At $40 I got a pair....and am very happy I did. Frankly, they changed my view a bit of the efficacy of headphone measurement.
I listen to music through headphones more than any other source. I have owned multiple Sennheiser 600 series, most of the Beyers, and lots of HiFimen.
I expected to hate the OAE-1, both because of Amir's measurements, and because of my head's measurements (huge, size 8, which many reviewers claimed would be disqualifying). They do have quite a firm clamp, but they fit my head fine and because they do not touch my ears, the clamp, even with glasses, is fine. The left/right channel balance changes a lot, as does the frequency response depending on where they sit on my head. In no case would I call the sound accurate....but.
On much of my music they sound wonderful to me. Yes, they are bass forward, yes, some details are smeared compared to my favorite Open Back Sundara, but they are very musical, romantic, spacious, lovely on many things. Not what I would pick as my only headphones, but quite nice when I want an hour of bliss on less complex or orchestral listening. I'm experimenting with some of the EQ curves posted for them, but am not sure I like them better.
So, what to make of this? Alex Grell is not an idiot, far from it. Recent interviews do not show signs of senility. He knows how to design "accurate" headphones and designed something different here. What does accurate actually mean for headphones? The "target" curve in the 1st post (I understand) is based on Harman Preference tests, so is not necessarily accurate either, right? Unlike Amp/Dac/ or even in room response speaker measurements, it measures how closely headphones align with preferences not reality. Am I mistaken?
Listening to the OAE-1 I am reminded of Malcom Gladwell's comparison of the spaghetti sauce vs. ketchup markets. Americans agree that while ketchup can be spelled 2 ways, it should taste one way. The ketchup "Harman" target is strongly agreed on. Markets however, have determined there is not one "best" spaghetti sauce target. I like Rao's pepper/mushroom, someone else will prefer spicy marinara.
Perhaps Grell is the "Rao's" of headphone design who decided to make a new flavor. However, market response to the OAE-1, the discounted $40 price suggests, means headphones are like ketchup after all?
Perhaps with headphones, perfect marinara can be transformed to pepper/mushroom (if you really want that) through DSP EQ curves, but I think more than that is happening here. Forward mounted drivers firing at the entire pinna may impact more than EQ. I do not know, but I do like mine.
I listen to music through headphones more than any other source. I have owned multiple Sennheiser 600 series, most of the Beyers, and lots of HiFimen.
I expected to hate the OAE-1, both because of Amir's measurements, and because of my head's measurements (huge, size 8, which many reviewers claimed would be disqualifying). They do have quite a firm clamp, but they fit my head fine and because they do not touch my ears, the clamp, even with glasses, is fine. The left/right channel balance changes a lot, as does the frequency response depending on where they sit on my head. In no case would I call the sound accurate....but.
On much of my music they sound wonderful to me. Yes, they are bass forward, yes, some details are smeared compared to my favorite Open Back Sundara, but they are very musical, romantic, spacious, lovely on many things. Not what I would pick as my only headphones, but quite nice when I want an hour of bliss on less complex or orchestral listening. I'm experimenting with some of the EQ curves posted for them, but am not sure I like them better.
So, what to make of this? Alex Grell is not an idiot, far from it. Recent interviews do not show signs of senility. He knows how to design "accurate" headphones and designed something different here. What does accurate actually mean for headphones? The "target" curve in the 1st post (I understand) is based on Harman Preference tests, so is not necessarily accurate either, right? Unlike Amp/Dac/ or even in room response speaker measurements, it measures how closely headphones align with preferences not reality. Am I mistaken?
Listening to the OAE-1 I am reminded of Malcom Gladwell's comparison of the spaghetti sauce vs. ketchup markets. Americans agree that while ketchup can be spelled 2 ways, it should taste one way. The ketchup "Harman" target is strongly agreed on. Markets however, have determined there is not one "best" spaghetti sauce target. I like Rao's pepper/mushroom, someone else will prefer spicy marinara.
Perhaps Grell is the "Rao's" of headphone design who decided to make a new flavor. However, market response to the OAE-1, the discounted $40 price suggests, means headphones are like ketchup after all?
Perhaps with headphones, perfect marinara can be transformed to pepper/mushroom (if you really want that) through DSP EQ curves, but I think more than that is happening here. Forward mounted drivers firing at the entire pinna may impact more than EQ. I do not know, but I do like mine.
