Axel Grell was the designer of Sennheiser's HD580 and HD800 headphones. He left the company in 2019 to start Grell Audio. The startup has now released the TWS/1, a pair true wireless headphones. They will be $200 and feature Grell-designed components. The company boasts custom 10mm drivers, support ANC, glass touch panels, and a proprietary feature called Noise Annoyance Reduce (NAR), which it claims cancels high-end sounds.
Grell Audio
Qualcomm's QCC5141 chipset is a key component of codec support. The earbuds are capable of connecting to your phone over LHDC and aptX. Qualcomm's new aptX Lossless codec is all that is missing, aside from a few proprietary Sony formats. The earbuds can provide up to 6 hours battery life (with ANC turned on) or 34 hours when charged with the aluminum case.
Grell will use a direct-to consumer model to sell the TWS/1 headphones exclusively via Drop and its website. Pre-orders are open now, and general availability will follow in November. Drop headphones will be called the tws.01, and they come with an extra set of blue wingstips and an all-black finish.
Updated 10/6/21 at 4:03 AM ET: Article updated to reflect the correct battery life number.
