Klipsch is one of the most recognizable loudspeaker brands in hi-fi history – especially in the United States, but also in Europe. The brand was founded by Paul W. Klipsch, an engineer interested in radio technology, acoustics and loudspeaker efficiency. His goal was a loudspeaker that could reproduce the scale of live music with minimal distortion and efficient use of amplifier power. This thinking led to the Klipschorn, a corner horn loudspeaker introduced in 1946, whose influence is still evident in the Klipsch range 80 years later. 

The Klipsch story begins Paul Wilbur of Klipsch, who was born in 1904 in Elkhart, Indiana, but grew up in El Paso, Texas. As a young man, he built radios, dabbled in radio engineering, experimented with headphones, and became interested in sound reproduction through practice. This background was later reflected in his loudspeaker design. For him, a loudspeaker was not primarily a piece of furniture or a design product, but an electro-acoustic system whose operation had to be justified by measurements and the principles of acoustics.

Paul W. Klipsch's early experiments were related to radio technology and sound reproduction. At the age of 15, he conducted an acoustic experiment with a small speaker, Brandes headphones, and a cardboard tube, and amateur radio equipment belonged to the same technical background.

The idea for the horn came about “accidentally”

Klipsch's key insight was related to the efficiency of the horn speaker. The horn matches the movement of the speaker element more effectively to the surrounding air, allowing more sound to be produced with the same electrical power. In practice, this meant greater sensitivity, less need for high amplifier power, and less movement of the element. In Klipsch's thinking, this also meant less distortion.

The 1930s were a time of exploration for Klipsch. He was not yet a loudspeaker manufacturer, but an electrical engineer who gained experience in industry, radio technology and acoustics. He worked for General Electric, among others, and later in Chile for the Anglo-Chilean Consolidated Nitrate Corporation. In Chile, his interest in horn loudspeakers was strengthened through practical listening experience. Klipsch compared his own horn-loaded radio loudspeaker with a friend's cone loudspeaker and noticed that the horn could produce more sound with the same power. In an era when amplifier power was limited, loudspeaker efficiency was not a side issue but a central part of the entire sound system.

Later, at Stanford University, Klipsch's thinking took on another important dimension. He heard a comment that speakers sounded better in the corner of a room. Klipsch saw this not just as a placement tip, but as an acoustic opportunity. If the walls and corners of a room affected the performance of a speaker, they could be used as part of the speaker's design.

These observations began to form the basic idea for Klipschorn: a corner speaker, where the room is not the problem but part of the woofer. The solution not only remained a general idea, but also progressed to the patent level. Klipsch's early US 2,310,243, “Horn for loud-speaker”, was filed in 1940 and granted in 1943. It concerned a folded horn structure, where the acoustic length of the horn was fitted into a shorter physical structure. This was essential, because the main problem with a woofer suitable for home use was size.

Klipsch later patented a solution for corner placement. US 2,731,101, “Loud speaker”, described a loudspeaker in which the walls of the room acted as part of the horn structure. This was directly related to Klipschorn’s corner horn principle: the loudspeaker did not aim to be independent of the room, but used the room as part of its own operating principle.

The war took us to our birthplaces

World War II didn't give birth to the Klipsch speaker idea, but it took Paul W. Klipsch to a place where the idea eventually became a company.
In addition to his training as an electrical engineer, he had a military officer training background, and the U.S. Army assigned him to the Southwestern Proving Ground in Hope, Arkansas.

It was a large military testing area that required construction, measurement, supervision, and practical engineering. Klipsch rose to become the area's chief engineer and one of its key technical leaders.

The wartime work was not directly related to hi-fi, but the environment suited Klipsch's thinking. At the Southwestern Proving Ground, systems were tested and technical problems were solved based on measurements. At the same time, Klipsch spent his free time developing a corner horn speaker that would later become the Klipschorn.

Klipsch demonstrated his early loudspeaker solution at his officers' quarters in Hope. The listeners were so impressed by the naturalness and dynamics of the reproduction that they encouraged him to take the loudspeaker into production. The patent base was already being built: in 1943, Klipsch had received a patent for a solution involving a folded horn, and in 1945 he also received a patent for the Klipschorn low-frequency section that would soon see the light of day. Based on these solutions, he founded the company Klipsch & Associates the following year.

Thus, Hope transformed from a workplace into Klipsch's home. At first, loudspeakers were manufactured in a small sheet metal shed, and in 1948 operations moved to the old telephone exchange building at Southwestern Proving Ground. It became the company's first actual factory, office, and laboratory.

Klipschorn – this is where it all started

Klipsch & Associates' first actual product was the Klipschorn. Its structure and operating principle were clearly different from conventional home speakers. The speaker was designed to be placed tightly in the corner of a room, and corner placement was not just a recommendation but part of the speaker's operation. Bass reproduction was based on a folded horn, where the walls of the room acted as an extension of the horn. Thus, the room was not just a location, but part of the speaker's acoustic structure.

The Klipschorn horn principle was not limited to bass. Bass reproduction was based on a large folded corner horn, but the midrange and high frequencies were also reproduced through their own horn structures. This was an essential part of the speaker's high sensitivity and controlled directivity. Klipsch's goal was to keep efficiency high and element movement low over the widest possible frequency range.

The solution had a clear goal. By improving efficiency, the speaker could produce high sound pressure with less amplifier power and less movement of the drivers. In Klipsch's thinking, this was directly related to reducing distortion. The less the drivers had to move to produce a given sound pressure, the more controlled they could operate.

The beginnings of production were modest. The first mid-range and high-range horns were made in a sheet metal shed, and the first Klipschorn bass cabinets were made with the help of a local carpenter and the Baldwin Piano Company. In 1948, operations moved to the old telephone exchange building at the Southwestern Proving Ground. An office and acoustics research room were located on the main floor, and speaker manufacturing was located in the basement. The building's high basement and manual elevator were suitable for assembling large speakers.

Klipsch's practical humor was illustrated by its early serial numbering. The first Klipschorn produced in this building was serial numbered 121, because a hundred was added to the numbers, making the young company appear slightly larger from the outside.

The Klipschorn became the model around which much of Klipsch's speaker identity was built. Its exceptional longevity shows that the solution did not remain just an early experiment, but became part of the company's enduring tradition.

Heresy, Cornwall and La Scala – future classics

The Klipschorn was Klipsch's starting point, but it wasn't suitable for all situations. It was large, it required corner placement, and it was built around a very specific acoustic principle. The following models were therefore born out of practical needs: Klipsch had to adapt horn technology to different spaces, placements, and usage patterns.

Heresy, introduced in 1957 was a good example of this. It was originally designed as a center speaker in a three-channel stereo system between two Klipschorns. The name came from the fact that Klipsch was making a speaker that wasn’t exactly a corner speaker. The idea was almost “heresy” in Klipsch’s own world, and hence the name of the model: Heresy.

The Heresy also gained early exposure outside the United States. At the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, it was used as a center speaker between two Klipschorns in an American hi-fi display. The following year, the Klipschorn and Heresy were also featured at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, where American technology was showcased in the midst of the Cold War. This gave Klipsch speakers an early international presence.

Cornwall followed in 1959. It was developed as a fuller midrange speaker to slot between two Klipschorns, but it also became a standalone speaker model. The name referred to the placement: the speaker could be placed either in a corner or against a wall. The Cornwall combined a horn-loaded midrange and high-range with a more traditional bass solution, making it more flexible than the Klipschorn for home use.

Cornwalls also featured versions with the midrange and tweeter horns positioned vertically to the side of the woofer. Later and current Cornwall models have the horns positioned horizontally above the woofer. This is partly a testament to the Cornwall's design in its early years, although the basic idea remained the same: horn-loaded midrange and highs combined with a large, reflex-enclosed bass.

La Scala was born in 1963 from a different need. It was originally designed for the campaign of Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Winthrop Rockefeller, who needed efficient and powerful public address systems. The model's name referred to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Although originally intended for speech and event use, the La Scala later became a classic model for home hi-fi.

Belle Klipsch introduced in 1971 was a more refined and furniture-like relative of the La Scala. It was named after Paul Klipsch's first wife, Eva Belle. Belle is part of Klipsch's historic Heritage line, although it is not in the current Heritage line.

These models formed the core of Klipsch's Heritage tradition. Klipschorn, Heresy, Cornwall and La Scala are still in use today, and are joined by Forte and Jubilee in the current Heritage line.

Forte introduced in 1985 brought Klipsch's high sensitivity and horn-loaded midrange and highs into a much more compact enclosure than the larger Heritage models. Its bass solution used a passive radiator, which allowed the speaker to produce bass that extended for its size. The Forte became one of Klipsch's most successful models, and was later further developed into the Forte II. The model's return as the Forte III in 2017 and the current Forte IV show that the Klipsch design of the 1980s also became part of the company's enduring Heritage tradition.

The Klipsch Forte II continued the original Forte's idea of ​​a "more compact" yet powerful Heritage speaker. The model used horn-loaded midrange and highs, as well as a passive radiator to support bass reproduction. The Forte II was also important because it introduced Klipsch's Tractrix midrange horn, which later became one of the brand's widely used horn solutions.

The Forte was also an important model because in its later development, Klipsch introduced the Tractrix horn. The Tractrix midrange horn used in the Forte II anticipated the directionality that would later become a central part of the Klipsch range. Tractrix refers to the shape of the horn, which aims to combine the high efficiency of a horn speaker with a more controlled directivity. In practice, the aim is to direct the sound more precisely to the listening area and reduce unwanted reflections from room surfaces. Today, the Tractrix shape is widely used in Klipsch speakers, also outside the Heritage range.

Also recordings on speakers' terms

There is also a lesser-known side story to Klipsch's history. In the late 1950s, the company founded the KlipschTape Division. The reason for this was a practical problem: the need for high-quality stereo material to demonstrate Klipschhorn at a time when good-quality stereo recordings were not widely available.
Paul W. Klipsch and John Eargle toured recording jazz, organ music, choir performances, and various sound effects, among other things. These tapes were sold to retailers and hi-fi enthusiasts for demonstration purposes. The project fell short and, according to Klipsch, resulted in a loss of about $10,000 in 1959, but it tells an important story about the company's thinking. The loudspeaker was not a separate product, but part of the entire audio chain. Later, some of the KlipschTape tapes were rediscovered in 2011.

The KlipschTape Division was a short-lived recording venture of Klipsch & Associates in the late 1950s. The program flyer for John Eargle's organ recital, pictured, shows that the company made its own stereo recordings to showcase its loudspeakers at a time when quality stereo material was still limited.

John Eargle's own career later continued as a prominent sound engineer and product developer. He worked for JBL, among others, and received Grammy and Oscar recognition during his career.

Crossover filters and measurements at the center

Klipsch is often associated with horns, high sensitivity and high dynamics, but the function of a speaker is not determined by the horn alone. The horn-loaded elements, the bass solution and the enclosure must also be matched to each other electrically. Here, the crossover plays a key role: it determines in which frequency range each element operates, how their levels are matched together and what kind of load the speaker appears as to the amplifier.

In the case of Klipsch, this was especially important because the Heritage models were not simple single-element speakers, but systems built from several differently loaded parts. For example, in the Klipschorn, the bass reproduction was based on a folded horn, while the midrange and high range were handled by their own horn solutions. The task of the crossover was to connect these parts into a functional whole so that the high efficiency, directivity and frequency response of the speaker remained under control.

Paul W. Klipsch did not view the crossover as merely a necessary component. He had at least two patents directly related to crossovers. US 2,612,558, “Crossover filter network”, is from 1952. It related to the crossover filter of a multi-way loudspeaker, i.e. how different frequency ranges are directed to different elements. The patent is also mentioned in Paul W. Klipsch’s patent lists.

An old Klipsch crossover illustrates the electrical side of speaker design. The horn design defined the brand's sonic ideal, but the whole thing also depended on the matching of the elements, crossover frequencies, attenuation, and the speaker's load on the amplifier.

Another key patent was US 4,237,340, “Crossover network for optimizing efficiency and improving response of loudspeaker system”. This was a later patent, with inventors Paul W. Klipsch and James R. Hunter. The patent concerned a crossover filter that was intended to improve the efficiency and smoothness of a loudspeaker system. The patent covered, among other things, an autotransformer and circuits that match the levels and responses of different elements.

The research laboratory built in Hope in 1980 was also an important step for Klipsch towards more systematic product development. The new anechoic chamber was designed in a situation where the company was moving further into element design, enclosure construction and crossover development. The anechoic chamber allowed loudspeakers to be measured in a controlled environment without the influence of room reflections.

“Anechoic Chamber, 1982,” in which Jim Hunter measures the frequency response in Hope’s anechoic chamber. According to the publication, the photo was taken by Gary Gillum and originally appeared on the cover of the summer 1982 issue of Inside Arkansas magazine.

For Klipsch, however, this was not a typical testing room, as the company's flagship product, the Klipschorn, was designed to operate in the corner of a room. Paul W. Klipsch and Jim Hunter therefore designed a special solution for the anechoic chamber, which was patented: a three-ton revolving door that also allowed corner speakers to be tested. Patent US 4,387,786, “Anechoic chamber arrangement”, granted in 1983, was related to this arrangement.

The “Bullshit” button and the outspoken engineer

One of Klipsch's most famous anecdotes involves a little yellow button. In the 1960s, Paul W. Klipsch became frustrated with claims made by speaker manufacturers that he believed violated the laws of physics or were based on exaggeration. This led to the slogan "Bullshit" and the advertising concept "Ho Hum Another Major Breakthrough."

Klipsch began distributing small yellow buttons in hi-fi stores and trade shows. The idea behind the button was simple: it could be flashed when speech became technically untenable. Although the story is humorous, it says a lot about Klipsch's thinking. He didn't want to build a brand solely on images, but emphasized acoustics, measurements, and the boundary conditions of physics.

This candor was also evident in Klipsch's own technical communications. “Dope from Hope” was a series of technical bulletins he published irregularly, the name of which referred to Hope, Arkansas, where Klipsch's company was located.

The bulletins covered speaker design, measurements, acoustic principles, and practical issues in audio reproduction, and were aimed at dealers, enthusiasts, and customers who wanted to understand why Klipsch designed its speakers the way they did.

“Dope from Hope” later also got a new lease on life. In 2023, the Klipsch Museum of Audio History announced a Kickstarter project to compile Paul W. Klipsch’s “Dope from Hope” bulletins into a roughly 300-page hardcover book. The project well illustrated the bulletins’ place in Klipsch history: they were not just marketing material, but part of Paul W. Klipsch’s technical legacy.

You can also read Dope from Hope newsletters here. On the Klipsch Museum of Audio History website, which have been compiled with the original issues of the series and related background.

Also "professional voice"

Klipsch was born around the Klipschorn, a home speaker, but its basic technical concept was also a natural fit for public sound. Horn loading, high sensitivity, and a large sound pressure level were useful in situations where a speaker had to fill a large space without high amplifier power or uncontrolled distortion.

This was particularly evident at La Scala. Introduced in 1963, the loudspeaker was originally designed for the campaign of Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Winthrop Rockefeller, who needed efficient and powerful sound for speeches.

In 1977, Klipsch also moved into professional audio by starting to manufacture large MCM series speakers for touring, live and film use.

The connection to theater and PA sound also partly explains Klipsch's later position in semi-pro home theater speakers, where high dynamics, controlled directivity, and high sensitivity are of great importance.

In 1978, Paul W. Klipsch received the Audio Engineering Society's Silver Medal for his contributions to loudspeaker design and distortion measurement. The award well describes his position: Klipsch's reputation was based not only on products but also on acoustic research, measurement, and technical argumentation.

Generational change and the era of home theater

In 1989, Paul W. Klipsch sold Klipsch & Associates to his cousin Fred S. Klipsch and his wife Judy. Production continued in Hope, but the focus of the business was shifted to Indianapolis. Paul Klipsch remained as a founder and advisor to the company, and he continued to work on the Jubilee speaker.

The change in ownership saw the company name change to Klipsch, LLC and the introduction of a new logo, reflecting the shift from the founder-led Klipsch & Associates to a broader consumer audio company.

In the 1990s, Klipsch expanded significantly into the home theater market. The Synergy, Legend, Quintet, Reference, and THX product lines took the company to new customer groups at a time when multi-channel home theater was becoming more common. Klipsch was no longer just a manufacturer of large Heritage speakers, but became an international consumer audio brand.

Klipsch today

Today, Klipsch is part of the Premium Audio Company (PAC). The line has expanded far beyond the original Klipschhorn: in addition to Heritage speakers, it includes Reference series, home theater speakers, soundbars, active speakers, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and audio systems tailored for automakers.

However, the historical connection is still evident in the horn elements and, of course, most clearly in the Heritage collection. The Klipschorn, La Scala, Cornwall, Forte and Heresy are still in use. And although the structures and components have been updated over the years, the foundation is still the same as it was 80 years ago.

In 2026, Klipsch brought history into the present with the introduction of the Klipschorn 80th Anniversary Limited Edition. The limited edition of 280 pairs returns to the original Klipschorn's two-way design, but uses new components and an active DSP crossover. The included 180-gram KlipschTape vinyl edition also ties the model to the company's own recording history from the 1950s.

The newer direction is evident in the active speakers The Fives II, The Sevens II and The Nines II. They combine Klipsch's signature horn construction with amplifiers, HDMI eARC connectivity, wireless streaming and app control. The Sevens II and The Nines II also feature Dirac Live room correction.

Klipsch has evolved from a small one-man dream and speaker manufacturer to an international consumer audio brand. However, its most recognizable technical feature has not disappeared: horn loading, high sensitivity and high dynamics are still associated with the brand, especially in Heritage models, home theater speakers as well as newer active speakers.

More information: www.klipsch.com
Importer/representative in Finland:  Loud Group Ltd.

More pictures from Klipsch's history:
Klipsch Museum Facebook photo archive

Sources:
Klipsch: Klipsch Timeline and Milestones
https://www.klipsch.com/klipsch-milestones
Klipsch: Founder Biography - Paul W. Klipsch
https://www.klipsch.com/founder
Klipsch: Heritage Premium Audio
https://www.klipsch.com/heritage-premium-audio
Klipsch Museum of Audio History: Dope from Hope
https://www.klipschmuseum.org/dope-from-hope-2
Google Patents: Paul W. Klipsch's loudspeaker, horn, crossover and measurement patents
https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Paul+W.+Klipsch