Klipsch Product Expansion?

[shakenUp Design]

Hello out there fellow audiophiles. I've got a wicked idea and I want to let ya'll in on it; maybe you can help. I'm new to Klipsch, with only an iGroove HG under my belt (though the Synergy series is calling my name), but I'm hooked. I've used the iGroove HG at school, all day every day and it hasn't showed even the slightest sign of wear yet... [8-|]

Alright, I'll quit stringing you along... I'll reveal my idea in the form of a question: "What if Klipsch designed a commuter car chalked full of Klipsch sound, design cues and brand values?"

That's just the question I posed to Tom Matano, the director of Transportation Design at the Academy of Art University here in San Francisco. I am a junior studying industrial design, participating in a class-wide project to design and fabricate 1/5th scale models of a commuter vehicles for non-transportation oriented companies for the year 2020. I have chosen Klipsch as my brand, and am currently researching innovative seating positions and powertrains.

My question to all you audiophiles out there is how to really capture the Klipsch brand values and design cues into this car. In other words, what makes Klipsch Klipsch, not Bose, JBL, Infinity, etc.? From my research, I've established key words to help define Klipsch. I started with Sarah Knight's definition of Klipsch "Power, Detail, Emotion" to help me find these words. Power stuck, but Precision replaced Detail and Poised replaced Emotion (the car will be poised to help you experience differing emotions). If you have any other opinions on what Klipsch stands for and what words best describe their products, please let me know so I can better this design.

In return for graciously helping this design student, I'll post photos weekly on how the design is developing for 6 or so weeks, and if you are really interested, I can post photos of the progress on the clay model as well (not quite as interesting) which will take up much of the rest of the semester. At the end of the semester (14 short weeks from now), I will post the photos of the final presentation and let you all know how I did.

I'll be online almost every day to entertain questions and respond to any advice, opinions, and especially crazy ideas.

Thanks so much for reading.

TJ Vaninetti

PS - Attached is a photo of my presentation for my previous Transportation Design course.

[dtel]

Well to start, Klipsch is famous for HORNS, and Efficiency, and of course a great live sound. Anybody else?

[Klipsched with Yamahas]

Actually, Memphis did this w/PEPSI truck (if you remember the commercial).

Great advisement and marketing tool IMO..........SPONSORSHIP! Hmmmm......now maybe you just tipped me on to something there!

Hey Amy............???????(lol) Like HK/JBL and JL's aggreement w/Unique Whips:

http://manuals.harman.com/articlefiles/JBL/CAR/JBL%20Sponsors%20UnSips%20TV%20Show.pdf

Back on topic, best wishes on your project, but from my perspective, I bought my Klipsch Cornwalls with the intent of them being a "lifetime investment", and still after 24 years, I won't give them up! Plain and simple, they still beat many units hands down.

[shakenUp Design]

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll add "durable" and "efficient" to my list of describers. I was thinking durable 'cause my iGroove HG lasted a whole semester with loud music and tough wear and tear (a very tough task indeed), and I believe "efficiency" works well for the project, as my powertrain will most likely be fuel cell technology.

To clarify, this "Klipsch Car" isn't an existing car thats gonna be "Klipsched out". It's a new design from the ground up, with a very different twist on city transporation. For those interested, I'll fill you in on some details:

The car must fit in a 3 meter by 1.8 meter footprint.

The car must have an innovative seating arrangement for up to four adults.

The car must use fuel efficient technologies.

I am using the samurai and kantana sword as inspirational images, as they both appear powerful, precice, and poised (my design keywords).

Here is a page of preliminary sketches I've done. This is the direction I am planning on developing and I'm interested to hear what you have to say ...

TJ Vaninetti

[boom3]

Welcome to the cult. We can always use another medicine man.

There should be a folded horn in there somewhere []

Seriously, the older Klipsch PWK Vee could be incorprated into the grille..or maybe the whole grille.

Paul was very much in favor of fuel-efficient transport....as he once wrote: "Bragging about how much [amplifier] power your speaker can "take" is like bragging about how much gas your car can burn"

Paul actually had some ultra-moderne styling cues in his older speakers and some designs that never made it into production. They still look fresh after 50+ years.

[ZAKO]

ShakeupDesign......Welcome to insanity. I see your following in the footsteps of SYD MEAD my favorite futurest designer.... Looking at the flow of your artistic talents, your on your way to greatness. Yes the Klipsch audio concepts can be incorperated into the interior of a car. But dont be constraned by what goes on here. That could be a concept trap. The Art Center of Los Angelous, was a school for me to think outside of the box, or corner....With all the jelly bean designs of autos today, drive a wedge into those designs. Good luck.

[skonopa]

This is my take on the Klipsch speakers.

Sarah Knight's definition is spot-on with the "Power, Detail, and Emotion". Also, I found the Klipsch to be very Dynamic in thier musical presentation, especially when paired with a good amplifier. I found the dynamics and clarity to be unbelievable in my RF-7s driven by a B&K amp. For example, I've listened to other makes and models of speakers, such as the Martin Logan, but the thing that really struck me was how well the percussion (i.e., drums) came out of the Klipsch. Also, the vocals were extremely clear and legible on the Klipsch as well. By "detail", that means how you could hear every little nuance in a performance. One of my friends told me that he has never heard anthing so clean and detailed as on my own setup. He could not believe how easy it was to pickout and hear each individual instrument. Your "precision" and "poised" also seem to fit very nicely as well. These speakers do have a very precise feel to them when listening to the music as well.

The Effeciency angle is definity a hallmark of Klipsch design, especially in the larger models. Just take a cruise through the "two-channel" section of this forum, and you'll see just how many of those guys up there are listening with tube gear that provides maybe 20 watts max in most typical cases. I've heard some of those setups, and they do indeed sound incredible, even with the power/progressive metal that I typically like to listen to on my own setup. Also, the Klipsch are very inexpensive for what you are getting! You can buy quite a bit of speaker for a relatively small amount of money, compared to many of the other high-end brands out there. They have an excellent price to performance ratio.

To sum up - I think the following "keywords", in addition to the ones already discussed, probably also best describes Klipsch and worth exploring in your design goals for this project:

Dynamic
Clarity
Value

Also, one of the marketing slogans Klipsch has used recently was "A Legend In Sound". Maybe something there you could take a cue from.

Also to add - how would this all compare to an experience I'd like to get out of a vehicle. I guess if I wanted to get that same "Klipsch experience" out of a car, I'd want something that would be fun and easy to drive, That it could take corners with precision, that let me feel the road with clarity, like I am actually part of the machine (much like how the Klipsch often make me feel like I am actually experiencing and being a part of the performance instead of just merely listening to a record through some speakers) . Also, the vehicle must be able to perform with all kinds of different road condtions, much like how the Klipsch does so well with all different types of music. I've heard metal, jazz, and classical on my own system and thought how awesome they all sounded (well, except maybe rap, but then again, I think rap sucks regardless what its played on - you could only polish a turd so much, but it is still a turd). But at the same time, it must be effiecent, but with plenty of power. I could stomp the accelerator and it'll get me from 0 to Jail inside of 5 seconds (crank up these Klipsch to loud, and the cops will definitly be at my door, but they maintain that loudness with incredible clarity and detail - no distortion - this is were the "Power" comes in), but the thing is not sucking up gas like a marathon runner sucking up water on a hot day, much like you don't need a kilowatt amplifer to get serious concert-level sound out of the Klipsch. At the same time, another aspect of Klipsch is that they offer an awesome price to performance ratio, which the likes of Bose cannot even begin to touch! I've paid around $1,800 for my RF-7s, but I've heard speakers that cost three or more times as much, but still prefered the RF-7s. Basically getting Ferrari performance, but at Honda prices with the Klipsch.

Will be interesting to see what you eventually come up with. I'll have to keep watching this space to see.

[oldbuckster]

People who know what they want in a speaker buy KLIPSCH.......................simple....................EH ?????????

[shakenUp Design]

Thanks for the great information, skonopa! I really like to hear other people's take on Klipsch, as I am new to the brand and I know you all know much more about the company than I do.

Here is a panel explaining my prospected seating position. Let me know what you think.

TJ Vaninetti

shakenUp Design

[skonopa]

Thanks for the great information, skonopa! I really like to hear other people's take on Klipsch, as I am new to the brand and I know you all know much more about the company than I do.

Here is a panel explaining my prospected seating position. Let me know what you think.

TJ Vaninetti

shakenUp Design

No problem!

Before I continue, let me qualify myself a bit. I am a software engineer and have been working in the "real world" for the past 14 years. I have done user interface design, as well as taken classes in the subject as well as having taken classes in industrial design and art. I am certainly no expert, but I do have some real world as well as classroom experience in the field. I've always had a fascination with this type of stuff. I like what you got going thus far. This is pretty cool, plus it is cool to see how your design will evolve.

Anyway, the seating position looks pretty cool. However, I don't know about that heel actuated accelerator and brake pedal, though. That does not look like it would be very comfortable, especially for longer trips. I tend to like to stretch my legs out while I am driving. Granted, this is supposed to be a commuter vehicle and probably not something meant for cross-country treks. Still, it is not inconcievable that this could be used on 30+ mile commutes (such as my own), thus I tend to like to stretch out a bit. Plus, I've alway found a light touch of the toe on the accelerater is all I need to control the speed, something that would not be easy to do with the heel (thus taking away from some of that "precision" discussed above). I guess I can assume this thing would have some type of cruise control, but if I streched my legs out, that would take my foot away from the pedals and make it more difficult to react in an emergancy situation (deer runs out in the road and I need to make a quick maneuver, which may include braking, to avoid hitting it). I think that pedal position would not be something intuitive to find in a hurry in an emergency situation.

Keep up the cool work - will be interesting to see where this goes (and perhaps be fun to throw some input myself). Wonder, when this is all done, it could be displayed in June at the Klipsch "Pilgramage" in the Klipsch headquarter's lobby. Pretty cool, a "Klipsch inspired" car!

[Klipsched with Yamahas]

While I am no Gary Biggs or Mark Eldridge, I have learned quite a bit from Mark and other "designers of car audio systems" that compete at a high level. Big obtrusive dashes are a big NO NO.....slimmer, shorter the better, and for speaker imaging (firing forward w/kick panels, or the like). Finally, maximize the distance between the listener and source and project balanced sound at ear level. OH, and don't copy a Trans Am design (lol).......too many obstacles, glass, and sharp angles to fight without performing "automotive surgery".

Probably should have taken a course.........and saved a tremendous amount of time, money and energy. Of course, that's 1/2 the battle/fun of learning. I'll stay away from materials, and other details since I can go on and on and on!

[DrWho]

How much time do you have for this project? You should consider partaking in the Klipsch pilgrimage this summer if you want some inspiration [] Or you can just read all of the posts in the Klipsch Pilgrimage section of the forum.

So is this car of yours going to have speakers? You should hit up one of the Klipsch engineers for some crazy custom hornloaded ideas...they could probably make you one of them cloudy clear plastic prototype horn dohickeys with their fancy laser guided plastic exploding machine thing (man i so forget the name for it...).

[ZAKO]

A friend of mine in England Carl Fisher ...Designed for Voxhall...He was the interior design expert...He says feet forward is most relaxing & safer...A speaker design for inrerior headliner Has been developed & can be shapped to cover inside of roof..& subwoofer under seat. His friend Wilson designed the Jaguar XK8 before for he died. Another associate of mine at Buick also did dash board & interior door design says the offset of driver makes good stereo imaging very difficult.

[shakenUp Design]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After meeting with the instructor, lots of advice was given. Many changes have come into effect and new design directions are being analysed as we speak. I've revamped different seating layouts, though my exterior design direction will most likely dictate where the passengers sit. I was actually really ill from wednesday on, and have just been able to access the computer today to give ya'll an update. I'll post some photos on Thursday, which should explain more and have more relevence.

Cheers,

TJ Vaninetti, on the mend

[Bill Cain]

While it may be difficult to directly translate a design philosophy in speakers to one in automobiles, Ill chime in. What the hey.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

What has always drawn me to Klipsch speakers are the honesty, purity and timelessness of the designs. I refer to the K-Horn, La Scala and Heresy, only, as points of reference. For me, these are the three most definitive speakers produced by Klipsch and others are variations. I say this NOT to start a debate but to limit the Klipsch products to be used as design examples. Humor me..

Any design must be one that will be as desired in 2037 as in 2007. The K-Horn meets such criteria, as do the other examples.

While it has been tweaked, it is very similar to the earliest examples. Everything else, design-wise, flows from the K-Horn. The La Scala is a more portable version that has a self-contained bass horn. The Heresy is even more portable, yet does not abandon the mid-range or tweeter philosophy of the K-Horn OR the La Scala. Only in the heretical woofer does it deviate from classic all-horn configurations.

Relative Efficiency is the hallmark of all three examples Ive put forth. From that efficiency is derived the ability to perform at high levels with modest power. An automobile COULD follow this basic tenet. So your basic design would have to be light, rigid and easy to produce, with an efficient engine. It need not be cheap, but it must be capable of great performance and classic lines. It should not look OLD in a few years.

If it has classic looks, great performance and is efficient, it will retain desirability. That will insure lasting value. People should not ask, What year? They will ask, What model?

What you will re-invent is the Volkswagen. LOL []

[DrWho]

What you will re-invent is the Volkswagen. LOL []

Except that it will drive like a car.... [][]

[Trey Cannon]

Cool Idea.

Everyone has offered some good input for you.

Being a hands on guy, I think of how you can get the audio into the car and make it sound like an audio system and not a boom box.

Use the spaces in the cab that are not used in the standard car.

Use the front pillers for mid cabinets.

For stereo, use right and left speakers for each set. ( L R L R) for the front 2 sets.

OR use DSP to control where the sound goes.

I like the logo in the girll, that would be cool

PWK cut holes in his fancy car dash to put in gages and speakers that the car "needed from the start".

Do keep us in the loop.

[Klipsched with Yamahas]

Let me add one more thing, and then I'm finished:

I know a few guys running ID (Image Dynamics) Horn-loaded compression drivers (HLCD) and they either sound horrible or deadon. Horns in automotive application are a REAL challenge, and generally require (2) separate 30 band EQ's to manage the sound.

I originally was gonna go that route, but found it cost prohibitive, and the time required for precise tuning. Having said that this guy has a phenomenal system, and has been in several magazines and won 1st place year after year in MECA (Master Class). I've actually had the chance to audition his vehicle, and the imaging is second to none. You hear sounds eminating from locations where there are NO SPEAKERS.

http://www.teamgates.org/com_6_2004.html

In closing, I would love to hear a proto-type setup of KLIPSCH products in an automotive environment!

[shakenUp Design]

Hello again,

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I love all the technical information you are giving me, though the design of the car will have little to do with the acoustical qualities of the interior space. Good advice for my friend installing speakers in his car though. [] This particular project is to evolve a design from the ideas I am generating into an external form of a small vehicle. Remeber, I am designing the sculptural surfaces on the exterior of the vehicle alone, while trying to caputre the "Klipsch" feeling in the emotion of the design.

The next class on Wednesday will narrow down my two proposal directions into a final direction, and in two short weeks time, I should have a final sculptural shape locked in. Here are a few directions I am pursuing, though the "Klipsch" feel is not quite there yet. Let me know what ya think and how my designs can gain that "Klipsch" feeling. I will probably ask the same thing next week. []

TJ Vaninetti

This is one design direction. The next post has a photo from last week's assignment and how I've evolved the design.

[shakenUp Design]

Here is the Photo from last week.

TJ Vaninetti