Amy's Blog

The newly restored Brociner Klipschorn has found a home in one of our listening rooms, all tucked away in a corner.  We listened to Hotel California on it yesterday. Sweetness.

Impromptu cell phone pic taken at the local McDonald's. I can almost recall when ice cream gave me so much joy.  I think it was last week.

Back in January I showed you the Brociner Klipschorn, in dire need of TLC.  Now restored to former glory, this Klipsch classic c. 1947 is proudly on display in our engineering lobby. I even jumped a little this morning when I walked by and heard sound coming from it.  It actually crossed my mind that it could be haunted by the ghost of Khorns past. 

Ok, so I hadn't had my coffee yet.

About this Khorn: Serial number 18.  This is one of the 7 units built after the 12 Baldwin units, but before Paul had his own factory.  It was built at Reed’s cabinet shop prior to acquiring the Proving Grounds building (currently the Museum, originally the first factory).  It was shipped to Victor Brociner, as was serial #20, also in the Museum.   Brociner added the crossover network and the cloth covering, and on #20 he added a major amount of “facade cabinetry” to make it look like a liquor cabinet..

Seems lately he might benefit from some noise-isolating headphones.  They work wonders for me when my cube mates shout profanities in my face while I'm trying to do my job. 

Last Friday marked my 9th year with Klipsch.  Hard to believe I was still (barely) in my 20s when I climbed a board the crazy train.  Now here I am, sitting on 40s back porch, pausing for just a minute to take in the air before heading inside.   

One of my initial job duties was to manage the heavily trafficked ProMedia section of our forum.  It was so busy in fact, at times I was quite overwhelmed.  Thank goodness for the devoted members who helped me through, most notably a 16-year-old kid with a passion for great audio.  Justin_TX_16 is now 24 years old, has almost 14,000 posts on our forum, is a student of life, and an amazing photographer.  

I don't think I ever properly thanked Justin for lending a hand back in the day, so I'm taking the opportunity to do so now - by posting one of his breathtaking works of art, the quality of which I can only dare to aspire to.  This one happens to capture the beauty and power of one of my favorite places on earth - Niagara Falls.

You can find this and many other amazing photos on Justin's website

My latest parenting quandary, as the mom of a summer baby, has been the age-old "to kindergarten...or not to kindergarten."  Back in April I made a command decision, with help from daycare providers, grandparents and teacher-friends, that Steven was ready.  He won't turn 5 until August 31, but what the hey - I didn't turn 5 until September of my kindergarten year.  I realize the trend is to "red-shirt" our youth, giving them a leg up socially, academically, and athletically, but at nearly 4 feet tall, "Lurch" already towers over most first graders.  He is also starting to read, does simple addition, and makes friends easier than I do at age 38.

So I confidently took him to his early enrollment interview, which is necessary in our school district when kids don't meet the July cut-off.  I was not privy to the interview, which lasted about an hour.  When the teacher brought him out, she flippantly said "We'll let you know," with no feedback at all as to how he did.  So I asked, "How did he do?"  The answer amazed me:  "He needs to practice more with scissors."

Really?  Scissors?  Ok, but how did he do?  I never got an answer.  

He was denied via canned letter this past week, again with no explanation, and I felt like he had been rejected by Harvard.  Or NASA.  I wonder if he just sat there and picked his nose for the entire hour of the interview.

Of course he has no idea what is going on, and I don't plan on explaining it to him.  Instead, I have chosen to send him to what promises to be an excellent kindergarten program at local Montessori school.  When I drive by the public school now, I simply stick out my tongue.  I'm such a good role model.

It will remain to be seen if he is accepted as a first grader next year at the public school, but if he must repeat kindergarten, I can accept that.  He'll probably go on to be class president and the star of the football team.  But the summer after his junior year, when he is whining about having to go to school for one more year, I will be certain to let him know he would have graduated by now IF HE HAD ONLY PRACTICED MORE WITH SCISSORS.

The saga of the traveling ducks continues.  I've been jealous of their adventures so far, but never so much as I am now because they have been spotted swimming near a Little Rock landmark featured in the opening credits of one of my all-time favorite movies (seen at the 1:35 mark).  In fact, Pugh's Old Mill is believed to be the only remaining structure from that film.

All of a sudden I'm in the mood for some popcorn.

photo courtesy of forum member kj5dq

Mondays after vacation are particularly difficult. As I catch up on my few hundred emails, please take this opportunity to browse through (if you haven't already) our tech blog to learn all you ever wanted to know about the most beautiful speakers in the world.

Thanks go out to Professor Thump for putting together all the terrific information and images.

Yesterday I explored a bit of Indianapolis for the first time in my 38 years here...the Eiteljorg Museum.  Although the western art inside the museum was lovely, even inspiring, this outdoor display was my favorite.  I love how it looks like a herd of deer are about to trample right through downtown.  It makes me pause to think about what this area of the country must have looked like a few hundred years ago... 

Since I'm on vacation this week, you're stuck with photos from home.  This is one of Steven singing loudly along with the "Hot Dog" song from Mickey Mouse Club.  And no, I did not set this up.  He manages these weird poses all by himself. 

I like clever things. Lucky for me I work around clever people with clever ideas.

This little gem is a now see-through Synergy bookshelf speaker, which will be used to collect donations for our on going charity efforts for the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Once again, nice work Jay.

I love this vintage dealer supplement (ugh, I can't believe I just called something from the 80's "vintage") titled "Good Poop On Who's Using Klipsch."  Especially the small inset on the back titled "A Little Poop About The Klipsch MCM System."  Crude?  Perhaps.  But then again, so is "Bullshit."

You can download the full brochure to see who was using Klipsch back then.

While the current Reference Line is sonically stunning and gorgeous to boot, it has never completely escaped the shadow of its loud, proud, rock-n-roll predecessor - the now Classic RF-7.  There was something about this monster that drew people in, chewing them up and spitting them out.

Like a die hard fan of Iron Maiden, you have screamed for its return... for one more farewell tour.  We heard you.  Back for a limited time, along with the persistent little brother and in one of the coolest finishes I have seen, it's sure to bring down the house.

Congratulations to Team Hope -- you have truly converged Beauty with the Beast.

Available soon, only at Klipsch.com

My dad was doing a little house cleaning last week and gave me some items buried in the depth of his closets, including this Nikon N2000.  I remember he was using it during my teen years, and I seem to recall it took really good shots. I'm anxious to try it, if I can figure it out!

I know, how retro of me.  I'll actually have to take the film to...gulp...a photo lab!!