading to them wanting to roll back and not feel as secure on my head as I would preffer. My ears also didn't quite fit in the cups having them wanting to push them back, further contributing to making them constantly feel like they wanted to fall off. And so, they just got hung up and never used.
I was quite disappointed with them, I thought that reviews might not apply to the music I listen to (hip hop, electronic, Jamiroquai, etc).
the FR on 3 different pair of my cans looks like a child scribbling on the walls, but the cans sound amazing. hd800s, grell oae1, ollo s4x they're all extremely different on paper... in application they're exceedingly far from... boring
The OAE1 was very strange, but for some instruments in some tracks I got a very strong sense of frontal localization.
Trust me and try the Grell oae2 next time and compare those to the hd800. ... Some people even say the Grells are what the hd800s should have been
I was just listening to the grell oae1 and then went and tried the 660s2 to compare and I was impressed by how how much dimensionality thw grells have, the 660s2 sound so flat and in your face after the grells thst its hard to come back
Grell oae1 with “the flames beyond the cold mountain “ by mono. I’d never heard music sound so holographic. The guitars sound sublime… so realistic.
I’ve only experienced black magic with the arya stealth and the grell oae1 if positioned properly which is very difficult.
I was pretty disappointed with the comfort of the OAE1. I have read that they've improved it, but I'm still sceptical.
Compare
Grell Audio OAE1 vs Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro MKIIGrell Audio OAE1 vs Sennheiser HD 550Grell Audio OAE1 vs Sennheiser HD 490 Pro
Related
- HiFiMAN Edition XS · related · 852 mentions
- Sennheiser HD 560S · related · 841 mentions
- FiiO FT1 · related · 750 mentions
- HiFiMAN Arya Stealth · related · 703 mentions
- Sennheiser HD 600 · related · 638 mentions
- Sennheiser HD 490 Pro · related · 598 mentions