Looking for information on speakers, ( Shinalls )

[staygroovybaby]

Edited December 26, 2015 by staygroovybaby

[Marvel]

There have been some folks on here who have owned Gary's speakers and spoken quite highly of them. I emailed him once to asked about the components he used in his builds.

If you do a search for shinall on the forums, you will find quite a few links.

Many here took offense to what he was doing, but he certainly wasn't going to be cutting in on PWK's business very much.

Bruce

[Sancho Panza]

Welcome, Dean; don't know diddly about those speakers, but, you aren't too far from me.

[moray james]

you have nor said what your interest is? I found the following posted by DJK

RE: Shinall still has an active website. *

• Posted by djk (M) on September 24, 2008 at 14:15:40

  In Reply to: Shinall still has an active website. * posted by mr grits on September 24, 2008 at 08:16:38:

Obituaries

DEATHS FOR FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008 9:36 AM CDT

THE WOODLANDS, Texas â€" Gary G. Shinall, 65, of The Woodlands, Texas died Wednesday.

Gary Shinall
2335 Hickory Hollow
Spring, Texas 77386

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/40215.aspx?PageIndex=10

HDBRbuilder is a ex-Klipsch employee:
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On 4/22/2004 8:07:36 PM HDBRbuilder wrote:

I talked to Mr. Shinall on the phone this afternoon. Here is the scoop from our short conversation.

He sounds like a really nice guy. He is about 60 years old. He lost his long-time job to corporate pull-out to overseas not that long ago. Even when he was working, he built speakers as a sideline thing and has been doing it for over 30 years.

In the 1960's he made a few trips to visit with PWK. He told PWK that he intended to build himself a pair of K-horn copies, because he couldn't afford to buy factory made ones and he thought they were the best speakers made. He bought the drivers and such from PWK for his original copies. Later on in the 1960's, he contacted PWK again and told him he wanted another set of drivers and horns, because he was gonna build a copy of the LaScala for a center channel between his home-built K-horns...BUT he was gonna change the design of the LaScala somewhat so that the cabinet matched up aesthetically with his K-horn copies. PWK sold him the drivers and asked him to send some pictures of what he built. He sent the pictures to PWK, and was very surprised to see the Belle Klipsch come out a year or so later looking very much like the center-channel speaker he had built. He told me that he took great pride in the fact that PWK might have used his re-work of the LaScala cabinet design to base the aesthetics of the Belle Klipsch speaker upon. He did NOT claim to have invented the Belle Klipsch speaker, he just stated that it looked very much like his LaScala re-work design, and he was proud that PWK liked its basic appearance so much that he "adopted" it for the Belle Klipsch.

He has a 3000 square foot shop with a little showroom built into it. He just builds the speakers and puts them into the showroom so that people can listen to them, and if they want them, he will sell them. He said he has been doing this for many years as a sideline and hobby. Most of what he sold over the years was made for people who had heard his speakers and wanted a pair for themselves...basically a "word-of-mouth" advertising thing. I asked him if he intended to expand into a full-blown operation, he said no. He said that he is too old to do anything like that...and he intends to keep things as they are.

His midrange horns are welded up out of sheet aluminum by himself, with welded-on brackets for the drivers to mount to. His XT200 model is built in the same basic aesthetics as the K-horn is (but is NOT triangular in its rear for corner use), with a top-housing containing the tweeter/s and midrange horn, and the lower portion of the cabinet is basically the equivalent of two stacked separate heresy-type sealed cabinets with one 12" short-throw woofer in each one...IOW a large cabinet, with a horizontal divider in it creating the equivalent of two Heresy cabinets in interior volume....sort of a super Heresy. He said the mid-horn is a 600Hz one for that speaker, whereas the midhorn for his K-horn copy is a 400Hz horn. He uses no MDF in his builds, only quality 3/4" plywood. For his smaller speaker, he builds them with butt joints out of a luan-veneered plywood, then veneers over the cabinet's plywood with paper-backed veneer, because it is easier for him than trying to get chip-free miter-cuts using the thin veneers found on TODAY's black walnut-veneered plywood. He prefers the Luan for a good substrate to apply that veneer to because it "grips" the adhesive so well.

He told me that he recently put up a website because somebody had suggested he do so. His website got the attention of Audiogon folks, who in turn got its attention on this forum. He is aware of this thread, and has read it. He sounded hurt about it...and doesn't really understand why he is getting "bashed" so much on this forum. He feels that he is just trying to make a long-time hobby of his pay for itself and show a bit of profit...especially important now that his job left these shores.

I asked him if he had any help or expected to need to hire anybody for his little business. He said that he didn't want to deal with employees and all that, and it would remain a one-man operation as a sideline. He lamented that on occasion he gets a handful of special-orders, but trying to get them out in the high quality build he is proud of causes him to stay up late at night in order to meet the delivery time he gives the customer. He keeps his operation's sales primarily within a small radius of the shop because he normally delivers them himself or the buyer comes to pick them up.

I suggested that in his website he give full credit to PWK for his cornerhorn model design. I think he intends to do so. He said he has had lots of emails ever since this thread began and he can't get anything done AND properly answer all the emails he has at the same time, but he will do his best. He said he answered 25 emails last night alone!

This is what went on in the conversation with him. I will NOT comment on any ethics involved or anything else. Everybody has their own set of ethics and everybody has their own sense of right or wrong. It is not up to me to make those parameters for anybody else. He has a great respect for PWK and his speaker designs...that much was obvious to me...and for ME, that is enough! Anybody else on this forum trying to turn a hobby into something that can support itself and maybe make a bit of profit on the side? Just a thought.

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

Hmmm. I gues I totally forgot about this post in the interim... makes one think. We are a rabidly loyal lot though, aren't we?

More pictures to be found at the following link and that is about all I could find. Best regards Moray James.

http://www.hifichile.cl/index.php?/topic/921-horns/page__st__2400

Edited June 5, 2014 by moray james

[Max2]

I remember his website from 10- 15years ago or so. I think he had one or two speakers that were "different" or at least looked slightly different than all the Heritage models and that was it. Kind of a strange story: I cant afford your speakers, but I'm going to start up a business and copy them right down to every aspect including the cosmetic appearance. Does the name Shinall have any Chinese ties? It just goes to show how much character and couth PWK had.

[Chris A]

See https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/40203-klipsch-knockoffs-shinallhave-you-seen-these/

[Marvel]

Does the name Shinall have any Chinese ties?

Since he has passed away, I think we can ignore a comment like this. Gary Shinall was also a fine gentleman from everything I have ever heard of him.

[moray james]

I cant afford your speakers, but I'm going to start up a business and copy them right down to every aspect including the cosmetic appearance.

I guess that you did not read the post by HBRbuilder that I attached to this thread in post number four? I have zero problem with what Gary did and it seems neither did PWK in fact it does look like Gary was possibly a major inspiration for the best looking Klipsch ever. For that I thank Gary Shinall. Best regards Moray James.

Edited June 6, 2014 by moray james

[Chris A]

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in this case--apparently--the imitation went both ways. While it is clear that Gary imitated Klipsch designs, he also created his own loudspeaker designs, one design of which apparent gave inspiration to PWK to design the Belle Klipsch in the early 70s.

Gary Shinall took great pride in his work: he didn't allow any of his products to go out the door of his workshop without first admonishing the new owner(s) on their proper care for transport, use, and maintenance, for his fierce regard for PWK's designs, and his high regard and friendship with Paul. I own a pair of KKS-1's and they are without a doubt the most beautiful loudspeakers I've owned.

Chris