Description
Some speakers simply play music. Others silence you from the first bar. The Klipsch/OJAS kO-R2 is the latter. It’s a collaboration between two very different worlds: Klipsch, with its 80-year legacy of horn-like sound from Hope, Arkansas, and Devon Turnbull, a New York artist and acoustic designer whose OJAS studio has long been a cult favorite for those who appreciate a rare blend of aesthetics and deep acoustic thinking. Their first collaboration, the kO-R1, sold out in an instant. The kO-R2 is bigger, more complex, and limited to just 600 pairs worldwide.
The kO-R2’s world premiere took place not at a Hi-Fi show but at the Fondazione Luigi Rovati in Milan, and that’s no coincidence. Devon Turnbull approached acoustic design with a minimalist, almost gallery-like mindset, and every detail of the kO-R2 speaks to that. The centerpiece of the design is the Ojas 1506 Multisectoral horn, inspired by the philosophy of Western Electric and Altec, with a combination of square and trapezoidal sections for an even distribution of the sound field. It’s cast from heavy-duty aluminum and finished in a matte black powder coat—it looks like a sculpture, it sounds like the real thing.
The kO-R2 is a two-way horn-loaded design: a K-706 compression driver combined with an Ojas 1506 horn handles the high and midrange, while a 15-inch K-33-E woofer with a fiber composite cone—the same one found in the Cornwall IV—provides the low-end. The goal is simple: retain the immediacy, dynamics, and effortless delivery of the Heritage series, but on a different scale and with a different aesthetic. Materials include a premium compression driver, anodized aluminum terminals, and anti-vibration rubber feet.
The kO-R2 cabinet is made of Baltic birch and covered with natural veneer from paired boards of the same massif—each pair has a unique wood grain pattern. Available in two finishes: Red Oak with a warm, expressive pattern and Hammertone Silver with a powder-coated finish for those who prefer an industrial aesthetic. Like all Heritage speakers, the kO-R2 is hand-assembled in Hope, Arkansas.
The kO-R2 is designed for a specific buyer—one who appreciates both design and acoustic concept, and is ready for a rare object without a standard spec sheet. This is not a mass-produced product—and that's the point. Debuting at Milan Design Week, listening to the recording in a museum space, 600 pairs worldwide. If you know what I'm talking about, you already know if this is for you.