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The rich walnut wood used on the earcups of the Grain Audio OEHP.01 headphones is its most obvious selling point, but its audio performance is just as enticing. The drivers deliver rich bass and detailed high-mids and highs that work well in just about every musical genre we tested. The least alluring aspect of the OEHP.01 is its price: $199 is a bit steep. Once you get past the wood details, the design is a little unremarkable, and the audio performance, while strong, is most similar to headphone pairs that sell for slightly less. That said, there’s little else to complain about and those attracted to the wood design will be rewarded with headphones that deliver a balanced sound signature.
Design
Visually, the design is simple—generously cushioned circumaural (over-the-ear) earpads are attached to lovely walnut earcups. The headband and pads are a matte, dark gray, which focuses all the attention on the wood and its grain pattern, but as mentioned earlier, the non-wood aspects of the design are a tad dull.
Functionally, the headband uses a sliding mechanism—the earcups move up and down a series of click-stops on the headband, which is a semi-flexible solid piece of plastic. This system allows for a precise, secure fit. The underside of the band has ample cushioning, though I did feel some tension under the headband during extended listening periods. Adjusting the headband can ease this a bit, and the discomfort was minor.
Inside the cups, the OEHP.01 uses a 40mm driver in each ear to deliver sound. The audio cable is removable—it connects to the right earcup and has an inline remote of the single button variety that has the phrase “Play Loud” etched into its surface. (For the record, I recommend not going too loud if you’d like to keep your hearing.) You can control playback, track navigation, and manage phone calls, but you’ll need to adjust the volume on your sound source. 
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Also included with the headphones: a zip-shut protective pouch, and two 1/4-inch headphone jack adapters.
Performance
On tracks with heavy levels of sub-bass, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the OEHP.01 delivers clean, precise bass response without ever approaching distortion, even at top, unwise listening levels. At moderate levels the lower frequencies pack quite a punch still, but are balanced out by a solid high-mid presence.
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Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track without serious deep bass presence, gives us a better idea of the OEHP.01’s sound signature. His baritone vocals get enough high-mid treble edge so that they sound crisp enough to balance out their richness, while the drums on this track receive some significant, but not overwhelming, boosting in the lows. The drums stand out in a pleasant way because of this—they sound powerful, but not unnatural, and once again, the strong presence of high-mids and highs allow the vocals and guitars to more than hold their own despite the bass boosting.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop’s attack is highlighted by this strong high-mid and high frequency presence—it sounds sharp and cuts through the dense mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the loop don’t pack quite the same gusto they might on a heavily bass-boosted pair—nor do they sound weak. This tells us that most of the low-end boost is above the sub-bass level, allowing the drums on the Callahan track to sound a bit bigger than they are without making the sub-bass synths sounds on this track too intense. The vocals on this track float cleanly above everything, crisp and clear without ever sounding overly sibilant.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, mostly tend to favor the natural brightness of the recording, but the lower register instrumentation still receives enough added body to give the tracks a bit more bass presence than they’d have on a flat response pair. The bass boosting is subtle here and shouldn’t upset purists too much—the mids and highs are still king.
If you’re looking for a bigger bass sound in this price range, you’ll be sacrificing the balance the OEHP.01 provides, but the on-ear Beats Solo 2 manages to produce massive low-end without throwing away all restraint. Most pairs that deliver performance comparable with the OEHP.01 cost a bit less—the $179.95 Sennheiser HD 558 and the also-wood-clad Griffin WoodTones Over-the-Ear Headphones ($60.48 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) ($99.99) are both solid contenders. At $200, there are headphones that offer a slightly better audio experience, like the Marshall Monitor ($99.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , but the good-looking Grain Audio OEHP.01 delivers powerful sound with a nice balance between lows and highs. The price seems just a bit high, but good looks will justify the added expense for plenty of listeners.
4.0
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The Grain Audio OEHP.01 is a simple, good-looking headphone pair with solid bass response and a good balance between lows and highs.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/grain-audio-oehp01