ONIX AUDIO to OA21
ONIX the brand and how we made it grow
Red Button/Box in the right corner - Ai tab , learn about Everything ONIX
1984 + Adam Worsfold ,Tony Brady & Craig Hill = ONIX AUDIO's Birth
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Click here :- for a rare sketch of Adam & Tony at Thorn EMI ​
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ONIX AUDIO & OA21 - 40 yrs documented history
Earned by us, it cant be bought, or Altered to suit others ​
A Message from our CEO - Adam Worsfold
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This is the only true ONIX AUDIO history, I am a founder and below is the ONIX AUDIO journey . Above is my first business card for ONIX AUDIO in 1984. It was needed to open the first Onix Bank Account and the birth of ONIX AUDIO and ONIX as a brand. I was a one third partner at the time . I owned the ONIX trade mark and in 2014 sued Shanling Digital Tech of China for incorrect use of my trade mark and I won -
Click here for the court verdict
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I opened the first bank account at Barclays Bank London Road Brighton UK in early 1985 . This is the ONIX AUDIO timeline, the Chinese have no right to use it, but they try. .. Shanling Digital Technology of China do not have any ONIX history ..They paid us to use the ONIX name from 2020 - Don't be confused with internet drivel and fiction about this. Its 2025 and after 40 years of existence there is plenty of confusion. It is claimed ONIX AUDIO started in 1979. This would have made it's founders just 16 yrs old. We would have been at school . Really !!! The Chinese company Shanling use our name under license, but they have nothing to do with us and cant use our history they are just a Chinese OEM company . They make MP3 players & we make awesome Hi end British amps - we are OA21 ltd / ONIX AUDIO and we are in the UK. We will help you change your life , by the power of musicality and great sound . Not spec sheets created by lies to sell stuff .. We make everything in England - Never made in China .
In late 1984, 10 prototypes amps were created for R & D , they were never sold. They were built into a half shoe-box size box. They were for test only . In early 1985 the first bank account named "ONIX AUDIO" was opened by Adam Worsfold with Barclays Bank in London Rd Brighton as a sole trader . This is the official birth of ONIX AUDIO. The ONIX OA21 was the first amp ONIX AUDIO sold to the public.
Adam Worsfold & Anthony ( Tony ) Brady had trained together at the UK electronics giant Thorn EMI in audio design and manufacture. They left Thorn EMI in late 1983 . They started to build amps after development in 1985 above a shoe shop at "1b Sydney Street Brighton ". Craig Hill was a salesman at his fathers shop "Brighton HiFi" around the corner so he sold the ONIX OA21 as part of the shops inventory . This is the start of ONIX AUDIO, with all original founders and what they did . Ultimately the start of ONIX as a brand and its success, marking its place in history began in 1985 and continued to this day
Products launched - OA20 & OA21
1986 >
In 1990 5 years after exceptional growth, from selling a just a few amps upto 1985, to selling 1000,s of amps a year in 1990 . ONIX AUDIO then produced a FM Tuner the BWD 1. From 1986 ONIX AUDIO became world known ,starting export to over 28 Countries. Magazines and shows reporting ONIX AUDIO was the best sound at its price point . A tradition we hold until today . We had moved to a new larger facility in Newhaven Sussex UK , 12 Miles away from the shoe shop in Brighton. New local staff had joined the company and helped it to grow - things were good .
In July 1991 Adam Worsfold always on the go and taking on new challenges chose to progress his life and sell up. He chose to retain the brand and name ONIX , and licensed the name to a newly formed company. Selling the new company to Rogers speakers
( Swisstone ltd )
After Adam W Retained the trade mark ONIX it caused confusion when Rogers, was sold to a Chinese Company, who mistakenly thought they bought the brand ONIX along with Rogers . Actually they had not bought the brand ONIX as Rogers did not own it, a problem indeed .
Launched - Soap 2 ,OA24 , OA401 ,OA601 , OA801
1995 >
The Chinese company did little to make any impact selling products that were 100% Chinese, having none of the original ONIX AUDIO ( Design Integrity ) and none of the ONIXDNA paths set by the founders. They had ugly gold colored plastic knobs, and were aesthetically terrible, with poor quality polished plastic fronts, bad electronic design principles . Gallery Click Here . and were just not good.
They claimed they were made by ONIX ELECTRONICS LTD on the back of each unit, a company that was dissolved in 1997 !! These units were made in China hence nothing can really be considered real ONIX AUDIO products during this era 1995 to 2010 . Thankfully most of these units are now in landfill , as not too many were sold because they were Not ONIX in any way, and were just cheap dressed up store stock that have since failed .
Products Launched - Chinese Made OA Units
2010 >
In 2020 the world was hit by Covid 19 , no one realized how much it would change people or their lives. In early 2019 after a few years of negotiations , Adam Worsfold still the owner of "ONIX the brand" agreed to assign "some" IP rights to the same Chinese Company that used it in the1995-2010, in the timeline above.
This was a peace offering for the new era. This also allowed them to make portable units indicative of the brand ONIX and the quality it represents . These units compliment our range well. ONIX AUDIO and the power amps will always be ours, but they use it in a range that fits low power life style.
We are the original ONIX - built in the UK with ONIXDNA
We have direction and a new range in 202X
Products Lunched - DNA ULTIMATE / OA21 Legacy
< 1985
In early 1985 Craig Hill and Tony Brady were having daily arguments, resulting in Craig Hill offering his share of ONIX to Adam Worsfold agreeing to resign entirely . Craig had nothing more to do with ONIX AUDIO or any part of it from 1985. Long before its commercial success .This now making way for Tony Brady choosing to continue as a consultant.
The new redesigned OA21 called the OA21s was the first new design in late 1985, having a new case finishing with rounded corners and a redesigned board by AW. This resulted in a dramatic increase in sales . Its new look with superior sound was considered perfection with ONIX successfully starting international sales to over 28 countries
Adam and Tony collaborated well, with all new products from 1986 being developed by both of them over hours of listening and a pint or two. This was ONIX AUDIO as we know it, and its what made it a commercially known worldwide famous brand in HiFi
The TM ONIX was owned by Adam Worsfold since 1985
Products launched - Soap 1, OA21s & BWD1
< 1991
MP3 was a new compressed music format having less than 20% of the original sonic content ,it took hold with a drastic reduction of quality as the consumer embraced MP3 in pursuit of convenience and portability .
When in 1997 the Chinese owners of the now Closed UK company, (Click Here ) had thought they bought the brand ONIX with their purchase, they then used the brand ONIX on cheap generic Audio Products that were 100%
"Made in China"
These are considered the "dark" days of ONIX
Nothing was made by ONIX or in the UK
Products Launched - Chinese made products
< 2009
ONIX having lost its core values, Adam Worsfold , the original & existing owner of the brand ONIX ( the trade mark ) stopped the unlicensed use of it on Chinese Made products. He regained the brand and it was returned legally after and illegal assignment .ONIX AUDIO returned to its core values, by designing a new range of amplifiers launched in 2016. The great reviews are here Click here
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ONIX was always loved by thousands and was now again on the map . The original classic ONIX OA21 was still the reference for so many, with sonic qualities being the corner stone of ONIX AUDIO. Of course things had changed with the world but quality never dies .
ONIX AUDIO with REAL DNA was back
Products launched - DNA 50 and DNA 45 - Reviews
< 2020
2020 > on
Welcome to OA21 ltd. The British Legacy of ONIX AUDIO > Real coming of age with - OA21
Music was on the streets and ONIX was in the making of a great era
Music was on the streets and ONIX was in the making of a great era
AGELESS DESIGN
When the OA21 was designed 40 years ago we simply did not know a classic was actually born. We sold hundreds of thousands. No one knew that the simple three knob minimalist design an exceptional sonic audio design would stand the test of time and become a part of so many families . 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 and it has proven to have done so
We at OA21 will make sure nothing changes, the heart that goes in to every OA21 Amp
Behind every design there are an important structures for how it is created, people do that ,computers don't.
We are Manufacturers, its in our DNA , we know it's important to understand what you are buying and why.
BWD 1 and Soap 2 from 1984
UK Seaside Town of OA21
Transformer 400VA DNA101
BWD 1 and Soap 2 from 1984