Another PWK Good Write up

[QUiKSR20]

Long before a certain ex-president appropriated it for his campaign

slogans, Hope, Arkansas was known for two things: the world's biggest

watermelons and Paul Klipsch. I've seen his speakers mentioned on the

ng many times. Here's this:

Paul W. Klipsch: 'Tinkerer' in audio, Klipschorn inventor

CHUCK BARTELS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Copyright © 2002 Associated Press.

HOPE, Arkansas. Klipsch, who pioneered high-quality audio systems with

the company he founded, died Sunday. He was 98.

Klipsch became enamored with audio as a boy after his mother moved

the family phonograph into a corner and the sound improved, according

to a company spokesman. An engineer with patents in acoustics,

ballistics and geophysics, Klipsch in 1946 founded the company that

bears his name.

Klipsch created a corner, horn-loaded speaker design that is still

in production. The sound moves from the speaker and uses the walls of

the room to effectively extend the horn, creating a rich sound that

can emulate an orchestral setting.

Born in Elkhart, Ind., in 1904, Klipsch was stationed at the Hope

Proving Grounds during World War II. While in the Army there, he

worked to refine the design of his folded corner woofer, the prototype

of the "Klipschorn."

He settled in Hope, where, after the war, he bought a building at

the old proving grounds and manufactured his first Klipschorn. The

building is now the Klipsch Museum of Audio History, with the current

manufacturing plant nearby.

The company now has its headquarters in Indianapolis.

Klipsch Audio Technologies makes specialty speakers for the home,

for computers and for commercial outlets, such as cinemas and Hard

Rock Cafe. The company makes other electronics-related products as

well.

The son of a mechanical engineer, Klipsch built his first speaker

at age 15, using a set of earphones and a mailing tube, a feat a

company biography notes was accomplished a year before the first

public radio broadcast. Klipsch went on to graduate from New Mexico

State University (now home to the Klipsch School of Electrical &

Computer Engineering), and earned a master's degree in electrical

engineering from Stanford University.

In 1981, he received a doctor of laws degree from New Mexico State

University.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Klipsch worked for

General Electric designing radios, and later he maintained electric

locomotives in Chile for the company. After leaving Stanford, he

worked in Texas as a geophysicist for an oil company. In the Army, he

attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Klipsch patented his loudspeaker design in 1945.

Over the years, Klipsch received numerous honors, including his

1984 induction to the Audio Hall of Fame, and, in 1977, to the

Engineering and Science Hall of Fame. The latter recognizes people

whose work improved the human condition, and its roster includes

Orville and Wilbur Wright, Thomas Edison and George Washington Carver.

The company is now run by Fred S. Klipsch, a cousin to the

founder.

Company spokesman Joshua Hall said Sunday that Paul Klipsch had

remained an important part of the firm.

"He was a tinkerer all his life," Hall said.

------------------

Thanks,

Daryl Gregg

MY Home Theatre Page

Sony STR-DE975 HT Reciever

Sony DVP-NS400D DVD

SB-3 Mains

SC-1 Center

Quintet Rears

KSW-12 Sub

AR Proseries Interconects

R.I.P. Paul W. Klipsch THE LEGEND! 3/9/04 - 5/5/02

[WMcD]

Thanks for the post.

The "tinkerer" might be the most accurate tribute to the man. No disrespect. A forthright investigator and inventor. PWK would like it, I think.

Gil