Don Was's Ojas Audio System

The president of Blue Note Records listens through handmade horn speakers from a Brooklyn workshop. The jazz tradition, unbroken.

The Scene

Don Was has been president of Blue Note Records since 2012 — the steward of the most important jazz label in history. Before that, he was a Grammy-winning producer and bassist, working with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, and Elton John. He's spent decades in studios with the best monitoring equipment money can buy. He knows what records are supposed to sound like because he's been there when they were made.

So his choice of personal listening system carries unusual weight. According to Stereophile's profile of Devon Turnbull, Was is among the high-profile clients who've commissioned custom Ojas systems. The Blue Note president listens to Blue Note records through hand-built horn speakers from a one-person Brooklyn workshop. There's a beautiful circularity to that.

Blue Note's catalog — from the classic sessions recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in the 1950s and 60s through the contemporary releases under Was's leadership — was largely recorded and mixed for playback through full-range, dynamic speaker systems. Horn speakers, with their explosive transient response and natural warmth, are arguably the ideal match for the label's sonic signature.

The Gear

Was's system features a custom Ojas amplifier and speaker system, built by Devon Turnbull in his Brooklyn Navy Yard workshop. The specific configuration isn't publicly detailed, but Turnbull's speaker designs consistently use horn-loaded cabinets with vintage JBL, Altec Lansing, or Western Electric compression drivers, paired with single-ended triode tube amplification.

For a Blue Note executive, the system serves a practical purpose beyond personal enjoyment. Was regularly auditions test pressings, masters, and archival transfers — listening for the fidelity and character that define the label's reputation. A system with the dynamic range and tonal accuracy of Ojas horns reveals details that modern studio monitors, designed for flat response, might present differently.

The connection between Blue Note and boutique audio has deep roots. Rudy Van Gelder, who recorded the label's classic sessions, was himself an obsessive gear builder who modified his own equipment. Turnbull's hand-built approach — winding transformers, selecting vintage drivers, tuning cabinets by ear — echoes Van Gelder's philosophy that the best equipment is the equipment you build yourself.

Blue Note President Don Was is among the admirers of Devon Turnbull's work.— Stereophile, "Hi-Fi as Art: Devon Turnbull & Ojas Audio"

Why It Matters

Was's endorsement connects Ojas to the deepest tradition in recorded jazz. Blue Note Records is where John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, and Herbie Hancock made some of the most important recordings in American music. The label's commitment to audio quality — from Van Gelder's legendary studio to the current reissue program under Was's leadership — is part of its identity.

For the secondary market, the Blue Note connection activates a massive collector base. Blue Note original pressings are among the most valuable records in the world — a clean first pressing of Coltrane's Blue Train can fetch $10,000+. The audiophile who collects those pressings needs a system that does them justice. The Ojas-to-Klipsch pipeline applies here too: if you can't commission Turnbull, a pair of JBL L100 Classic speakers with a quality tube amplifier will honor the Blue Note catalog beautifully.

Was's system also reinforces the "pillar page" potential of the Ojas story. Five high-profile owners — Ronson, Tyler, Abloh, Was, and Nigo — all documented by name in credible publications, all connected to a single builder. That's an SEO cluster that competitors haven't assembled.

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