Paul W. Klipsch Birthday Bash 2024

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Paul W. Klipsch Birthday Bash 2024

Celebration kicks off Thursday March 7 at 6 p.m. with event check-in. We will have the loudspeakers playing tunes in the Visitors Center and outside at the Tin Shed #2. The Annual Membership Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Fun continues Friday March 8 at the Visitors Center with loudspeakers playing inside and outside starting at Noon. Curator Jim Hunter guides a Klipsch Museum of Audio History tour from 2 until 4 p.m. Then it's back to the Visitors Center Friday evening as Chief Bonehead fires up his grill to serve Bonehead Fajitas. Around 7:30 p.m. Trey Johnson takes the Tin Shed #2 stage for live music.

Saturday March 9 head to the Klipsch Factory for the Chief Bonehead Class in the Audio Lab from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. You MUST check-in Thursday or Friday at the Visitors Center to receive your pass to the class! Come back to the Visitors Center around 6 p.m. to celebrate PWK's birthday with BBQ and The Moss Brothers on the Tin Shed #2 stage.

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The KingHorn Artifact

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The KingHorn Artifact

The “KingHorn”.  This was mentioned previously when we did not have the funds or approval to execute the significant shipping.  This 400# shipment was covered by Steve Rowell of Audio Classics.  Thanks, Steve!  The KingHorn was the subject of an extensive paper submitted to the Newark College of Engineering by John H. King, Jr. in 1955.  John’s son, Russell, has donated it to KHMA. 

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The Klipsch Forum: Two Forum Members Meet For The First Time

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The Klipsch Forum: Two Forum Members Meet For The First Time

In the year 2002, Klipsch Audio was selling an outstanding, complete compact 5.1 surround

sound system that supported computer users; The Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 System. One

of those systems was sold to a man who lived in Michigan, not far from Detroit. His name is

Glenn Mosby. Being an avid music lover, he quickly fell in love with his new system and used

it for editing both audio and video projects as well as general listening. Within a very short

time, he'd become a Klipsch fan.

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Paul W. Klipsch Birthday Bash Auction

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Paul W. Klipsch Birthday Bash Auction

22.03.11 - The Klipsch Museum Of Audio History will be hosting an auction during the week of the Paul W. Klipsch Birthday Bash. The auction will take place at the Klipsch Education Center (near the Hope Airport) on March 11, after the annual museum members meeting at 10am. The items to be auctioned include a pair of Klipschorn loudspeakers. For more details please click here for the item list.

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Andy Barnett donation helps make KHMA Feild House a reality

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Andy Barnett donation helps make KHMA Feild House a reality

Yesterday was a special day for the museum. With help from amazing donor Andy Barnett we were able to close on the purchase of the Feild House - a new property addition to the the museum's campus. Located in downtown Hope, the Feild House will be used as a reception building and a working demonstration facility, featuring period-accurate audio systems throughout history. Thanks to Andy and all our supporters! Stay tuned as we grow and develop this important asset.

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Time Capsule

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Time Capsule

Time capsule update: The Hope Prescott News is a new publication that fills that void left by the defunct Hope Star, Hope’s long-time newspaper. We thank them for the local coverage. With education integral to our Mission and Vision, it is great to see The Klipsch Museum (and curator Jim Hunter) standing with representatives of the Hope Public Schools in this Bicentennial pay-it-forward effort.

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A Friend Indeed 181012

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A Friend Indeed 181012

Paul Klipsch has been considered by many to be the epitome of the “self-made man”. However, he would be quick to tell you that he “stood on the shoulders of giants”. Having friends in strategic places also greased the skids for Paul. While we do not have his earliest contacts with Sherman Fairchild, it is clear from over 200 pages of correspondence that this industry titan took many opportunities to help out “the little guy”. Never heard of Fairchild? Take a look at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Fairchild.

The earliest correspondence so far discovered is from May 1944. Paul wrote to Sherman about the lack of bass response from Sherman’s 1943 “Klipschorn” woofer. The woofer was built by Sherman’s carpenter from early drawings supplied by PWK, and it still utilized a 12” driver. The system was illustrated in The Architectural Forum of April 1943. This was before Paul’s own HF horn was designed, so a Western Electric multicell horn was utilized. Paul’s bass performance “diagnosis by letter” took quite a while, but eventually resulted in his visit to Sherman’s  New York City penthouse, and the application of “about 2 pounds of putty” to stop some serious air-leaks. Earlier correspondence to Sherman from Altec Lansing’s John Hilliard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Hilliard  expressed Hilliard’s doubt in the performance of the yet-to-be named Klipschorn, as compared to larger cinema speakers. The putty removed those doubts!

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Hempstead County Bicentennial 181218

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Hempstead County Bicentennial 181218

The Klipsch Museum is located in Hempstead County Arkansas.  December 15, 1818 saw its creation under the Missouri Territory, and actually pre-dates the creation of the state of Arkansas.  It was one of the three original counties, and now compromises eleven modern counties.  It even included parts of what is now Texas and Oklahoma. 

As part of the celebration, a time capsule is being buried for eventual opening in 2068.  KHMA was asked to supply as much as “1.5 inches” of 8½ X 11 paper documentation relative to one of the county’s most celebrated residents, Paul W. Klipsch.  Well, as PWK would have said, “That’s like waving a bull in front of a red flag!”  It didn’t take long (but several toner cartridges!) to amass KHMA’s input.  Rest assured, the capsule is welded-shut, ¼” stainless steel, with the contents vacuum-dried and subjected to Argon gas more than once. 

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The Prodigal Son Returns

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In 2002 a Vitavox-licensed Klipschorn was purchased for the Klipsch Museum of Audio History. (In the late 1940’s Vitavox of England was the first company to license the Klipschorn design. This unit appears “at first glance” to be one of the very first.) When it arrived in Hope it was to be forwarded to Indianapolis. The crated speaker never arrived. After much debate it was given up for lost. On Monday, at the conclusion of a thorough cleaning of the Hope Lab, a massive crate with a label reading “KP-418 Subwoofer” surfaced. When brought to Chief Bonehead’s attention, the label was recognized as being wrong. Opening it revealed the long-lost Vitavox. Due to Mr. Paul Jacobs’ and Voxx International’s generosity, the artifact was donated to KHMA. While the speaker does not retain its S2 compression driver, it was discovered that the original Vitavox Type K15/40 woofer was still in place. A worthy addition to the museum and a fascinating piece of audio history!