The Los Angeles company has created a line of speakers that look like sculptural works of art, but are also capable of delivering remarkable quality of sound.
OBEN’s high-end designs are the creation of two artists; Stevie, who previously worked in creative and design across fashion, music, and technology and Bronx, a musician known as M.Bronx, signed to Jay-Z’s publishing company Roc Nation.
The pair set out to recognise how sound can influence the feel of a room, just as great art and design can. Bringing the two together felt natural and the artists created the first pieces for their own home, before extending the idea into a brand.
Each shape is meticulously engineered to deliver that perfect sound – like a performance, rather than a recording – and the acoustic philosophy is as considered as its material one.
Each system uses full-range, crossover-free drivers, sound delivered as a single, continuous event, not divided and reassembled. Now, the unique speakers occupy a category that does not yet have a name: objects conceived simultaneously as sculpture, instrument, architecture, and collectible.
A debut collection features an edition of five speaker designs embracing finishes as varied as shaggy fur, a disc-shaped orb held aloft on a plinth, and carved wooden monoliths. Each piece comes in colour and finish variations and are custom-made.
OBEN’s speakers are produced as limited editions, one-off commissions, and large-scale installations, each work is serialised and catalogued, just as fine-art is.
OBEN Hi Fi Jovian in Burl
OBEN Arqos speaker in Burnt Oxide
OBEN Mane speaker in Dune
OBEN Hi Fi Callisto in Dust Blue
OBEN Hi Fi Korus in Walnut
