Klipsch Audio Technologies; Indianapolis, USA:
Paul W Klipsch (March 9, 1904 - May 5, 2002) patented in 1945 the Klipschorn after many attempts to build a loudspeaker which gives a feeling of true orchester sound. In 1946 he founded his company, "Klipsch & Associated", to build such loudspeakers for the market. But it was 1948 when he hired his first employee This horn-type loudspeaker still is considered by many to be the finest loudspeaker ever made and is the only speaker in the world that has been in continuous production for over 50 years.

Although he was only 12 when his father passed on, Mr. Klipsch's interest in science and engineering endured. He built his first speaker using a mailing tube and a pair of earphones at the age of 15, which was a year before the first public radio broadcast.

After graduating from El Paso High School, he enrolled at NMSU where he played cornet in the university band and was an award-winning member of the school rifle team. He credits his four years as a member of the Aggie Band for developing his love and knowledge of music and musical instruments.

Following graduation from NMSU, Mr. Klipsch went to work for General Electric designing radios that were then sold to RCA. In 1928 he responded to a notice on the GE bulletin board. This resulted in a new job maintaining electric locomotives in Chile for three years before entering graduate school at Stanford.

Mr. Klipsch received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in 1926, a Masters of Science in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1934, and a Doctor of Laws from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 1981. The NSMU engineering department was renamed the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1995, in honor of Paul W. Klipsch.

In 1978, Paul W. Klipsch was awarded the Audio Engineering Society's highest honor, the prestigious Silver Medal, for his contributions to speaker design and distortion measurement. Mr. Klipsch was inducted into the Audio Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1997, he was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame,

His love of music and desire to hear an "orchestra" in his home is what drew Paul Klipsch to the task of refining the design principles that changed an industry. He has said, "Audio was a hobby and then a profession, but I still consider myself an amateur in that an amateur is one who practices his art for love." Up to the age of 96, Paul Klipsch played an active role in the company he and his wife Valerie sold to a cousin and Indianapolis businessman Fred Klipsch and his wife Judy in 1989. Paul W. Klipsch passed away on May 5, 2002. He was 98 years old.

Since the change in ownership, the company has experienced tremendous growth. The product line has expanded greatly and since the year 2000, the company has introduced more new products than at any other time in its 58-year history. While founded on the principle of reproducing "concert quality" audio, much of the company's growth today can be attributed to sales of home theater loudspeaker systems.