OA21 / HISTORY TIMELINE

Onix Audio began with a salesman and two engineers who were just 21 Years old ( Hence OA21 )  Onix  started from two rooms above a shoe shop in Brighton Sussex. ONIX AUDIO made amplifiers by hand, and every single one was listened too when complete before despatch. All were built by the people that designed them. They loved life, music and they loved what they did, each one of them lived and existed for the pursuit of perfection in sound and quality. A few beers and plenty of women just put icing on the cake . Sound ruled their lives.

1986 >

By 1986 the company and the brand was 100% owned by only one of the founders. In 1991 to progress his personal life he sold the company but kept the name/brand ONIX . The job was done the company was built.  New owners had different ideas and it seemed the right thing to do. The ere was changing, ONIX was now a brand not just a company . Our founder retained & owned the brand ONIX so under an aggreement the  company he built was allowed to use it . He still owned the name ONIX all seemed set it would carry on .

1995 >

Used by the Chinese company the Brand did little to make an impact , their products had none of the orginal qualities and followed none of the ONIX path set by the founders. The ONIX brand ethics had been lost along the way to became an OEM brand like so many since then . It was not British or a true audiophile product  when made  by the Chinese company.

2010 >

In January 2020 the world was hit by Covid 19 , no one saw it coming and no one knew how it would change the world and people living through it  . In 2020 The founder of ONIX chose to sell the brand ONIX to the same Chinese Company that used it in 1995-2010 timeline . He did this as peace offering for past brand confusion in Asia and Europe. He created ONIX  - the job was done , the brand will always be his creation but its time to move over let others that have learnt gain from his knowledge, let them start a new era with a new brand OA21 .

< 1984

Inventing the classic half size amplifier called the ONIX OA21 was launched in 1984 eventually selling thousands in just 7 short years. They were so British and loved by everyone, with 50 watts of pure RMS power. and only three knobs .ONIX sold them via dealers and distributors worldwide finally into 28 countires including Japan and  most of Australasia . The years passed and ONIX boys grew up, they changed as did the era they helped create.

< 1991

The world of music changed when MP3 arrived, MP3 a compressed format that has less than 20% of the original sonic content, this  drastic reduction of quality took hold  with the consumer embracing it in pursuit of conveinece . ONIX had to find a new direction quality was being forgotton. The then owners  stripped the assets and sold the brand  that they didnt really own being the property of the founder . The brand passed to the Chinese illegally & unknown to them by someone that had no right to sell it . They were unaware of this.

< 2009

After the brand and its DNA had been virtually forgotten, Onix returned to it`s core values with the original owner who is a pure  sound perfectionist. A new range of products was desinged by him and launched by Onix in 2014. ONIX HIFI was remembered and loved by thousands. Particularly the original classic ONIX OA21. People had changed understanding of what it takes to create quality. Sound quality had made way to demands of features, forgetting that great HI-FI must give priority to sound not features. Vinyl records and CDs have virtually disappeared in 2010 , and downloads of music were ruling the way forward.  It was the right time to come back and enjoy sound again. ONIX was relaunched  with vision and dedication fotgotton by the original founder . Onix Audio was back

< 2020

2021

The team that built the new 2010-2019 ONIX product range ( DNA50 - DNA45  ) in the UK ,were devastated at the 2020 changes in branding and closure of the manufacturing company ONIX GB LTD  . Letting all the hard work we had done to just fizzle out was just wrong. We had great plans and great products we felt they should not be lost . The founder agreed to help us, so we could set up OA21 limited  and keep a real UK HIFI tradition going . Creating a completely new brand - OA21  - with a younger drive and focus , embracing the world we all will live in with a new direction .  We are a new company and will take our first orders in July 2021 when and only when we have made it happen
 
OA21 ltd will make the new OA21 Legacy and all the British amps that were made  in the UK. Just to keep British HIFI alive with products now to be branded OA21  . We are focused on reality, with efficiency, we are a team within the company working for people that care about  music and British HIFI . Making HIFI for people that know why we feel about it the way we do .  The original ONIX founder will help us , but we are OA21  ltd for the year 2021 and we know what we need to do .
 
We look forward to the future and working with those that know HIFI and great quality

 
Welcome to OA21 ltd & the new British Brand OA21  >  Real coming of age in 2021  with - OA21
 

TIMELESS DESIGN

When we created the OA21 amplifier 35 years ago we simply did not know a classic was born. No one knew that the simple three knob minimalist design and unique sonic audio design would stand the test of time and become a part of so many families . All electronic designs have changed over and over but the OA21 was truly a timeless classic . Like a classic Rolex watch, or Rolls Royce silver shadow , pure , perfect and built with passion by people not machines  - The OA21 was built to last  for generations not years. 
We at OA21 Icon will make sure nothing changes .
 
Behind every design there are an important structures for how it is created, people do that ,computers dont.
We are British Hi Fi Manufacturers, its in our DNA , we know it's important to understand what you are buying and why.