Klipsch and Ojas Make Some Noise in Milan By Design

Klipsch is framing the launch as part product debut, part design statement, with the new speaker making its first public appearance not at a hi-fi show but inside Milan’s Fondazione Luigi Rovati museum.

The kO-R2 arrives as an 80th-anniversary-era project for Klipsch, but the more interesting detail is how deliberately it straddles heritage audio and contemporary design culture. Built by the same Hope, Arkansas artisans responsible for Klipsch’s Heritage line, the new model combines an Ojas-designed Baltic birch cabinet with a large cast-aluminium multisectoral horn and a 15-inch woofer drawn from the Cornwall IV’s K-33-E platform. Klipsch says production will be capped at 600 pairs worldwide, with each pair hand-built in the US.

In many ways, this is a clear step on from the kO-R1. The earlier model felt compact and a little niche, whereas the kO-R2 takes the same thinking and scales it up into proper Heritage territory. At 46 × 25 × 22 inches (1168 × 635 × 559 mm), it’s not shy, but the design keeps that pared-back Ojas feel with exposed horn, clean lines, and a look that sits closer to custom furniture than traditional speaker design.

At the centre of it all is the Ojas 1506 horn, fabricated from heavy cast aluminium, treated with electrophoresis and finished in flat black powder coat. Klipsch says the horn draws on classic Western Electric and Altec thinking, combining elements of the Western Electric KS12025/25A throat expansion with the faceted multicellular character of vintage Altec designs. The result is a distinctive square-and-trapezoidal mouth intended to deliver a more even frequency distribution across both horizontal and vertical planes.

The rest of the specification keeps the design-world narrative from drifting too far from serious audio intent. Klipsch lists a premium compression driver, anodised aluminium binding posts, anti-vibration rubber feet, a laser-engraved metal ID plate and a five-step high-frequency gain attenuator for room or taste adjustment. Finishes will include Red Oak veneer or Hammertone Silver, both paired with a matte-black horn.

If there’s a bigger picture here, it’s that Klipsch seems increasingly comfortable taking its Heritage DNA beyond the usual hi-fi channels and into spaces where design carries just as much weight as sound. That’s very much where Ojas comes in.

For Devon Turnbull, the thinking behind the kO-R2 is less about technology for its own sake, and more about how it connects with the listener. As he puts it:

With the kO-R2, we focused on creating something that feels immediate and human — where the technology disappears and the listener is left with a pure, physical connection to the music.

Klipsch COO Vinny Bonacorsi sees it as both a nod to the past and a step forward:

The kO-R2 represents a powerful intersection of heritage and forward-thinking design. Partnering with Devon allows us to honour Klipsch’s 80-year legacy while pushing into new creative territory — delivering a product that is as culturally relevant as it is acoustically exceptional.

The kO-R2 is being previewed through appointment-only listening sessions in Milan, running through April 26, with visitors invited to bring their own records. Available in finishes of Red Oak veneer or Hammertone Silver with a powder-coated, matte-black horn, production is limited to just 600 pairs worldwide.

For more information visit Klipsch