OJAS x Klipsch kO-R1 speaker

in 2024 i said if i’m going to have a dumbass midlife crisis, it better sound + look somewhat interesting.

but when i looked for unfugly speakers, what hadn’t changed was how audio companies still market their stuff to retiree business car dads or engineer~ish gearhead nerds.

fucking gross dude.

yes that’s how i identify, but don’t show me that. condescending as hell.

art around the room + the sound coming out that thing should be the main focus.

i geek’d on audiophile buys in my 20s and wanted to keep my burntout senses as far from that incremental subjective moneypit to fussy hell of a world as possible.

had considered going the diy route. eh, was avoidant of another project. can do diy tweaks when it gets vintage’d.

had seen Devon Turnbull / OJAS speakers at a bunch of clubs and bars, like Cafe Tropical in LA + Public Records in NY. and got to hear them at his listening rooms in the SF MOMA + 180 Studios in London. often nice experiences tied to important moments in mine & my friends’ lives.

love that industrial horn element on the top of the box. piano and vocals sound great coming out of it. been neat seeing designers experiment with other horns + array patterns. nice bass that doesn’t drown out details when busy.

the dream would be to have one of his OJAS x NNNN audio systems in any custom color. that thing would look bold as hell in any already obscene place.

was mildly smart and frugal bout such a ridiculous purchase. got a hearing test. did some funny sound checks with neighbors and wasn’t worried about volume. listened to other speakers with my dad, who gave me a funny speaker testing playlist. bought used to save monies and dodge trump’s stupidass tariffs.

def recommend buying any audio stuff used for obviou$ rea$on$, but also the experience of buying and meeting other music lovers who are selfless with their passion. met so many cool dads of other people and gotten so much free junk + knowledge dropped on me. underrated.

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the amp had to have low-fuss tube warmth while being critter resistant (it out) and have no tackyass tech or button placements that make no fucking sense. also surprisingly hard to find. do you know how many audio companies have crap type or were acquired and cheapened? jesus h christ.

and a optional wireless connector that’s tucked behind the amp cause it looks like every other fucking streaming box with tech lights. that’s just if it’s a pain to connect via amp or if i notice bluetooth sounding bad. but it’s fine, simple connect & convenience is p important too.