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expiredLivelyString7186 posted May 16, 2026 03:30 PM
expiredLivelyString7186 posted May 16, 2026 03:30 PM

DROP + Grell OAE1 Wired Open-Back Headphones

+ Free S&H w/ Amazon Prime

$40

$200

80% off
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Deal Details
Woot! has DROP + Grell OAE1 Wired Open-Back Headphones for $39.99. Shipping is free for Amazon Prime Members (must login with your Amazon account and select a shipping address in order for Woot to apply free shipping) or is otherwise $6 per order.

Thanks to Community Member LivelyString7186 for finding this deal.

Note: Ships in 0 - 1 calendar days

Features:
  • FRONT-FIRING DRIVER DESIGN FOR NATURAL SOUND: Innovative driver placement in front of the ears mimics real-world listening, creating a more natural, speaker-like presentation with improved imaging and realism
  • OPEN-BACK DESIGN FOR WIDE SOUNDSTAGE: Open-back earcups allow air and sound to flow freely, delivering an expansive, airy soundstage with enhanced spatial depth and immersive detail
  • BIOCELLULOSE DRIVERS FOR HIGH-FIDELITY AUDIO: Precision-tuned dynamic drivers provide rich bass, clear mids, and smooth highs for a balanced, detailed listening experience across music genres
  • DESIGNED BY AXEL GRELL: Created by renowned headphone engineer Axel Grell, known for iconic audiophile designs, bringing advanced acoustic innovation to a modern listening experience
  • IDEAL FOR HOME AND CRITICAL LISTENING: Wired, open-back design is optimized for home use, offering accurate, immersive sound for audiophiles, music enthusiasts, and studio-style listening sessions

Editor's Notes

Written by SubZero5 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that this deal is $28 less (41% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $67.99 at the time of this post.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.2/5 from Amazon customer reviews.
  • About this store:

Original Post

Written by LivelyString7186
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Woot! has DROP + Grell OAE1 Wired Open-Back Headphones for $39.99. Shipping is free for Amazon Prime Members (must login with your Amazon account and select a shipping address in order for Woot to apply free shipping) or is otherwise $6 per order.

Thanks to Community Member LivelyString7186 for finding this deal.

Note: Ships in 0 - 1 calendar days

Features:
  • FRONT-FIRING DRIVER DESIGN FOR NATURAL SOUND: Innovative driver placement in front of the ears mimics real-world listening, creating a more natural, speaker-like presentation with improved imaging and realism
  • OPEN-BACK DESIGN FOR WIDE SOUNDSTAGE: Open-back earcups allow air and sound to flow freely, delivering an expansive, airy soundstage with enhanced spatial depth and immersive detail
  • BIOCELLULOSE DRIVERS FOR HIGH-FIDELITY AUDIO: Precision-tuned dynamic drivers provide rich bass, clear mids, and smooth highs for a balanced, detailed listening experience across music genres
  • DESIGNED BY AXEL GRELL: Created by renowned headphone engineer Axel Grell, known for iconic audiophile designs, bringing advanced acoustic innovation to a modern listening experience
  • IDEAL FOR HOME AND CRITICAL LISTENING: Wired, open-back design is optimized for home use, offering accurate, immersive sound for audiophiles, music enthusiasts, and studio-style listening sessions

Editor's Notes

Written by SubZero5 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that this deal is $28 less (41% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $67.99 at the time of this post.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.2/5 from Amazon customer reviews.
  • About this store:

Original Post

Written by LivelyString7186

Community Voting

Deal Score
+25
Good Deal
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Top Comments

KRT09
1052 Posts
108 Reputation
These weren't a well regarded headphone but Amir is a total charlatan. He hooks up headphones to a measurement rig that has the ability to detect distortion far outside of human hearing and bases his "review" on that and if the tonality adheres to a "neutral-ish" target. Distortion is very rarely an issue with decent headphones unless you want to EQ in a ton of bass or crank them to ear-damaging levels, and if you're EQing in a ton of bass you should be looking at a bassy or basshead headphone to begin with. Distortion is often an enjoyable quality, ie: tube amps and a lot of popular mixing from producers like Rick Rubin.

Much of his methodology is flawed and not science but somehow he's convinced people it's science by calling the site Audio Science Review. The audio world is also very subjective and personal, so you might love something that measures like crap and hate something that measures perfectly. There's a reason Amir won't leave his ASR sanctuary because he gets clowned on everywhere else. Even the founder of HeadFi (and CanJam) called him out on his BS.

15 Comments

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May 16, 2026 04:02 PM
212 Posts
Joined Mar 2026
SiennaHerring788May 16, 2026 04:02 PM
212 Posts
Any feedback on whether these are decent?
May 16, 2026 04:51 PM
2,056 Posts
Joined Oct 2004
prismxMay 16, 2026 04:51 PM
2,056 Posts
Quote from SiennaHerring788 :
Any feedback on whether these are decent?
Review here: https://headfonics.com/drop-grell-oae1-review/
May 16, 2026 04:57 PM
60 Posts
Joined Dec 2019
AntonbasMay 16, 2026 04:57 PM
60 Posts
Quote from SiennaHerring788 :
Any feedback on whether these are decent?
Here there is an extensive review
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/s/I5YSDEKSQs
Based on this it is not for me, I'm big head
1
May 16, 2026 05:04 PM
301 Posts
Joined Dec 2016
cstracMay 16, 2026 05:04 PM
301 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank cstrac

$200 was the launch price but this has been going for $68 for some time now
2
May 16, 2026 05:13 PM
9 Posts
Joined Nov 2011
kong132May 16, 2026 05:13 PM
9 Posts
1
1
3
May 16, 2026 05:49 PM
2,383 Posts
Joined Feb 2005
DarnCrazyMay 16, 2026 05:49 PM
2,383 Posts
For $40, it's worth a try to see the love and hate these get. I've spent way more on headphones I ended up disliking lol.
May 16, 2026 05:56 PM
9 Posts
Joined Nov 2024
StrongStew935May 16, 2026 05:56 PM
9 Posts
bought these thinking I would at least check out a cool experimental set of cans. They're just bad, unless you are a collector just pass.

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May 16, 2026 06:09 PM
21 Posts
Joined Oct 2016
Deal.SlayerMay 16, 2026 06:09 PM
21 Posts
Worth a try after watching this video. Interested to see how it sounds with my EDM.
https://www.youtube.com/live/dKf2...RI0jA_vNRo
Original Poster
May 16, 2026 06:11 PM
64 Posts
Joined May 2021
LivelyString7186
Original Poster
May 16, 2026 06:11 PM
64 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank LivelyString7186

Eq is a must with these. Took a long time playing with eq to get these to sound right to my ears. The open sound soundstage is a bit strange as some songs that sound wide in other headphones, don't sound any wider in these, but songs that normally don't have a wide dispersed sound you here instruments playing outside your head. Not worth the $200 they were originally, but $40 is definitely worth a try.
1
May 16, 2026 06:41 PM
1,052 Posts
Joined Oct 2016
KRT09May 16, 2026 06:41 PM
1,052 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank KRT09

Quote from kong132 :
Very poor performance https://www.audiosciencereview.co...iew.71097/
These weren't a well regarded headphone but Amir is a total charlatan. He hooks up headphones to a measurement rig that has the ability to detect distortion far outside of human hearing and bases his "review" on that and if the tonality adheres to a "neutral-ish" target. Distortion is very rarely an issue with decent headphones unless you want to EQ in a ton of bass or crank them to ear-damaging levels, and if you're EQing in a ton of bass you should be looking at a bassy or basshead headphone to begin with. Distortion is often an enjoyable quality, ie: tube amps and a lot of popular mixing from producers like Rick Rubin.

Much of his methodology is flawed and not science but somehow he's convinced people it's science by calling the site Audio Science Review. The audio world is also very subjective and personal, so you might love something that measures like crap and hate something that measures perfectly. There's a reason Amir won't leave his ASR sanctuary because he gets clowned on everywhere else. Even the founder of HeadFi (and CanJam) called him out on his BS.
2
May 16, 2026 07:00 PM
142 Posts
Joined Feb 2025
SmilingRiver528May 16, 2026 07:00 PM
142 Posts
Quote from kong132 :
Very poor performance https://www.audiosciencereview.co...iew.71097/
This is the last can id expect that group to humor. These don't adhere to the graph target intentionally and the offset driver angle is a big part of why the chosen response almost works.
May 16, 2026 07:55 PM
1,203 Posts
Joined Jul 2008
ToeMay 16, 2026 07:55 PM
1,203 Posts
Audio 'Science' Review: for people who care more about what Amir's computer thinks about how something sounds than what their own ears tell them.
Last edited by Toe May 16, 2026 at 01:09 PM.
Pro
May 17, 2026 12:27 AM
1,823 Posts
Joined Apr 2014
maheeinfy
Pro
May 17, 2026 12:27 AM
1,823 Posts
Dead. Who bought up all the stock?
May 18, 2026 07:08 AM
418 Posts
Joined Dec 2015
Eguy5555309May 18, 2026 07:08 AM
418 Posts
Quote from SiennaHerring788 :
Any feedback on whether these are decent?
I got a pair of the signature edition OAE1's, and liked them a lot for gaming, enough that I got a second pair. The bass isn't as strong as Bose and some Sony headphones, nor as strong as movie theaters, but I've never heard a headphone sound as open while also having such a strong bass foundation.

To set some expectations, these sound less like neutral studio headphones, but more like home HiFi speakers. The frontally-located headphone drivers interact with your outer ears more, so you need to experiment the first time you wear them to find your own personal sweet spot (I've been able to find that spot easily ever since), and it will sound very unclear and muffled if worn backwards by accident. The cables plug in FIRMLY with a "pop" to the earcups, but if they're not plugged in all the way the headphones will sound unclear and muffled. The clearest sound quality will come from a DAC/amp with the LOWEST possible output impedance (in ohms); I was pretty happy with my FiiO BTR15 and Questyle dongles. The clamp is less than the HD 650, and overall I found them lightweight and comfortable, but the OAE1 headband doesn't extend as far for large heads as the HD 600 series. As a bald guy, I do wish the headband was more similar to the HD 650 or 660S2, but the OAE1 headband is just "average" comfort for me, the earpads are above-average comfortable.

Overall, I liked them for music, movies, and especially games with a bit of Spatial Audio/surround processing. Since I think people generally like bass and low fatigue, I thought more people would like it; I was surprised opinions were so divided, and that some reviewers literally spent months making content and posting on the impressions threads about how they didn't like them. I got a second pair in case my first wears out.
1

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May 19, 2026 08:31 PM
2,383 Posts
Joined Feb 2005
DarnCrazyMay 19, 2026 08:31 PM
2,383 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank DarnCrazy

Just got these today and honestly, the build is definitely well beyond the $40 price tag. The sound is very dark/bass focused as others has mentioned. The soundstage is also very compressed due to the design and feels closer to a closed set of headphones than an open one.

Do they sound like $200 list price headphones? No, that price must have been a stretch.

Do they sound good for $40? Yes, these are a bargain for the right kind of music.

While I prefer the Drop HD58X and Sony MDR-1A over these, for $40...it's hard to hate these unless you have a large head and/or dislike cans with heavy bass focus and recessed treble.
1

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