Devon Turnbull goes MJ - Musen to Jikken 💫

 

From the man himself:

Ojas Japan, est. 2025.

Major announcement – post 1 of 3.

An exciting new chapter for Ojas, and for Kas and me personally. Breaking this into three posts to do it justice.

Many of you know that Tokyo has been a second home for over half my life. Some of my closest friendships started here, and no culture has influenced me more than Japanese audio. I spent some time reflecting on my journey and wrote a fairly long article about it in the Spring 2025 issue of MJ, intended to be my first installment of a regular contribution I’ll make in every issue for the near future. I hope it is well received, and I hope my contributions to MJ are enlightening and educational, for the reader and the author alike. Soon I’ll have a home on Ojas.nyc where I post all of these articles in English as well. 

This year, @mj_audiotech turned 100! I’m so grateful to their team for welcoming me in. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking and writing more—learning through the process and hoping to share what I find along the way. If you’ve been to the Ojas Listening Room at @usmmodularfurniture or follow @listening_room, you know how much I admire MJ and Stereo Sound. The photos here are from visits to both of their headquarters.

I’ve embarked on a second journalistic pursuit in collaboration with the with Tube Kingdom (Stereo Sound) to analyze the work of Japan’s great audio designers through traditional aesthetics:

Wabi-sabi 侘寂 – the beauty of “imperfect” vintage gear, natural materials, handmade craft.

Kanso 簡素 & Shibui 渋い – minimalism in tube amps, full-range drivers, stripped-down signal paths.

Takumi 匠 – master craftsmanship in point-to-point wiring, handmade components.

I’ll be interviewing Japanese artisans to explore their ikigai 生き甲斐—their creative drive.

But a journalistic pursuit alone doesn’t make Ojas Japan. See the next post for more of what I’m up to.

I wish to Devon the very best for his new adventures 🍀