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Klipsch Quotes


mikehark

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Dear historian,

 

I always tell people my favorite quote from Paul Klipsch is "What the world needs is a good 5-watt amplifier."  This alludes to his famous love of high-efficiency loudspeakers, and the fact that a low-power amp is sufficient to drive them quite well.  I did not see the quote anywhere on the website, despite the fact that PWK was famous for a lot of time-honored quotes.  I'm not sure where I saw this quote, but perhaps you can check it out.   Thanks. 

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FYIW there is a lot of information and quotes and anecdotes here.

 

http://www.klipsch.com/founder

 

I don't see the five-watt amp but maybe I was going to fast.  

 

There are unpublished papers which contain thoughts that would be used in later ones.

 

I imagine it was Jim Hunter who put this together.  Thanks for the work Jim, and others.

 

I'll add that this vault should be read before asking Jim for information on this and that.  I made the mistake of asking about airplanes, thinking the info was not otherwise available.  But he (probably) put together a nice presentation on PWK and airplanes and kindly referred me to it.  

 

Jim did not chastise me even though he could have.  OTOH, it takes a bit of snooping around to find . . . drum roll . . . The Vault.  You have to scroll down to the end and not get distracted by very interesting items before it.

 

WMcD

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Here is one I always liked 

 

As long as man brags of conquest, man will claim his “great
discoveries”.  To try to judge the real from the false will
always be hard.  In this fast growing art of “high fidelity” the
quackery will bear a solid gilt edge that will fool many people. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Belatedly, the original quote (5 watt amplifier) was definitely used by PWK.  It was a derivative of Teddy Roosevelt's quote regarding a 5 cent cigar.  When I run into something accurate to quote, it will be shared, but don't hold your breath right now.

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I heard him say, " . . . not a dime's worth of difference."  in the 70s when asked why the horns were mounted to the rear of the motorboards, rather than flush mounted to the front.

 

He also asked me if I knew the definition of a "patrician."  Before I could reply about the Electro-Voice speaker, he said, "A patrician is someone who steps out of the shower to take a leak."  His entourage rolled their eyes; they had heard it before.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I appreciate your comments Diz.  The book we'd have liked would be much more expansive, maybe four times as long, and included technical details. It would take years to write and require the assistance of engineers close to him. 

 

OTOH looking through it I gained some insights to the circumstances of its composition.  PWK had suffered some small strokes and anyone would have thought that he was not long for this world.   He probably recognized that his mind was slipping away.

 

Further, it is my belief that the praise by Valerie and Roy, and by implication many others, had to be published before PWK lost all powers of comprehension. The same for a review of his many accomplishments, wisdom, and bons mots. (Yeah I looked that up.)

 

I hope that PWK was able to read it because it is a bit of love letter, billet doux, to him.  Before passing he deserved to know how much he was appreciated and will stay in the memory of so many.  A man who is dying and losing his faculties deserves it.  A better book after he died couldn't accomplish such a goal.

 

BTW.  The book is filled with quotes which are more extensive than what we see on the website.  They all are consistent with his wit and wisdom.  Therefore, whether the book is poorly written or not (and again I suspect time constrains were an issue) I think we can agree the quotes are accurate.  I'm sure you agree so please know I'm not at issue with you on accuracy

 

WMcD

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6 hours ago, WMcD said:

I appreciate your comments Diz.  The book we'd have liked would be much more expansive, maybe four times as long, and included technical details. It would take years to write and require the assistance of engineers close to him. 

 

OTOH looking through it I gained some insights to the circumstances of its composition.  PWK had suffered some small strokes and anyone would have thought that he was not long for this world.   He probably recognized that his mind was slipping away.

 

Further, it is my belief that the praise by Valerie and Roy, and by implication many others, had to be published before PWK lost all powers of comprehension. The same for a review of his many accomplishments, wisdom, and bons mots. (Yeah I looked that up.)

 

I hope that PWK was able to read it because it is a bit of love letter, billet doux, to him.  Before passing he deserved to know how much he was appreciated and will stay in the memory of so many.  A man who is dying and losing his faculties deserves it.  A better book after he died couldn't accomplish such a goal.

 

BTW.  The book is filled with quotes which are more extensive than what we see on the website.  They all are consistent with his wit and wisdom.  Therefore, whether the book is poorly written or not (and again I suspect time constrains were an issue) I think we can agree the quotes are accurate.  I'm sure you agree so please know I'm not at issue with you on accuracy

 

WMcD

The Historian is going to write a biography, and you are right, it will take years to do it right.

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