The Klipsch Community

Old Oaken Bucket

Amy Unger — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:00 GMT

So we have this silly badger speaker. I'm not sure what happened to his belly, but that's irrelevant. I'm also not sure where he came from, but I know we've had him since at least early 2008. He was perched out back for a while, but some way-mature engineers were using the little guy for some kind of target practice. He was since rescued and brought to the woodshop, where he'll be safe and sound at least through the winter. Maybe.

What does this have to do with the Old Oaken Bucket? Very little, really, except with that little football in his paws, it got me thinking about the Wisconsin Badgers. Which got me thinking about the Big 10. Which got me thinking about tomorrow's match up between arch rivals Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers. The hated, detested, despicable Purdue Boilermakers. And I say that while cringing, since about half of all Klipsch employees in Indianapolis went to school there. But that's just too bad.

A case of unfortunate timing, I'll be traveling tomorrow to see some of my old college roomies in Northern Indiana, since one of them is home from the east coast to show off her brand new baby boy. Reason enough to miss a game, I suppose. Although I'm sure I can locate where the husbands and boyfriends will be gathering. They better have the Big Ten Network.

Magazine Archive

Amy Unger — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:48:00 GMT

After being around for 63 years, you can imagine the stack of industry magazines we have accumulated. I found Melissa today doing some organizing at her cube, shown here with pages featuring the 50th Anniversary Klipschorn, Epic, Legend, and early Synergy series. Some of the magazines are dated back to the mid-1900s, which makes me sneeze just thinking about it.

About... Fantastic Mr. Fox

MattM — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:15:00 GMT

Here is a link to a short interview with Wes Anderson, the director of Fantastic Mr. Fox. I think my daughter is just a bit too young for the movie theater or I would definitely treat her to this one.

3502

Amy Unger — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:27:00 GMT

Here's another view of our lovely building as you pull into the circle drive. Of course, I only use it when traveling in my limo.

Friday Night Lights

Amy Unger — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:27:00 GMT

The shortened hours of daylight are starting to take their toll on my psyche, but at least I can still find scenes like this when heading to my car...for now. It won't be long before I feel like I should be sleeping in a coffin and avoiding garlic.

Old is New – The Getaway (1972)

MattM — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:01:00 GMT

The Film

When he earned his Master's Degree in Drama from the University of Southern California in 1950, Sam Peckinpah ended his involvement in theater and started work in television, which he saw as his way into the movies. Growing up in California in the 30s, he spent much of his formative years riding horses, branding cattle and shooting firearms. His college years were preceded by service in the US Marines. His combative spirit got him into trouble, but he wrote for and directed several TV shows, actually writing the original screenplay that became the series The Rifleman. He worked with Don Siegel on four occasions before finally directing his first feature. But it was his second film, Ride the High Country, that put him on the map as a major filmmaker. The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs are classics which helped earn him the nickname, "Bloody Sam." In 1972, Mr. Peckinpah would team up with Steve McQueen for an adaptation of Jim Thompson's The Getaway.

The movie's opening titles are interwoven with Doc McCoy's (Steve McQueen) life inside a prison, and set to the rhythmic workings of the machinery in the prison shop. He finally makes parole after instructing his wife Carol (Ali MacGraw) to do whatever is necessary to get him out. She picks him up outside the prison, and then he tries to figure out what's next.

The next step turns out to be repaying a corrupt business man for using his influence to free him from prison. A robbery has been planned, and Doc is to help make it happen. Along with Carol he will be working with Rudy (Al Lettieri) and Frank. The bank robbery goes bad. Rudy kills Frank and attempts to kill Doc, but he gets the best of him and Doc and Carol take off with the money. Rudy is left for dead, but was wearing a bulletproof vest and isn't too happy to be out that much cash. Another attempted double-cross with the man behind the job leads the couple to make a run for the border, but as you can imagine, that will be anything but simple. On top of that, when Doc finds out what Carol had to do to get him out of prison, he's not so sure he wants her around anyway.

This film was one of the most financially lucrative of Mr. Peckinpah's career. The story is less than extraordinary, but the presence of McQueen and the direction from Peckinpah make it a very good thriller, which was their goal at the time since they both needed a hit. Ali MacGraw is an example of a model turned actress who can't really act. This doesn't detract much since McQueen and the bit characters (Lettieri, Sally Struthers and Slim Pickens) do a wonderful job. The editing of the opening credits is a great example of visual storytelling. Overall the look is fantastic, especially the explosive shootouts. Seeing this film gives you mere flashes of the talent of Mr. Peckinpah, but you get a full dose of Steve McQueen cool.

The Disc

The movie got a standard DVD release in 1997. A deluxe edition was released in 2005. The picture is widescreen and the audio is Dolby Digital 1.0. Extras include some commentary and a featurette as well as the trailer. A Blu-ray disc was released in 2007.

Film Connections

The Way of the Gun has a certain resemblence to The Getaway and other films by Mr. Peckinpah. It deserves a second look. In Deathproof, two characters get out of a car and squat down to have a discussion just as they do in this movie. And we aren't going to mention the 1994 remake.

Where You Can Hear the Blood Flowing Through Your Ears

Amy Unger — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:06:00 GMT

I know, that sounded a little gross, but it's how I describe being sealed inside our anechoic chamber. The experience is actually pretty cool, but not meant for claustrophobics. Or women wearing stiletto heels.

If such things interest you, or you simply must come to Indianapolis for summer break because that's where everyone goes, stop by our facilities for our somewhat-annual Pilgrimage in June (actual date TBD). We'd love to meet you and show you what we do. Any perhaps try to explain why. Wait, maybe some of our employees should attend. Accountants?

(And yes, when I'm not picking on engineers, I'm usually picking on accountants.)

"If you could get that TPS report done today...that'd be greaaat."

Amy Unger — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:15:00 GMT

I got the kid all the way to school today, only to discover their power was out. I don't see why it had to close just because they couldn't see and had no heat, but whatever. So we put him to work straight away, testing various headphone designs for that user-friendly-factor. I hope watching Alvin and the Chipmunks negates any child labor law violations. He got a 15 minute break every hour, promise!

Dollhouse Cancelled

Phil Dickerson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Fox officially canceled Dollhouse yesterday, but said it would air the remaining eight episodes of the season. I don't know why I'm surprised by the news. Fox is notorious for killing some of the best shows on television. On the upside, it frees up Joss Whedon to do other things (Dr. Horrible 2, Maybe?). I would talk more about it but Entertainment Weekly beat me to it. I wish the networks would take a real chance every once and a while, because not every show can take off in the first 5 episodes. Hell, Seinfeld didn't really take off in ratings until season 4. Some shows just need time to grow an audience.

I leave you with what Joss had to say on Whedonesque.com

Hmm. Apparently my news is not news.

I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear.

Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again. -j.

Glorious Fall

Amy Unger — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Just a tip: if you ask to see a picture of Steven, the Most Photographed Kid in the World, I will oblige. I'm a mom, after all. This one is for forum member Daddy Dee, who so innocently asked to see the full version of the picture in my masthead.

Taken one year ago last week, it's hard to believe how much he's changed from then -- academically and physically. Just last night, he was playing "teacher," having me sit in the "classroom" and recite my numbers, 1 to 100. When I inadvertently slowed down, he picked up the counting with me for a bit, followed by, "Good, keep going, you're doing great." When I got to 70 or so, he chimed in with, "This is the challenging part; don't give up." And he couldn't have been more serious.

Little kids are awesome. It makes the new, ultra-whiney version of the word "NO" he's picked up lately a teeny bit more tolerable.

Discussion: Mad Men Season 3

Phil Dickerson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:26:00 GMT

SPOILER ALERT!

MattM and I sat down this morning to have a chat about the season three finale of Mad Men. We normally have this conversation at our desks, but today we decided to have it in front of a microphone. If you'd like to listen to two midwesterners cough and wax intellectual about an amazing television show, a link is available below. But for those of you who came to read I have done my best to boil down our 20 minute conversation into the following highlights.

Season three as a whole is a downer. Everybody loses something. Fathers, brothers, feet, innocence, promotions, ideas, companies and control. It all comes to a head with the assassination of President Kennedy, which causes everyone to pause and reevaluate further. The finale starts to pick things back up when Don and a rag tag crew of Sterling Copper employees decide to betray the British and split off and form a new agency. You see your favorite characters at their finest. They stop whining and decide to take back control of their lives.

Betty decides she wants a divorce from Don, no matter what it takes. But she is trading dependence on him for dependence on Henry Francis, whom she hardly knows. I can't see it working out between them. Oh, those poor Draper kids. Two weeks before Christmas their parents split up? That's rough. "Mommy's running off to Reno for an easy divorce. See you in six weeks. Love you." Certainly Sally and Bobby will be affected for the worse.

Predictions
We both guess that Season 4 will begin around February 1964, just before the British invasion of the Beatles. Matt believes Paul Kinsey will not be brought on at the new agency and will slowly disappear. I, on the other hand, believe Ken Cosgrove will disappear into the ranks of McCann, never to be seen again. We both think Salvatore Romano will be joining the new firm as art director, although Matt would rather they hire a certain beatnik greeting card illustrator from Season 1. Things won't work out between Betty and Henry, but it might take some time to break down.

Listen to our discussion.

Your Chance to Win Klipsch Reference RF-5s ...

Amy Unger — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:17:00 GMT

... and feel really good about yourself at the same time.

Every year, local radio station WZPL holds a 36-hour Request-a-Thon raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. Klipsch has also been committed to helping the foundation for quite some time now, sponsoring events and holding fund raisers whenever possible. So why not join forces? Plus Smiley-in-the-Morning is a fan.

What can you do? The easiest way is to make a donation on our team website, any dollar amount will do. It's simple, fast, and easy. Really. And a child somewhere will thank you.

The Reference RF-5 give-away, you ask? Oh yeah. If you call during a Klipsch sponsored Premium Hour on Thursday, November 19th from 6:00 – 7:00PM with a minimum donation TBD, you'll be entered to win the speakers at the end of the hour.

Not local? You can listen to a live stream of the broadcast anywhere with an internet connection.

Over the past 12 years, the Request-A-Thon event has raised over $2.5 million for the foundation, allowing them to grant over 400 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. It only takes a minute to imagine Steven as a recipient of this unbelievable generosity, and out comes my cash.

He'll never even miss one less toy under the tree.

The Re-creation

Amy Unger — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:07:00 GMT

My brother and I, Halloween 1974. Our offspring, Yesterday 2009.

The only thing I have to say about the recent picture is -- do you have any idea how hard it is to find a pumpkin one week after Halloween?

Caption Contest Winner: pmsummer

Amy Unger — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:23:00 GMT

This was a tough one...I had to call for back up. I think the choice of the name "Chester" in this context is what pushed it over the top. Not to mention my first cat was named Chester, after our 21st president. Yes, I was a huge nerd going back to at least age 8.

Congrats, pmsummer! One Klipsch prize, coming your way!

Chester misunderstood what the Swingers' Hi-Fi Club meant when they invited him to stop by for a Menage a trois.

Favorite Review of the Day

Professor Thump — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:19:00 GMT

I love my job!

If i need a pat on the back now days all I have to do is go to Apple or Amazon's websites or Google and find a review about S4i.

Here is one from a customer with some savvy for sound...

Beautifully Balanced Sound ............... Written by HE from San Jose

Sep 17, 2009

I just picked up a pair of S4i headphones at the Los Gatos Apple Store after reading the reviews here and on other sites. I put them on just outside the store, and at first was not happy with the sound. I almost took them back. I decided to fiddle with them, I'm glad I did. Once seated properly in the ear they came to life. They sounded pretty good, but at this point not as rich as my Bose in-ear phones. I decided to take them home and try the different ear pieces. Once I found the right size ear piece for my ears the sound REALLY came to life. These phone outclassed my Bose, Sennhieser, and Sony phones in a noticeable way.

Once dialed in the sound is very well balanced with enough sizzle at the high end to make cymbals convincingly real without fatiguing the listener. Mids have more presence than all my other phones including my HD-650's. I was transported back to the 70s when I heard my first pair of Klipsch Ls Scalas, one of the most memorable musical experiences of my life. Ella was singing and the sound was so clear, I swore I could hear the fabric in her clothing as she moved about the stage on a live recording. When seated properly these inexpensive audiophile quality phones had a similar effect. I was hearing things in the music that I hadn't heard before. Bass is also nicely defined with great reach into the lower frequencies without being muddy or artificial. To those who made negative comments I would advise you to give them a second try with the right ear-pieces attached. I was this >< close to returning them, I'm so glad I didn't. Comfort is high and getting to phones to seat in the ear canal is very easy. The remote works as advertised with my iPod Touch 3rd Generation. Buy these phones they are worth every penny.

Read this review and others Here

My New Best Friend

Amy Unger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:25:00 GMT

I'm dragging a little from today's off-site photo shoot, but it was nice to be away from the glaring computer monitor for a while. The Steak-n-Shake lunch was an added bonus. Mmm, french fries.

You can tell how informal our photo shoots actually are by scrolling through some of the outtakes. Like this one.

Beans by the Horn Load

Amy Unger — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Sunday was a beautiful day for tailgating in the Circle City. With wood cut outs of our loveable headphone mascots in tow, we arrived bright and early to Hurst Bean Field in the shadow of Lucas Oil Stadium for games and prizes. And when I say "we," I mean a customer service rep, an engineer, and two marketing managers. Quite a combo, if you think about it.

By tossing a miniature Klipsch branded Colts blue-and-white football through the heads of our mascots (a little creepy, really), winners were ecstatic to walk away with either Image S4 or S2 headphones, and a chance to win the grand prize HD Theater 300 at the end of the day. All participants got to take home a tiny football... win-win!

Aside from one volunteer arriving an hour early (psst, Derek, Indiana has been participating in DST since spring 2006), the event went without a hitch. The best part was probably seeing 200 or so miniature Klipsch footballs being hurled through the parking lot, and of course hearing local music talents Dave and Rae belting it out from the loading docks. Oh, and the matching track suits.

Special thanks to Matt Huntley and Hurst Beans for making the event possible. There simply isn't a valid reason for not buying Hurst...a family tradition in central Indiana since 1938. And we're all about family traditions.

Trailer: Black Lightning

Phil Dickerson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:14:00 GMT

Picture if you will a modern day Chitty Chitty Bang Bang minus Dick Van Dyke, throw in a slew of Michael Bay style action effects and you've got the new Russian film Black Lightning. Why do the Russians get flying cars while I'm still using roads like a sucker?

Check it out.

Because it's nice to be mobile....

Amy Unger — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:59:00 GMT

Now available at Klipsch.com - The ProMedia 2.1 Wireless!

At the risk of sounding like an ad....Get yours today in time for the holidays! End of ad.

I just really like this thing.

A Farewell Treat

Amy Unger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:11:00 GMT

Friday we not only gathered for Halloween fun, but also later to celebrate the retirement of one of the most instrumental contributors to Klipsch's success over the past 15 years, Senior VP of Finance, Nancy Mills.

Of course, I was there with camera in hand, but Nancy was not keen on having her picture taken. Frankly, no one was. So here are some pictures from the festivities from someone who didn't mind.

Best of luck, Nancy. You're going to be missed around here.

A Klipsch Halloween

Amy Unger — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:31:00 GMT

This years winners -- Congrats to Gumby (Derek, Customer Service Rep), Dracula (Steve, Tech Support Rep) and The Wicked Witch of the West (Kathy, Receptionist). Take a good look...these are the people who answer your phone calls!

Honorable Mention goes to "Little Old Lady Who Lost Her Dog" (Jill, VP of Finance), who probably would've won had she not won last year. She's a tough competitor!

You can see all the photos from today's fun here

Just Like a Pill

Amy Unger — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:43:00 GMT

I don't have too much recent pop music on my iPod. I mean, it's "ok" for ambient noise in the grocery store, but I wouldn't purposefully listen to most of it. Occasionally I find something that catches my fancy, and this song from P!nk is one of them. A more recent hit of hers, Who Knew, is another. That girl can belt a tune.

Time For Another Caption Contest!

Amy Unger — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:11:00 GMT

Intimate party for ... five? Let the captions fly for this 1970s lifestyle photo featuring a 3-channel Heritage system. Cleverest entry wins a Klipsch prize!

Right Around the Corner

Amy Unger — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:13:00 GMT

No, it's not quite snowing today, but I can tell that we're not far off. Not at all. So I'm preparing. I took this one a couple years ago...you can see our test-shed in the back of the photo, which was chronicled here, here, and here. And if you actually click on and read that last link, you'll be treated to a clever pop culture reference from one of my all time favorite co-workers. After all, how many people are able to work Plinko into every day conversation?

Evil Comes In All Sizes

Phil Dickerson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:26:00 GMT

With Halloween this Saturday, I thought it the right time to share this movie monster chart, which runs the gamut from Chucky to the Cloverfield monster. It probably should go lower to include The Gingerdead Man, but my absolute favorite has to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters (but isn't he technically Gozer?). It's available as a tee shirt, which is way better than some crummy costume.