Klipsch
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| Klipsch | |
 |
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| Type | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 as Klipsch and Associates |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Key people | Paul W. Klipsch, Founder T. Paul Jacobs, President |
| Industry | Audio |
| Products | Amplifiers, speakers |
| Website | www.klipsch.com |
Klipsch Audio Technologies is one of the most successful consumer and professional speaker companies in America. Founded in Hope, Arkansas in 1946 by Paul Klipsch as Klipsch and Associates, it produces loudspeaker drivers and enclosures, as well as complete loudspeakers for home audio, theater sound systems, public address applications, and even personal computers.
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[edit] Horn loading
Since its inception, Klipsch has promoted the use of horn-loaded speakers as part of its goal to produce speakers which:
- Are high in efficiency (more formally called "sensitivity"), meaning that they can be driven by relatively low-powered amplifiers
- Have wide dynamic range, meaning that they accurately reproduce both soft and loud sounds
- Exhibit controlled directivity, meaning that the radiation pattern is directional, rather than diffuse
- Have a flat frequency response, meaning that there is no unnatural emphasis in the bass, mid-range or treble.
The company advocates the superiority of horns for the aforementioned properties, but some audiophiles decry horns as having a coloring of the sound sometimes described as "honkiness". Early Klipsch designs utilized a metal-throated horn whose aperture tended to exacerbate this phenomenon. In recent years, Klipsch introduced horns of phenolic composition which were said to alleviate resonances that colored the earlier, metal designs. Klipsch also moved away from silk to different driver-diaphragm materials like phenolic, aluminum and titanium, and in 1989 they introduced a midrange horn with a tractrix flare which was said to further reduce "honkiness" and create a more open sound quality. Current Klipsch designs, while still using horn loading for the tweeter (and, in some cases, the midrange driver), use a much more refined version which, while still highly detailed, is considered less strident.
Despite their lack of appeal to some audiophiles, Klipsch speakers can be ruthlessly revealing of poor stereo components and recordings. Many audiophiles believe that Klipsch's "horn sound" is less compressed (more dynamic) and more realistic-sounding than that of many "boutique" high-end speakers on the market.
[edit] Legacy speakers
Noteworthy Klipsch speakers over the years include:
- Klipschorn (updated in 2002, and again in 2006)
- Belle Klipsch (recently discontinued)
- La Scala and La Scala II
- Cornwall I, II, and III
- Chorus I and II
- Forte I and II
- Quartet
- Heresy I, II, and III
- kg4
- KLF-30
Many are popular collectors' items.
The flagship of the line remains the Klipschorn, a three-way, fully horn-loaded loudspeaker built since the founding of the company. There have been many improvements in the Klipschorn over the years, including a recent redesign and "revoicing" of the crossover network that results in a slightly "sweeter" sound, and smoother bass than in the past. Other Klipsch models with similar design principles are the La Scala and Belle Klipsch. These fully horn-loaded designs are claimed to deliver very realistic sound. They also boast extremely high sensitivity (Paul Klipsch demonstrated that the Klipschorn could reproduce concert-level dynamics powered by as little as 5 watts per channel) and unusually low amounts of certain types of distortion.
Other current models—including the Cornwall III, Heresy III, and models in the Reference and Synergy lines use horn tweeters in conjunction with direct-radiating woofers and also have unusually high sensitivity (although not as sensitive as the fully horn-loaded models).
With the exception of the kg4, all of the models cited above feature separate horn-loaded tweeter and midrange. As of 2006, the majority of current Klipsch models are two-way designs, utilizing a tractrix horn for the upper midrange and treble.
Klipsch is one of the major manufacturers of cinema speakers. Partly because modern films need very powerful and clean sound, some of the Klipsch cinema speakers benefit from division of labor in a three- or four-way design. Some are horn-loaded in the bass, as well as in the midrange and treble.
[edit] Current speakers
The Synergy line is sold by major mass-market retailers.
The Reference line tends to be carried by audio specialty stores and custom installers. One feature of the Reference line is the use of the trademark Cerametallic woofers. These are a combination of materials that produce a very stiff, highly controlled cone movement.
The Klipschorn, La Scala II, Cornwall III, and Heresy III, as well as the limited-edition 60th Anniversary Klipschorn, comprise the Heritage line, which is available through select authorized Klipsch dealers, often by special order.
[edit] Multi-media speakers
The company also manufactures products for multimedia purposes; its ProMedia line of computer speakers has been sold since 1999, and it produces iPod-marketed speakers like the iGroove (with an angled form-factor) and the iFi, a scaled down version of its home theater systems.
[edit] Klipsch used in theaters
Klipsch also features its speaker designs in the Hard Rock Cafe line of restaurants and in several AMC and Regal theaters.
[edit] Electronics
Klipsch acquired the company Mondial Designs in 2001, and has since been manufacturing amplifiers, preamplifiers, processors, etc. under the Aragon name.
[edit] Other products
Klipsch Group, the parent company of Klipsch Audio Technologies, also owns the Danish loudspeaker firm Jamo and in 2006 acquired the Canadian company Audio Products International (API), makers of Mirage and Energy speakers.
