Paul Wilbur Klipsch
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Paul Wilbur Klipsch (March 9, 1904 - May 5, 2002) was a high fidelity audio pioneer known for developing the high-efficiency folded horn loudspeaker.
Paul Klipsch was born in Elkhart, Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from New Mexico College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts (later renamed to New Mexico State University) in 1926, a Master's of Science degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1934, and an honorary Doctor of Laws from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 1981.
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[edit] Career
After college, Klipsch worked for General Electric in radio and locomotive fields, including time in Chile. He then returned to graduate school for further studies in audio frequency/efficiency, but ended up working in oil exploration in Houston, Texas for ten years after Stanford.
With the onset of World War II, Klipsch was drafted into the Army and was stationed in Hope, Arkansas with work in ballistics and photography, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. [1]
After the war, he remained in Hope to continue his research and to eventually build speakers. Klipsch founded Klipsch and Associates speakers in 1946 using a unique horn design instead of the standard cone for the high end audio speakers. In 1948, he hired his first employee and the business was born.
Always the inventor, Klipsch held 23 patents in acoustics, ballistics and geophysics. [2]
[edit] Honors
Inducted into the Audio Hall of Fame in 1983, Klipsch received the highest professional recognitions, including the Audio Engineering Society's Silver Medal in 1978 for his contributions to speaker design and distortion measurement.
The Electrical Engineering Department at New Mexico State University was renamed the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1995 in his honor.
[edit] Books
- Paul Wilbur Klipsch: The Life…The Legend (2002), Rutledge Books, ISBN 1-58244-226-6
[edit] External link
- 1980 Interview transcript of Klipsch by Audio Engineering Society, retrieved March 26, 2007
- U.S. Patent 2,310,243 "Horn for Loudspeaker", filed February 1940, issued February 1943
