KLIPSCH MILESTONES
For over 80 years, Klipsch has designed and engineered its products in-house with the most talented, skilled, and passionate people in the industry - starting with our founder, Paul W. Klipsch. See below how this pioneer and maverick launched a company that is still changing the face of hi-fi today.
1904 - IT STARTED WITH PWK
Born March 9, 1904, in Elkhart, Indiana, Paul W. Klipsch (PWK) grew up in El Paso, Texas, where he built his first radios (becoming a HAM operator), conducted experiments with headphones, fell in love with locomotives, and played cornet in the band. Though he joked he graduated last in his high school class, he made the honor roll all four years at New Mexico State University, now home to the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Each year on his birthday, fans and Hope, Arkansas residents celebrate his legacy at the Klipsch Pilgrimage and PWK Birthday Bash with the Klipsch Museum of Audio History.
1930s - THE SEEDS OF AN IDEA
After leaving New Mexico State University, PWK designed radios at General Electric, then left to work as a junior electrical engineer for the Anglo-Chilean Consolidated Nitrate Corporation in Tocopilla, Chile. There, he compared his horn-shaped radio speaker to a friend’s cone speaker and recognized the horn’s superior efficiency. Back in the U.S. for graduate school, a Stanford colleague’s 1933 remark that “all speakers sound better in a corner” sparked his deeper thinking on speaker design.
1941 - WAR AND HOPE
Anticipating U.S. involvement in World War II, the government opened a munitions proving ground in Hope, Arkansas, where ROTC-trained Major Paul W. Klipsch was sent as chief engineer and second in command. Over 50,000 acres, he led thousands of troops in testing more than 3 million rounds and building 242 structures — including buildings that later became the Klipsch factory and Klipsch Museum of Audio History. Despite 70–90-hour workweeks, PWK manages to find the time to finish the design for his legendary speaker – the Klipschorn®. Visitors to his officer's quarters were amazed by the lifelike reproduction and encouraged PWK to start his own manufacturing business.
1946 – OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Using the idea that horn speakers are more efficient and less distorted, Paul W. Klipsch developed a crude prototype of the Klipschorn. He received a patent on his speaker design and virtually kickstarted the hi-fi era. In 1946, PWK established the name Klipsch & Associates and began producing his hi-frequency horns out of a tin shed in Hope, Arkansas. A local cabinetmaker and the Baldwin Piano Company assisted Paul in building the low-frequency cabinets for his first 20 Klipschorn speakers.
1948 – FIRST KLIPSCH FACTORY AND LAB
In 1948 Paul W. Klipsch and his first employee outgrew the tin shed and moved the company to the telephone exchange building at Southwestern Proving Ground in Hope, Arkansas. PWK purchased from the United States government one of the many buildings he had helped erect during the war. An acoustics research lab and office were set up on the main floor, while the basement was outfitted for loudspeaker production. The building's 10 foot basement ceilings and hand-crank elevator were perfect for constructing loudspeakers. The first Klipschorn built here was numbered 121, as PWK added an extra 100 to the serial number to make the company seem larger. Home to Klipsch and Associates from 1948-1952, the building now houses the Klipsch Museum of Audio History.
1956 – The KlipschTape Division
In late 1956, Paul W. Klipsch offered a young man a job as staff musician. Mr. John Eargle was just finishing his stint in the military and wanted to put his degree from the Eastman School of Music to work. Eargle grew up in Texarkana, some 30+ miles from Hope, and had worked part-time for Paul at least as early as 1953. He came on board in early 1957 and the KlipschTape Division was born. The venture was the commercial sale of pre-recorded stereo music to Klipsch dealers and hi-fi enthusiasts, and it was justified by providing exemplary demonstration material for showing off the Klipschorn at the many trade shows of the day. Klipsch and Eargle traveled the country to record jazz band concerts, organ recitals, choir performances, and many other live events, (including sound effects like ping pong, parades, and stream locomotives). This marked one of the first attempts by an equipment manufacturer to make direct tape masters available to audio enthusiasts - among the earliest stereo recordings ever offered to the public. After two years and hundreds of high-quality recordings, the venture was abandoned. PWK would write that it was a $10,000 loss in 1959. Eargle would go on to become a pioneer in audio engineering and product development at JBL, with Grammy and Oscar awards to his name. In 2011 some of the master recordings of the KlipschTapes were re-discovered. Unbelievably, they had weathered more than 50 years of storage in an uncontrolled environment in Arkansas. Selected tracks have been digitized and the sound quality, for the most part, is incredible. They provide an amazing snapshot of the early days of recording technology and popular culture. The tapes are being surveyed now in the hopes of finding more gems to share with the public.
1957 – A LITTLE HERESY IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL
Paul W. Klipsch introduced the Heresy loudspeaker in 1957. It was effectively the world’s first commercial center channel speaker, designed for the center image in a three-channel stereo configuration. (Note: the first commercial stereo LP was in 1958.) It was named when an associate announced, “Paul Klipsch designing a non-corner loudspeaker would be heresy”. PWK responded, “That’s exactly what I’m gonna call it!” A year later, the Klipsch Heresy is demonstrated at the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium. On many best of all time lists, the Heresy (now updated to version IV) is still manufactured by Klipsch in Hope, Arkansas to the delight of music lovers around the world. Its compact size, impressive output, and flexibility of placement make it a dependable house favorite – from living rooms to churches to nightclubs.
1958 – First on the World's Stage
The 1958 World’s Fair was held in Brussels, Belgium. 27-year-old audiophile Don Davis and his wife Carolyn were touring Europe at the time. After witnessing the low-fi equipment display supposedly representing the United States audio industry, they flew home and convinced the US State Department to let them fix the situation. They returned to Brussels with two friends (George Petry and Bill Bell) in an airliner full of state-of-the-art audio components weighing over one ton – from Scott, Marantz, Ampex, Altec, Fairchild and Klipsch. They were given the American National pavilion in the afternoons for an organized program of mono and stereo music playback and sound effects. The electronics were displayed on tables at the rear of the auditorium for all to see. Two Klipschorns in false corners were placed on the stage and the newly minted Klipsch Heresy® served as a center channel. This premium setup yielded mesmerizing results, and every demonstration was played to a full house. Upon returning to the United States Don Davis was hired by Paul W. Klipsch. He and Carolyn moved to Hope, Arkansas shortly thereafter.
1959 – West goes East
The American National Exhibition opened in Moscow in summer 1959 during the height of the Cold War, showcasing American and Soviet lifestyles and technology to each other and to a global TV audience. The event featured major American innovators: R. Buckminster Fuller designed the geodesic dome exhibition hall, while Charles and Ray Eames created a seven-screen synchronized multimedia display and the exhibit’s branding. Vice President Richard Nixon famously debated Nikita Khrushchev in a model kitchen. Don Davis of Klipsch & Associates served as an audio consultant for the U.S. Department of Commerce and demonstrated Klipsch technology. In a “Jungle Gym” pavilion designed by George Nelson, the Institute of High-Fidelity Manufacturers presented audio systems including a Klipschorn and Heresy 3-channel setup - dubbed “the ultimate system.” Jazz recordings were played (often very loudly) by curious visitors who sometimes climbed the structure to turn the volume to maximum.