By Ashley Falahee

While most house-hunting couples worry about finding the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood with the perfect property tax assessment, John and Nancy McKendree had an altogether different concern when seeking out new real estate in Virginia. Their biggest worry was finding a living room that could accommodate Mr. McKendree’s beloved 1951 Klipschorn.

An avid audiophile and retired engineer, the 73-year-old McKendree developed a real passion for Hi-Fi while attending audio conventions at New York City’s Hotel New Yorker in the early 1950s. It was at one of those events where he met his first true love: the Klipschorn (he did not marry his wife until 1967). He further embraced his fascination by serving as chapter president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Audio Engineering Society from 1954 to 1955.

Then in 1956, after graduating and taking a job in Rochester, N.Y., McKendree was finally able to establish a sound relationship with the object of his affection. With the money he earned as an electrical engineer, McKendree bought his Klipschorn for approximately $400 from Craig Audio in Rochester. “It was a pretty steep chunk of change at the time, but well worth the dent in my pocket,” he said.

With an inspection date of September 29, 1951, McKendree questioned whether his prized possession was, in fact, built by the legendary Paul W. Klipsch. As it turns out, he got his answer in 2007 after getting in contact with Klipsch headquarters in preparation for moving for retirement. He was looking to freshen up his speaker with some new grilles.

According to Jim Hunter, Klipsch’s senior director of engineering and museum curator, after researching Lloyd McClellan’s hand-written notes—Paul Klipsch’s first employee—it was discovered that McKendree’s Klipschorn, speaker number 242, is actually the 142nd model produced by the company. At the time it was built, Paul Klipsch had three employees working for him so one of them probably built McKendree’s Klipschorn. However, Hunter claims that Paul Klipsch would have tested it.

An engineering breakthrough when it was first introduced in 1946, the Klipschorn remains one of the most highly praised loudspeakers in the world and is the only loudspeaker that has been in continuous production for over 60 years. With extremely high sensitivity, this three-way, fully horn-loaded loudspeaker utilizes the walls and corners of the listening room as part of its design. Able to span more than nine full octaves with rich, smooth, ultra low distortion sound, it’s easy to see why the Klipschorn is truly “A Legend in Sound®.”

“After 56 years, my Klipschorn is still in perfect working condition,” said Mr. McKendree. “I still use it all the time and I feel confident when playing it at extremely high volumes.”

When Paul Klipsch came up with the Klipschorn design, his goal was to reproduce the dynamics and excitement of a live orchestra performance in his living room. So, in essence, it’s a perfect fit for the McKendree couple as they really enjoy listening to classical music. “The sound is excellent. My wife and I think it’s just the best speaker around,” said Mr. McKendree.

Refusing to ever part with their beloved 175-pound speaker, McKendree and his wife were able to find a home in Williamsburg that has room for it. And as excited as he is about his speaker and new 30-by-20 living room, he is not so sure how his new neighbors feel. But he’ll know soon enough based on the number of friends he makes or the number of “noise” violations he receives.