Grell OAE2 Dynamic Headphones Review – Return Of The Legend
Grell OAE2 is a $599 USD pair of headphones with a dynamic driver at the core, designed by the Legendary Axel Grell, the genius behind the HD800 series as well as many other models from Sennheiser. Today we will review the OAE2 and compare it with Sennheiser HD800S (1699 USD), HIFIMAN He600 (799 USD) and HEDD D1 (799 USD).
Introduction
Grell is considered a startup company, made by the engineer Axel Grell as well as other audio world veterans who moved away from Sennheiser and decided to start something fresh. Considering that Sennheiser is currently up for sale, I feel that Mr. Grell’s departure from them actually did affect them, along with a number of policies that went against their main consumer base, which is audiophiles, only to theoretically focus on microphones and professional devices, and now to eventually be up for sale. This being said, although this story is not about them, as Mr. Grell is now having a fresh start, he is known for having made the 58X series, HD600, HD650, HD800 and HD800S models. I wish I had those for review but I could only find them for sporadic periods. I made sure to have a pair for today’s review, but as we will explore, the future of the Grell sound is in much better hands now that Mr. Grell opened his own company to focus on what he loves the most, which is creating an excellent sound for music lovers.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/419ARbc
Official Link – https://en.grellaudio.com/products.html
Build Quality And Design
Starting with the philosophy behind the headphones, Grell started the OAE2 model with the idea of producing a headphone that brings you closer to the speaker listening experience. There has been an initial release in Germany, but now Grell OAE2 is available for the whole world. CanJam NYC 2026 is the first time OAE2 made a public appearance, but I actually already knew that they were coming my way, and with only 3-5 days of delay, I decided to rather focus on this full review to reveal the sound of the Grell OAE2.
Mr. Grell worked heavily to design a pair of headphones that does not sound exaggerated and instead sounds closer to nearfield monitors, especially for long periods of listening. Although Mr. Grell joined Sennheiser in 1991, he is known for some of the most influential headphones in the world, including HD280, Hd580, HD600, Hd650, HD800 and even He1. Naturally, he is not the only employee within Grell and the company designed OAe2 to be a foundation for everything that Grell will design in the future.
At their core, OAE2 uses a 40mm dynamic wideband transducer, with a bio-cellulose membrane, with a stainless steel mesh on the outside. All components are replaceable including the full metal frame, and this allows you to maintain the headphones over a long period of time. Inside the box you will find Grell OAe2, along with two cables, 1.8 meters in length, one with a 3.5mm single ended jack, and one with a 4.4mm balanced jack. OAe2 comes with a transport case and a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter.
Technically, this is a pair of headphones with a sensitivity of 100 dB, THD of 0.05% and nominal impedance of 38 OHMs. Furthermore, the weight without the cable is 378 grams, which is generally lighter than most headphones out there, but as we will see down below, the impedance and SPL can be deceiving here as OAE2 is far harder to drive than specs would tell.
Subjective Usage
Grell OAE2 feels light, very flexible and has absolutely zero movement and handling noise. It feels smooth and refined, but it is not exceptionally technologic or edgy, just simple and practical. You get a stainless steel mesh on the outside that protects the drivers, but which is also extremely sturdy.
Because the design is so open, OAE2 leaks far more than most headphones, in line with susvara Unveiled in terms of leakage, or about as much as HD800S. I am noticing a trend with headphone sizes, but a lot of the new headphones feel very tight and small for my head. OAe2 follows this trend and I need it at max size to feel comfortable on my head, so they might be uncomfortable for someone with a larger head.
Weight is natural, they are not too heavy but they don’t necessarily feel light. Having the cable at the headphone side on just one cup is actually rather comfortable as they come with flexible cables and those cables are fairly light. There’s a lot of microphonic noise if you touch the headphone frame, but there is almost no handling noise for the cable.
While earpads are quite comfy, they are covered in a velour like material which will affect the sound. OAe2 does offer a very weak passive noise isolation, at around 3 to 5 dB. This is not surprising given how open they are trying to be and how they are trying to sound like. While the simple construction will not turn heads, it is an efficient pair of headphones that has no issues and feels much better built than the vast majority around this price point.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test and drive the Grell OAe2, I have paired it with a large number of sources including FiiO K17, Audioengine HXL, Shanling Onix Beta XI2, Surfans F35 Music Player DAP, Shanling M7T, iBasso D17 Atheris, Burson Playmate 3, Rose Technics RT-5000, and Luxsin X9
This is one of the hardest to drive pair of headphones that I have tested so far, and it is in line with HD800S, and HIFIMAN He1000Se. I could not pinpoint exactly why but my Luxsin X9 detects the impedance as 32 OHMs, while SPL is not something it can detect. This being said, I reach up to the maximum power X9 can deliver which is 3W + 3W at max for the balanced headphone output which I am using. You will have huge scaling abilities for OAe2, and from a power requirement point of view they are similar to SJY Horizon.
Overall Signature – Listening to OAE2 is quite unique. It sounds different and right away, you need between 10 and 30 minutes for it to really settle in. Sound is shocking, like an open space listening, you’re stepping outside of the headphone world and they immediately sound huge, punchy, dynamic and engaging. It is quite specific though, in a similar way where Hd800S sounds wide, OAE2 sounds even wider, but not quite as scattered, it is a unique blend of width, depth but also separation and layering. Those staging characteristics define the sound far more than the usual way we describe a tuning. What I find the most interesting and hardest to get used to is how much space OAE2 allows for each instrument and musical element.
Sonically, they feel like the real estate market did in 1960 – 1980, everyone has a space to live, to breathe and it is all affordable and fun. OAE2 reveals mastering and mixing quality immediately, but they eat so much power to get loud that you rarely can max them out. Synths, pianos, everything plays as if around me, in a way where there are no bounds, music is free to extend indefinitely. Tonal balance is best described as balanced-natural. All elements are in a balanced synergy.
Bass – At their deep end, OAE2 can produce bass as deep as 20 Hz, but most of their focus is between 30 Hz and 60 Hz, with the bass not being a central element of music, but being present and able to render depth, impact and punchiness. Basically, it is not a basshead pair of headphones, but it has rhythm, and can climb down to the lowest octaves, useful for pop, rock, edm, and especially synthetic music, but also quite nice for classical. Bass has a nice width to it, feels like a real drum and this works equally well for nicely recorded rock as well as anything with a synthetic bass. You will notice this trend, but OAE2 cares a lot about recording quality and that the song is interesting.
Midrange – I would theoretically say that the midrange is the focal point for OAE2, but that isn’t quite right, as this is a pair of headphones without a central point, they sound nice for all frequencies, they make the most of what they have, nothing stands out, nothing is forward and nothing is forgotten. In fact, if anything, all frequency ranges are a bit distant, to allow for that huge soundstage to take place. Central elements in songs are vivid, tonality is on another level. It feels real, juicy, has weight to it, but seems to favor female voices which sound more real, more vivid, while male voices are slightly more distant than they are forward. All in all, all music will sound expanded all around you.
Treble – With a sharp and edgy top end, you might expect OAE2 to be bright, and they are somewhat bright, but not in the traditional sense of the word. Treble and cymbal crashes are distant, they play quite far from you, and have a natural – splashy – smoother texture that never feels fatiguing. It is a bit bright in the sense that Arya Organic can be bright, not in the sense where Hd800S is a bit brighter. Character of treble here is actually more distant than both, it is quite unique because OAE2 has air and sharpness, but it is so far from being in your face that even if you naturally wouldn’t enjoy a brighter sound, you will enjoy it once.
Dynamics And Textures – Dynamic range is the most expanded and I feel like this describes the sound of OAE2 a lot. It really needs power to achieve a proper sonic stage. It is really unique, even songs like DethKlok – Murdertrain O Comin just sound expanded, there’s a lot of cymbal crashes that are simply inaudible with most headphones, but OAE2 renders them there, in the background. Death metal guitars sound juicy, real, there for you. If you close your eyes, you can visualize those sounds. Resolution and texture is very good, in the levels of above HD800S, OAE2 renders a ton of micro details that I typically hear with 2000 USD+ IEMs where the space is small and they have the opportunity to reveal details, yet OAE2 renders everything I am used to hear at those much higher price brackets.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – OAE2 likes a ton of power, it eats it on bread and takes a 2nd portion too. This is the first headphone that actually sounds better if allowed more though tricks like having AMP set at max and DAC at a lower volume. Also, setting DAC AMP at max and digital a bit lower seems to allow it more headroom and more control than having digital volume set at max. Most sources will struggle to drive OAE2 properly, but either way, they are more laid-back and relaxed at lower volumes, also more distant, but become more forward, and more in-your-face at extreme volumes, above 110 dB.
Soundstage – Soundstage is the central element that defines OAE2, and it is not a central soundstage at all, it is a whole theater, and this means that music with a lot of instruments will sound FAR better than with most headphones, but simple music, MP3 files and compressed files will sound quite a bit worse. Grell OAE2 expands, extends, projects, it is far beyond the confines of your head, and even the confines of your room. To best describe how they render staging, imagine sitting at the center of an empty open field with a large orchestra playing around you, even if the song is rock or metal. Lead singer and lead instruments are close, but everything else is pushed in the background, everything happens in its own plane, neatly separated. Imaging is perfect, separation is done naturally, instruments don’t over blend, but are not surgically separated. You can study each song a thousand times and every single time you’d discover something new and interesting to understand from that song. It all feels like we are in a Goldilock zone of soundstage and separation, it is wide, expansive, but enough to keep me returning to each song and to OAE2.
Comparisons
Grell OAe2 vs HIFIMAN He600 (599 USD vs 799 USD) – HE600 is a real benchmark, and in comfort,t build quality, default cable quality, everything is comparable to OAE2. In fact, OAe-2 is actually a bit tighter on my head even at max size. Weight, and everything else is comparable, but HE600 is a bit easier to drive as I found OAE-2 to eat more power to achieve the best sound it can. While both work really well for jazz, classical and are a bit mid centric, He600 is very personal and focused, brings everything to you, delivers an intimate and warmer experience with more bass, a smoother treble, and more focus on vocals and the midrange. In contrast, OAE2 is more distant, has a bigger soundstage, stronger focus on imaging, but sounds colder and brighter, with a deeper sub bass but less mid bass, less thickness in the sound. Both headphones would make a music lover happy, but for very different reasons. If you enjoy a personal and close experience, HE600 is for you, while if you want to hear all music, but an open field, OAE2 is for you.
Grell OAe2 vs HEDD D1 (599 USD vs 799 USD) – D1 is a very popular headphone with a dynamic driver at the heart. From a constructive point of view, D1 is lighter, less tight, and can accommodate a larger head compared to OAE2 which is tighter on my head and even at max size is at the limit for my head. OAE2 is much harder to drive, while D1 not quite that much. Sonically, D1 is amiable, it is relaxed, laid back and fun. OAE2 is distant, airy, expansive and detailed. D1 is also detailed, but the way OAE2 renders, it shows spatial cues, separation, placement, while D1 feels far more natural, D1 sounds right from the first moment you hear them, while OAE2 takes a while to get used to. If you want something amiable, likable and easy to get used to, D1 would be ideal for you, while if you want something wide, expansive, new, truly dynamically unbound and which has a different sound than any headphone you likely heard, OAE2 will be perfect for you.
Grell OAe2 vs Sennheiser HD800S (599 USD vs 1699 USD) – Final comparison is the most important one, as I believe it showcases what Mr. Grell’s artwork can be achieved in a different formula. HD800S is much lighter, can work well with a much larger head, but it is a fairly hard to drive headphone, just like OAE2. Both are fussy about the power requirements, but for the most part Hd800S likes a strong voltage, while OAE2 likes a bit more power. Sonically, HD800S is interesting, wide, but a bit scattered, bright and still lacks the bass and deep-end to counter the open treble. OAE 2 feels like a totally new product, it is advanced, it has more backbone, better layering and separation, creates individual instruments far better than Hd800, delivers an experience that is more complete for the same style of huge soundstage. This inherently results in a better resolution and details, because you hear more clearly where each instruments ends and how each sounds like.
Value and Conclusion
I have tried to review most models that Grell designed so far, including the TWS Earphones, and while most of them were ok, not a single one comes close to the type of value that OAE2 brings to the table. Those sound better than HD800S, for a much lower price, less than half to be precise, but with a better build quality, a smoother design, and with a cable on one side that uses a generic 3.5mm connector. Overall, considering that OAE2 comes with a transport case, value levels are so far up in the sky that they are a flagship-level performance pair of headphones for an upper midrange price.
Award – I very rarely give awards nowadays as I am harder to impress with each passing year, but OAE2 actually does sound different. It actually sounds good. Not just good but special. They deliver the kind of sound that makes you think you’re missing out on other sounds. They sound open, but not just open, with a true soundstage. They expand, extend, and deliver impact and kick, in ways that no other pair of headphones manages to, with Mr. Axel outdoing his own previous works this time around. I have to place Grell OAE2 in our Hall Of Fame as it is truly interesting.
With all the models that you can purchase now, HIFIMAN punishing the market with their unveiled headphones for how good unveiled are, and even bringing new Wifi headphones, it is very hard for a new model to stand out, but Mr. Grell proves that even if Sennheiser is up for sale, he can advance what Sennheiser has been up to before, he can outdo his own previous designs, for a better price, better performance and still create one of the biggest soundstage in a headphone ever heard, this time with much better separation and clarity than before.
PROs
- Superb build quality and design
- Comfortable
- No handling noise, no void or driver flex
- Superb soundstage that actually does sound open, only matched by headphones in the true flagship range of upwards of 2000 USD
- Value and contrast ratio is through the roof
- Micro dynamics and details are also top notch
- One of the best deals you can get around the price point
- It simply sounds that good for me to award it a Hall Of Fame award, and recommend it to you, this is an essential headphone for anyone who loves a big soundstage
- Vivid voiding especially for female voices
- Separation and imaging are on a different level than anything else available in the range
Cons
- Incredibly hard to drive
- Signature takes a long while to get adjusted and used to
- Rather small at max size, snug on my head
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/419ARbc
Official Link – https://en.grellaudio.com/products.html
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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