Ø Audio Icon 12 represents the new, second-generation loudspeaker from a Norwegian manufacturer which, though still relatively new to some, has already established distinct identity – especially by the virtue of the first edition of the Icon series. At the same time, it’s really noteworthy to indicate even in the very beginning what are we dealing with here. When we look solely at the price, we will see that these speakers are certainly not inexpensive. Yet the price isn’t obviously everything, since especially in today’s world it doesn’t actually indicate that a certain product will – or even should – belong to the hi-end category.
Leaving such considerations aside for a while, we should also notice that the Icons are not only quite large, but also at the same time can be described as somehow unique. Even in the so diverse world of those last elements of audio chain where we can find a plethora of various designs. Be it dynamic, or different planar (both electrostatic and magnetostatic) designs. And also, a lot of hybrid and wideband driver and tube-based constructions. And if we’re talking about the latter, it’s should be mentioned that Icons do have a horn-based drivers. Those cover a serious part of medium frequencies and the whole treble range. It’s also quite a big horn, since its width is similar to the diameter of the bass-midrange driver used. So, plainly speaking, and as the name suggest here – it’s around twelve inches or 30 centimetres in overall width. I mention this to emphasize that this is a horn with quite significant dimensions and should not be mistaken with the waveguides that we can find in the front of some tweeters used in other designs. And to indicate that in this particular case size does matter, especially because it allows the crossover frequency between the two drivers used in the Icons 12 to be really low. We will get back to this later on, since now it’s time to say a few words about the manufacturer itself.
O Audio Is a Norwegian company that has been on the market for more than a decade and has become well-known to many because of the first version of the Icons. What is also interesting is the fact that this company has at the moment actually only three models on offer, which may somehow be a bit misleading (especially since they just showed their very unusual yet clever subwoofer at MUC Munich 2025). The smallest of the breed and also the “cheapest” one is the Frigg 02, which is a solely dynamic-driver-based design. The top model is the Verdande, which is conceptually similar to the Icons, yet is has both bigger horns and also uses larger 15-inch-diameter low frequency driver. As you can plainly see, O Audio is not one of those manufacturers that would offer a dozen or so different models, with different product lines.
Moreover, we can somehow divide these designs into two groups, where one would be the previously mentioned Frigg 02 (which is a three-way dynamic design with all the drivers directly radiating) and the other would consist of Icon 12 and the Verdande. The latter being two-way and being partially a horn-based designs. What we can palpably feel here is not only a certain kind of specialization, but also a clear vision of what they want to do. Because even if we look at the “base” (however this would be really relative here) model solely from an engineering and design perspective, this is something for those who for some reasons may not want the horn. Yet this is still a full-blown floorstanding speaker with the drivers having the cellulose membranes, yet at the same time really modern, for example by the virtue of using the titanium voice-coil formers.
And while there’s no horn to be found, the tweeters in the Friggs sport the Seas’ own DXT leses (which is also used by a few more technically-savvy loudspeaker manufacturers like Kii or Grimm Audio). In other words, summing what this interesting Norwegian company has to offer, we can see that there’s indeed a coherence and a clear idea of what they want to accomplish. Some may perceive O Audio as a somehow a newcomer, but get be fooled by that. Because when I exchanged some e-mails with Jonathan Magnus Cook, who is that one particular Viking that co-founded O Audio, I got a clear sense of something. They are really dedicated to stir the pot and offer some new interesting things. Just look at the subwoofers that they just showed at the Munich show this (2025) year. This is unusual design that can be configured into a line array as Jonathan points out:
“It’s called the The VARG. So the Ø Audio The VARG.
Comes in 1 – 2 -4 or 6 Boxes for line-source. It is passive and comes with a Ø Audio control box instead of DSP, so adjustable analogue Crossover with possible high pass function. It’s a slot loaded – open back box with 4x 15″ drivers from the Verande. Giving no traditional room loading with nodes for an even spread. It’s intended for music and play insane. And who knows, we might be working on a 12″ version for the icons as well. Forget all you have heard from normal subwoofers, this is something very different.”
Coming back to the gist of this review, which is undoubtedly the Icon 12 – and before we proceed to the more technical part – we need to mention the price. Those 26K Euro for a pair is not a pocket change. It’s a sum that is large enough that we not only should, but actually have to have some certain expectations. And I not only mean some isolated and oh-so-objective aspects of the sound. But rather the sound taken as a whole. Because let’s be honest here: speakers that cost this money should be really and utterly entertaining. They also should be able to reproduce every repertoire we throw at them with real ease. Not only from a technical stadpoint (which actually many cheaper speakers can do), but also from a purely musical and even subjective point of view. That latter point I will allow myself to address (especially in the context of many loudspeakers that have this “hi-end” sticker price or badge) at the end of this review. Because for now, it’s high time for a short description of the design. Just one more note here: this one particular review will have a slightly different form, since we’re dealing here with a really interesting and also unusual design, so quite a few technical aspects will be covered in the sound description part.