Sound & Vision Interview of Michael Klipsch

[WMcD]

Attached is a one page interview of Michael Klipsch. You'll notice that a website is given at the bottom of the page where you can read more.

The attachment is about 0.25 mB. Our dial up members can handle that I believe.

Gil

S&V Michael Klipsch.pdf

[DrWho]

eep

Thanks Gil

[pauln]

Vision: "People dont have as much time as they used to, so having whole-house sound makes more sense than sitting on the couch and listening to a pair of speakers."

Ominous Translation: "We are going to focus on the majority segment of the LowFi market that niether knows of nor cares for our founder PWK's fundamental philosophy and approach to building speakers and reproducing music in the home. The sacrifice of stereo geometry, sound stage depth, dynamics, efficiency, frequency response, low distortion, and all the other things that make modern listening so tedious will be vastly outweighed by the hugh profits of low quality high volume sales to the ignorant consumer public. The audiophile public out there still living in the dark ages that insists on sitting down to consciously enjoy a two channel pair of speakers will be marginalized and eventually abandoned; speakers for these audiophiles will be phased out the way of the dinosaur. Our market research informs us that the general public is happily satisfied by what they hear coming from inexpensive arrays of overhead direct radiators in the food courts of their shopping malls - may just need to add a little sub in each room of the house. The slogan for our new vision: Twinkle and Boom in Every Room! Get it?"

[westcott]

Attached is a one page interview of Michael Klipsch. You'll notice that a website is given at the bottom of the page where you can read more.

The attachment is about 0.25 mB. Our dial up members can handle that I believe.

Gil

It seems S&V has removed the link or any reference to michael klipsch when doing a site search.

[pauln]

Maybe they read my post...

[Arky]

I like my big boxes.

[westcott]

I do not have a problem with Klipsch expanding their product line to address the less audio savy buyer. As long as they do not stop making the larger speakers, as well.

I am a little disappointed in the direction the subwoofers went this year. I would have prefered an updated RSW15 with equalization and\or position feedback to get that last few dB at the bottom end. I am not a fan of corner placement of subs now a days, especially one as capable as the RSW15 is. Their new design implies that this is the only place to put a sub and that bothers me.

I have seen a growing trend of more but smaller drivers. This flys in the face of the advantages of horn technology and introduces phase and time alignment issues that standard direct radiating speakers have and I prefer to stay away from it. Once again, market pressures wants slimmer, more foot print friendly designs by someone who responded to marketing surveys, but I agree Arky, give me big boxes. I hope we have not seen the last of 10" and 15" drivers in the reference series and subwoofers, but I am afraid I am wrong.

[Amy]

Vision: "People dont have as much time as they used to, so having whole-house sound makes more sense than sitting on the couch and listening to a pair of speakers."

Ominous Translation: "We are going to focus on the majority segment of the LowFi market that niether knows of nor cares for our founder PWK's fundamental philosophy and approach to building speakers and reproducing music in the home. The sacrifice of stereo geometry, sound stage depth, dynamics, efficiency, frequency response, low distortion, and all the other things that make modern listening so tedious will be vastly outweighed by the hugh profits of low quality high volume sales to the ignorant consumer public. The audiophile public out there still living in the dark ages that insists on sitting down to consciously enjoy a two channel pair of speakers will be marginalized and eventually abandoned; speakers for these audiophiles will be phased out the way of the dinosaur. Our market research informs us that the general public is happily satisfied by what they hear coming from inexpensive arrays of overhead direct radiators in the food courts of their shopping malls - may just need to add a little sub in each room of the house. The slogan for our new vision: Twinkle and Boom in Every Room! Get it?"

Yet another harsh statement from you pauln. And completely false....well, maybe misleading is a better word. You act as if we are abandoning our roots? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[westcott]

Attached is a one page interview of Michael Klipsch. You'll notice that a website is given at the bottom of the page where you can read more.

The attachment is about 0.25 mB. Our dial up members can handle that I believe.

Gil

It seems S&V has removed the link or any reference to michael klipsch when doing a site search.

It seems that it has been reposted.

Here is the link.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/interviews/2222/michael-klipsch-of-klipsch-audio-technologies.html

[Groomlakearea51]

I read (and re-read...) the interview. IMHO, Mr. Klipsch makes a very strong statement for the Heritage (and by default, the RF series) which, to me, translates: "They are getting more popular again so we're gonna keep making them for the forseable future". S&A may probably/possibly have edited the interview for length and it's likely that Mr. Klipsch may have clarified further on the "why" of targeting certain segments, but since the S&A editors probably needed a certain length, they went for the "key" statements, rather than explanations; thus the article "hit the street" as we read it.

That being said, it would seem to me as Klipsch is going to go after the market that currently Bose (and others...) cater to, it will be an interesting "war". Klipsch should eventually either win, or carve out a very solid chunk of it, by virtue of quality in construction, technology, and their ability to adapt to the different "unwashed masses" listening environments. Bose thinks numbers; I believe Klipsch thinks quality which = "repeat customers"....

Think of it this way; Joe Sixpack walks into "Electro-City"; instead of just the Bose, he now hears Klipsch in various incarnations. He decides... Walks out with a reasonably priced Klipsch system. Can Klipsch do it cheaper than Bose? - I think so at least at the "entry level" versions of the "whole house" HT, etc. system. But in that bag with the receipt.... (or better still, inside the boxes...) is a "down to earth", "plain talk" brochure on the Heritage and Reference Series.... Get's Joe Sixpack thinking!!.... "Wow, if this sounds this good, I wonder....".

Marketing is a funny thing. You gotta be aggressive, and if you want to stay in business, you gotta' go after the markets... I know... I write competitive grants. You gotta' sell the folks with the money that your idea for getting their "free money" is better that everyone else's... The hardest thing to do when you're in tight competition with others in the same business is to think outside the "box". I remember when I first ran across Klipsch in 1971, and being the unsophisticated, underpaid GI...., I went after JBL, AR, etc. The Klipsch were there, but the salesman in the PX and Audio club was getting a vendor commission for the other stuff. How do I know; I did a part time gig in the Audio Club in Berlin while off duty (to raise more money for that first pair of Klipschorns..) and the Marantz and Bose vendor folks were blunt about it: "Sell a customer a Marantz or a pair of 901's, and you get 5%"". The target market for Klipsch back in the day was not really us at that age; it was the more mature (older...?) afficionado who had an understanding of what Klipsch designs really were! But times are a changin' as Bob said....

At the early age of life, we tend to concentrate on SPL; music is often nothing more than a tool in the social world to have fun, etc (let's not go there...).... I say, give it to them, but lay in the seed for when that desire for SPL is overtaken by common sense, and let's not forget "furniture, decor, and real high quality sound", that comes with age, income, WAF, etc. Besides, and is a good example, my daughter thinks this way, "daddy, my iPod and headphones sounds better than those old Klipschorns or whatever you call them that you put in my room and take up so much space" (footprints are important to the unwashed masses!!)...[:S] We do need to work on that. She's grown up with nothing but Heritage stuff around our home, but that's not important to her. Her friends (she's almost 16) came over a while ago and I entertained them (cast the pearls before the swine...) with K'horns & LaScala's. They were amazed, but.... their questions related to money, footprint and portability! GM did it right with the Corvette. Sell them a Nova or a Camaro, make sure it has a 396 and a 4 speed, but make sure they have to walk past the Vette to get to the Camaro (and pause along the way...). They still make the Corvette....

Suggestion for Amy and the Klipsch Crew? What about a post from Mr. Klipsch for all of us older "fanatics" that outlines where the hardcore Klipsch group figures in the grand scheme, and what we can expect in the next few years. It would be interesting!

BTW, my daughter really wants one those Klipsch iPod "thingies"....[G] Well, there goes another pair of Heresy's out the door to fund that request... [6]

[westcott]

I would give anything to hear Klipsch commercials every two or three hours instead of the Bose brainwashing material. It makes my skin crawl to listen to the misrepresentations spouted for minutes at a time. I have to mute it or switch stations otherwise my blood pressure rises.

Klipsch could dominate speaker sales if they spent what Bose does in commercials and had a product with the same profit margins and price range. But if they did that, who would we have to bash for poor price\performance ratios? I would have a moral problem with it and I would hope Klipsch would too!

Klipsch may be well known among the well informed, but he average iPod user has no idea who they are. But say Bose and it is another story.

[Groomlakearea51]

I would give anything to hear Klipsch commercials every two or three hours instead of the Bose brainwashing material.

...., who would we have to bash for poor price\performance ratios?

Klipsch may be well known among the well informed, but he average iPod user has no idea who they are. But say Bose and it is another story.

I'd love to see a Klipsch commercial; Let's go with a James Bond kinda' guy. Walks in, couple of jiggly babes on either arm; walks over and turns up the Klipschorn's; winks, fade-out. The Geico guy's voice.... "Klipsch - The ultimate in the listening Experience"....[H]

Bashing? When you are on the moral "high ground", you don't bash, you "pontificate".....[D]

I'll give my daughter (and her cretinous boyfriends...) credit.... They had heard Bose, then they heard Klipsch; Small victories for the cause... Veni, Vidi, Vici. [6]

[marems]

I have ran into that same situation reguarding Bose. My grandparents were haveing some problems with their Advent speakers, and they thought about purchasing a new pair of speakers. All of the sudden there came that name... "Well what about Bose?" I then said, "oh no!" I dont think so!

[pauln]

Well, after a rough start (my catalytic harshness), this thread is beginning to rock!

[Roc Rinaldi]

I like my big boxes.

Are you referring to your music equipment or your wife?

[pauln]

There are many pressures in the modern music marketplace - emusic/imusic, earbud (Ipod et al) listeners, "invisible" high WAF speakers, whole house systems (whatever that means...), ease of use, user awareness education issues... what's a speaker company to do?

I hope Klipsch will circle the wagons around the Heritage core for the long term and leverage that to present all additional systems as logically leading to the Heritage. Klipsch advertising should LEAD with the Heritage in all advertising no matter what the actual object of the statement. The underlying purpose of all Klipsch advertising should assume the eventual ownership of Heritage speakers, the bigger the better. All repeat business should be focused on eventually owning the Heritage. All owners of non Heritage systems should be presently happy, but always know in their hearts that one day they will go all the way and upgrade to a Heritage system.

How many time have you read a post where someone writes that they have and like their Klipsch speakers, but have never heard the Heritage? All these Kipsch owners should have Heritage on their wishlist...

[boom3]

As someone who has helped executives prepare for interviews like this, I have a slightly different perspective. This kind of interview and it's perspective are frequently called the 30,000 Foot View. It must necessarily be very general and not give away any non-obvious parts of the company's strategy. We Forum members tend to be Heritage-centric, and that's great. But if K&A had stuck to Heritage they'd no longer exist.

I happen to like big Fords (so I guess my taste is suspect anyway but if Ford concentrated on the big 'uns to the neglect of other market segments the name Ford would soon be a memory. Michael Klipsch is responsible for the survival of the company, not merely one product line, no matter how much we love it.

Yes, Klipsch should do more advertising and some listener education about the shortfalls of teeny-tiny cutesy speakers. I'd love to see all my favorite "underdog" companies get more aggressive with the bloated big boys (Apple vs. Microslop, Corel vs. Adobe, Klipsch vs. Bose).

[Trey Cannon]

Did you read this part.

With that I have two more words: "Bad Karma"

Doc3.doc

[boom3]

Did you read this part.

With that I have two more words: "Bad Karma"

Trey, if you're asking me this question, yes I read it. No conflict with what I said. What bad karma are you talking about?

[Amy]

I have no idea what Trey is talking about in his post. I think he needs to go back to his cage.

[]