Paul W Klipsch
Encyclopedia
Paul Wilbur Klipsch was an American engineer
and high fidelity
audio pioneer, known for developing the high-efficiency folded horn loudspeaker, who revolutionized the way the world listens to recorded music. Unsatisfied with the sound quality of phonographs and early speaker systems, Klipsch used scientific principles to develop a corner horn speaker that sounded more lifelike than its predecessors.
The Klipschorn, which today is still manufactured and sold worldwide, proved that it was possible to reproduce the sound of a live orchestra inside a home. The resulting acoustics career of Klipsch spanned from 1946, when he founded one of the first U.S. loudspeaker companies, to 2000 when the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
published one of his papers. He died on May 5, 2002 at the age of 98.
Fred Klipsch, current Klipsch owner and chairman and cousin to founder Paul Wilbur Klipsch, said, “Paul was a verifiable genius who could have chosen any number of vocations, but the world sounds a lot better because he chose audio.”
's second highest honor, the Silver Medal, for his contributions to speaker design and distortion measurement. In 1997, he was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame. In 2004, at the International Consumer Electronics Show
(CES), he was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
.
Klipsch received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering
from New Mexico State University
in 1926, an EE (Engineer's degree
) in electrical engineering from Stanford University
in 1934, and a Doctor of Laws from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 1981. The NMSU engineering department was renamed the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1995, in honor of Paul W. Klipsch.
in West Lafayette, Indiana
. Although he was only 12 when his father passed on, Klipsch's interest in science and engineering endured. He built his first speaker using a mailing tube and a pair of earphones at the age of 15, which was a year before the first public radio broadcast.
After graduating from El Paso High School
, he enrolled at NMSU where he played cornet in the university band and was an award-winning member of the school rifle team. He credits his four years as a member of the Aggie Band for developing his love and knowledge of music and musical instruments.
Following graduation from New Mexico State University
, Klipsch went to work for General Electric
designing radios that were then sold to RCA
. In 1928, he responded to a notice on the GE bulletin board. This resulted in a new job maintaining electric locomotives in Chile
for three years before entering graduate school at Stanford. After receiving his EE Degree, Klipsch worked as a geophysicist for a Texas oil company. He later served in the U.S. Army during World War II
, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
.
It was during his service at the Southwest Proving Grounds located in Hope, Arkansas
that Klipsch refined his corner horn speaker design. Visitors to his officer's quarters were amazed by the lifelike reproduction and encouraged Klipsch to start his own manufacturing business. He received a patent
on his loudspeaker design in 1945, registered the name Klipsch & Associates in 1946, and began making each loudspeaker with his own two hands until he hired his first employee in 1948.
During a videotaped interview in 1999, Klipsch claimed that he did not, in fact, name the Klipschorn himself. He said that he made a sales call to a man in New York City during the first years of operating Klipsch & Associates and, surprisingly, the business prospect already knew about the revolutionary new loudspeaker. "We've heard all about your corner horn," the man said. "We call it the Klipschorn."
. "The hell I can't," Klipsch said. "And that's exactly what I'm going to call it!"
A year later the Klipsch Heresy loudspeaker was introduced and it became a bestseller in the church sound reinforcement market.
While the official company motto is “The Ultimate Sound Experience,” the unofficial one is “Bullshit
.” Klipsch started using the slogan after reading a competitor’s loudspeaker ad that made claims of supposed “breakthroughs.” After that, he wore a yellow "Bullshit" button behind his lapel and showed it to anyone he felt was making an outlandish claim.
Many of the outrageous, but absolutely true stories of the eccentricities of Paul W. Klipsch were captured by author Jim Shahin in a 1989 interview for American Way Magazine, who told of his taking notes during sermons so as to better take issue with exasperated ministers after the service. Parishioners even remember his walking over pews to get out of church. He also retells of an audio retailer’s recollection of Klipsch drilling a hole through the top of his Mercedes to install a gauge of some kind.
The Klipschorn is the only speaker in the world that has been in continuous production, relatively unchanged, for over 60 years.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and high fidelity
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
audio pioneer, known for developing the high-efficiency folded horn loudspeaker, who revolutionized the way the world listens to recorded music. Unsatisfied with the sound quality of phonographs and early speaker systems, Klipsch used scientific principles to develop a corner horn speaker that sounded more lifelike than its predecessors.
The Klipschorn, which today is still manufactured and sold worldwide, proved that it was possible to reproduce the sound of a live orchestra inside a home. The resulting acoustics career of Klipsch spanned from 1946, when he founded one of the first U.S. loudspeaker companies, to 2000 when the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
published one of his papers. He died on May 5, 2002 at the age of 98.
Fred Klipsch, current Klipsch owner and chairman and cousin to founder Paul Wilbur Klipsch, said, “Paul was a verifiable genius who could have chosen any number of vocations, but the world sounds a lot better because he chose audio.”
Honors
In 1978, Paul W. Klipsch was awarded the Audio Engineering SocietyAudio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
's second highest honor, the Silver Medal, for his contributions to speaker design and distortion measurement. In 1997, he was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame. In 2004, at the International Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
(CES), he was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame, founded by the Consumer Electronics Association , honors leaders whose creativity, persistence, determination and personal charisma helped to shape the industry and made the consumer electronics marketplace what it is today...
.
Klipsch received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
in 1926, an EE (Engineer's degree
Engineer's degree
An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering that is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, and a few institutions in the United States....
) in electrical engineering from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1934, and a Doctor of Laws from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 1981. The NMSU engineering department was renamed the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1995, in honor of Paul W. Klipsch.
Education and career
Klipsch's interest in engineering was influenced by his father, an instructor of mechanical engineering at Purdue UniversityPurdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
in West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette, Indiana
As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...
. Although he was only 12 when his father passed on, Klipsch's interest in science and engineering endured. He built his first speaker using a mailing tube and a pair of earphones at the age of 15, which was a year before the first public radio broadcast.
After graduating from El Paso High School
El Paso High School
El Paso High School is the oldest operating high school in El Paso, Texas and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It serves the West-Central section of the city, roughly west of the Franklin Mountains and north of Interstate 10 to the vicinity of Executive Center Boulevard...
, he enrolled at NMSU where he played cornet in the university band and was an award-winning member of the school rifle team. He credits his four years as a member of the Aggie Band for developing his love and knowledge of music and musical instruments.
Following graduation from New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
, Klipsch went to work for General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
designing radios that were then sold to RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
. In 1928, he responded to a notice on the GE bulletin board. This resulted in a new job maintaining electric locomotives in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
for three years before entering graduate school at Stanford. After receiving his EE Degree, Klipsch worked as a geophysicist for a Texas oil company. He later served in the U.S. Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
It was during his service at the Southwest Proving Grounds located in Hope, Arkansas
Hope, Arkansas
Hope is a small city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2008 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,378...
that Klipsch refined his corner horn speaker design. Visitors to his officer's quarters were amazed by the lifelike reproduction and encouraged Klipsch to start his own manufacturing business. He received a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on his loudspeaker design in 1945, registered the name Klipsch & Associates in 1946, and began making each loudspeaker with his own two hands until he hired his first employee in 1948.
During a videotaped interview in 1999, Klipsch claimed that he did not, in fact, name the Klipschorn himself. He said that he made a sales call to a man in New York City during the first years of operating Klipsch & Associates and, surprisingly, the business prospect already knew about the revolutionary new loudspeaker. "We've heard all about your corner horn," the man said. "We call it the Klipschorn."
Eccentricities
The eccentric touch and no-compromise spirit of Paul W. Klipsch has indeed become part of the consumer electronics industry, the practice of engineering, and acoustic research itself. For example, Klipsch related that when he was developing a smaller speaker for use between two Klipschorns, an acquaintance declared that he couldn't possibly introduce it to the public because it was in direct violation of Klipsch's own corner horn principles, and amounted to acoustic heresyHeresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. "The hell I can't," Klipsch said. "And that's exactly what I'm going to call it!"
A year later the Klipsch Heresy loudspeaker was introduced and it became a bestseller in the church sound reinforcement market.
While the official company motto is “The Ultimate Sound Experience,” the unofficial one is “Bullshit
Bullshit
Bullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
.” Klipsch started using the slogan after reading a competitor’s loudspeaker ad that made claims of supposed “breakthroughs.” After that, he wore a yellow "Bullshit" button behind his lapel and showed it to anyone he felt was making an outlandish claim.
Many of the outrageous, but absolutely true stories of the eccentricities of Paul W. Klipsch were captured by author Jim Shahin in a 1989 interview for American Way Magazine, who told of his taking notes during sermons so as to better take issue with exasperated ministers after the service. Parishioners even remember his walking over pews to get out of church. He also retells of an audio retailer’s recollection of Klipsch drilling a hole through the top of his Mercedes to install a gauge of some kind.
Legacy
In addition to the Klipschorn and Heresy, the Klipsch Rebel, Shorthorn, Cornwall, La Scala, and Belle Klipsch are among the most well known loudspeakers developed by Paul W. Klipsch. Many of these models, which are regarded as some of the worlds finest, are still manufactured and sold around the world today.The Klipschorn is the only speaker in the world that has been in continuous production, relatively unchanged, for over 60 years.
Patents
- Stock-and-barrel assembly for firearms. US patent 2205982. Klipsch, P.W., 6/25/1940.
- Wave synthesizing network. US patent 2230803. Klipsch, P.W., 2/4/1941.
- Electrical prospecting with alternating current. US patent 2231013. Klipsch, P.W., 2/11/1941.
- Recording seismic waves. US patent 2232612. Klipsch, P.W., 2/18/1941.
- Seismic prospecting. US patent 2232613. Klipsch, P.W., 2/18/1941.
- Equalizer. US patent 2238023. Klipsch, P.W., 4/8/1941.
- Electrical prospecting. US patent 2243428. Klipsch, P.W., 4/27/1941.
- Mixing circuit for electrical prospecting. US patent 2251549. Klipsch, P.W., 8/5/1941.
- Method of electrical prospecting. US patent 2293024. Klipsch, P.W., 8/11/1942.
- Firearm vibration control. US patent 2302699. Klipsch, P.W., 11/14/1942.
- Horn for loud-speaker. US patent 2310243. Klipsch, P.W., 2/9/1943.
- Loudspeaker. US patent 2373692. Klipsch, P.W., 4/17/1945.
- Rotating band tester. US patent 2450003. Klipsch, P.W., 9/28/1948.
- Loud-speaker horn. US patent 2537141. Klipsch, P.W., 1/9/1951.
- Crossover filter network. US patent 2612558. Klipsch, P.W., 9/30/1952.
- Loudspeaker (Rebel). US patent 2731101. Klipsch, P.W., 9/30/1952.
- Logarithmic converter circuit. US patent 3330966. Klipsch, P.W., 7/11/1967.
- Small dimension low frequency folded exponential horn loudspeaker with unitary sound path and loudspeaker system including same. US patent 4138594. Klipsch, P.W., 2/6/1979.
- Low frequency folded exponential horn loudspeaker apparatus with bifurcated sound path. US patent 4210223. Gillum, G. C./ Klipsch, P.W., 7/1/1980.
- Crossover network for optimizing efficiency and improving response of loudspeaker system. US patent 4237340. Klipsch, P.W., 12/2/1980.
- Anechoic chamber arrangement. US patent 4387786. Klipsch, P.W/Hunter, J. R., 6/14/1983.
External links
- Official Klipsch Audio Technologies website
- 1980 Interview transcript of Klipsch by Audio Engineering SocietyAudio Engineering SocietyEstablished in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
, retrieved August 8, 2008 "Horn for Loudspeaker", filed February 1940, issued February 1943