The DIY speaker kits designed by OJAS and Virgil Abloh

Devon Turnball started OJAS, the Brooklyn-based speaker brand, with an aspiration for the best quality sound reproduction that tends to center on a lot of vintage components consisting of super-efficient speakers that require very little power to produce a very large soundscape, high-level sound. 

The idea was to give people an experience, a sound that is akin to watching a movie on a big beautiful screen with a projector versus a 4K, high definition TV at home. A speaker system which you can really sit and appreciate the same as one views a painting in an art gallery as opposed to viewing art on mass media, just passing by. 

Eventually, as the credibility around OJAS grew, Devon came across the extraordinaire cultural messiah, Virgil Abloh. Although his career was unfortunately cut short, his influence and prolific output in various streams such as fashion, art, design and architecture remains profound. 

Virgil has left his mark not just in clothing but everything a person could buy, or aspire to own. You can find eco-friendly cups and bottles, suitcases, stereos, Mercedes Benz sports wagons - even a brick, with Virgil’s distinctive mark on them.

Further, with an innate sense of collaboration, Virgil Abloh and his art and design subdivision, Canary Yellow, teamed up with OJAS on a new selection of DIY speaker kits geared at audiophiles 2 years back. They come in two variants as a bookshelf speaker kit and a 2 way speaker kit priced at $1400 and $2400 respectively.

The speakers are entirely constructed by customers and they come with all the hardware, components, and a cabinet made of unfinished Baltic Birch plywood to house everything. The package also includes a 4mm ball head hex driver and wood glue, and the only other tools needed are an electric screwdriver (or the drill) and a 5/16" wrench.

If required one can also refer to simple three-part instructional videos on OJAS’s Instagram page.

Specifications:

Ojas Artbook Shelf Speaker with JBL 328c 8" Coaxial Unit

Passive speaker. Recommended amp power 3 - 100 watts

16” h x 14” w x 12.5” d

Frequency Response*: about 40 Hz - about 18 kHz

Sensitivity: 96 dB

Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms (minimum 6 ohms)

Recommended Power: 3-100 watts