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Klipschorn

Loudspeaker, Klipsch, 1946

A fully horn-loaded corner loudspeaker designed by Paul W. Klipsch, built in Hope, Arkansas, since 1946, and still sold by Klipsch.

Klipsch Klipschorn, isometric drawing
Klipsch Klipschorn, photographed

A-02, isometric, same camera for both

Drawing
A-02
Introduced
1946
Produced
1946 to present
Made in
United States
Designed by
Paul W. Klipsch
Launch price
Not confirmed
Size
787 x 1295 x 711 mm
Weight
Not published

Paul W. Klipsch applied for a patent on his first corner horn woofer in 1940 and received it on 9 February 1943. He began building loudspeakers in 1946 in Hope, Arkansas, molding high-frequency horns in a rented tin shed. In 1947 the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company built twelve low-frequency cabinets, serial numbers 2 to 13, and seven more followed from Reed's Cabinet Shop. The first published review appeared in the October 1948 issue of Consumer's Research Bulletin.

Front elevation of the Klipsch Klipschorn, 787 mm wide and 1295 mm high
Front elevation, dimensions in millimetres. Drawn from published dimensions and descriptions; detail is simplified.

Specification

ItemAs published
DesignThree-way, fully horn loaded; 15 in folded-horn woofer plus midrange and tweeter compression drivers on horns
Sensitivity105 dB SPL at 1 W / 1 m
Low-frequency responseExtends into the 35 Hz range
PlacementCorner of two adjoining walls, using the walls and floor as horn extensions
Size (current production)51 in H x 31 in W x 28 in D (129 x 79 x 72 cm)

The house

Founded
1946
Founder
Paul W. Klipsch
Origin
Hope, Arkansas, United States
Today
A subsidiary of Voxx International since Audiovox bought Klipsch Group in 2011, headquartered in Indianapolis with the Klipschorn built in Hope.

Further sheets

Sources

  1. https://www.klipsch.com/products/klipschorn-floorstanding-speaker
  2. https://www.klipsch.com/klipsch-milestones
  3. https://d2um2qdswy1tb0.cloudfront.net/documents/Klipschorn-History_V8_sm.pdf?v=1788895940
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klipschorn
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klipsch_Audio_Technologies

Notes for the record: Year: Klipsch's product page and timeline date the speaker to 1946; the Klipschorn History document places the first production cabinets in 1947. No launch price was found; a Sound and Vision article reportedly gives US$590 per speaker in 1949, but soundandvision.com returned 403 and was not opened. Dimensions are Wikipedia's 51 x 31 x 28 in for current production, converted at 25.4 mm per inch, and may differ from 1940s cabinets. Weight is null; retailers cited in search summaries gave about 220 lb, which was not opened. Klipsch's current AK6 product page lists the tweeter at 109 dB while the Klipschorn page lists 105 dB; the 105 dB figure matches Wikipedia.