Grell OAE2 open-ear headphones with angled transducers launch worldwide

The Grell OAE2 open-ear headphones are now available for worldwide purchase after previously being unveiled in the German market. Axel Grell, a former Sennheiser engineer, designed the OAE2 to use angled drivers that help recreate sound coming from in front of the listener when listening to a musical performance. The Grell OAE2 is available from Grell, Bloom Audio, and Audio46 for an MSRP of $499.

Traditional headphones place the transducers directly to the left and right of the listener's ears. While this has worked for many decades in reproducing high-quality sound, Grell notes that such sound reproduction fails to reproduce the sensation of being in an actual performance where sound comes from in front of the listener and interacts with the outer ear (pinna) before entering the inner ear and being heard.

The company says its Front-sided Sound Field Modulation (FSFM)​ technology, which uses 40 mm angled transducers, aims to recreate the missing je ne sais quoi, allowing listeners to hear music playback as if it came from a performance in front. The science and engineering of the OAE2 are revealed in an interview with Axel Grell.

The bio-cellulose diaphragms have a frequency response of 12 Hz to 34 kHz (-3dB) with a THD of 0.05% at 1 kHz. The 378 g (13.3 oz.) German-made headphones include 3.5 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced cables for connection to audio sources.