More about Paul Wilbur Klipsch
Social Engineer
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Balancing Act
Chile
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Exiting WW II
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Paul Wilbur Klipsch (PWK) was an American audio pioneer, a true eccentric and a proud member of the engineering and science hall of fame. He gave rise to speaker technologies that would forever impact generations of music lovers. His passion enabled theirs.
It was during his service at the Southwest Proving Grounds located in Hope, Ark. that Paul W. Klipsch refined his corner horn speaker design. Visitors to his officer's quarters were amazed by the lifelike reproduction and encouraged PWK to start his own manufacturing business.
He received a patent on his loudspeaker design in 1945, registered the name Klipsch & Associates in 1946, and began making each loudspeaker with his own two hands until he hired his first employee in 1948.
"Paul was a verifiable genius who could have chosen any number of vocations, but the world sounds a lot better because he chose audio."
Fred Klipsch
During a 1999-videotaped interview, Paul W. Klipsch claimed that he did not, in fact, name the Klipschorn himself. He said that he made a sales call to a man in New York City during the first years of operating Klipsch & Associates and, surprisingly, the business prospect already knew about the revolutionary new loudspeaker. "We've heard all about your corner horn," the man said.
"WE CALL IT THE KLIPSCHORN."
In addition to the Klipschorn, the Heresy, Rebel, Shorthorn, Cornwall, La Scala and Belle Klipsch are among the most well-known loudspeakers developed by Paul W. Klipsch. The principles behind these speakers are the basis for all of our speakers today.
The Klipsch Heritage Series, which consists of the Klipschorn, La Scala II, Cornwall III and Heresy III, are still manufactured and sold around the world today.
They are still considered among the world's finest loudspeakers.
"My theories on audio and audio reproduction will be proven wrong only when the laws of physics change."
Paul W. Klipsch
Paul W. Klipsch even confronted exasperated ministers to challenge their points, reading off the furious notes he took during the sermon.
It's even reported that he responded to a cleric by opening one side of his coat with the word "Bull" and the other with...Yup, you guessed it!
Following graduation from NMSU, Paul W. Klipsch went to work for General Electric designing radios that were then sold to RCA. In 1928, he responded to a notice on the GE bulletin board. This resulted in a new job maintaining electric locomotives in Chile for three years before entering graduate school at Stanford. After receiving his engineering degree, PWK worked as a geophysicist for two Texas oil companies.
"Audio was a hobby and then a profession, but I still consider myself as an amateur in that an amateur is one who practices his art for love."
Paul W. Klipsch
The acoustics career of Paul W. Klipsch spanned from 1946, when he founded one of the first U.S. loudspeaker companies, to 2000 when the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society published one of his papers. Over that time, he accounted for 23 patents.
He died on May 5, 2002 at the age of 98.
Social Engineer
Planes
Balancing Act
Chile
Phonograph Pickup
Exiting WW II
Accutron
PWK Papers
Quotes and Anecdotes
Bullsh*t
Historic Events
In the News
Klipschtape
Dope from Hope
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