Driven by a passion for music, Klipsch founder Paul W. Klipsch took his desire to hear a “live” orchestra inside his home and revolutionized the way people listened to recorded music when he introduced the Klipschorn®, a corner horn-loaded loudspeaker, in 1946.

Over 60 years later, the heritage and drive for perfection of Paul Klipsch’s early work is the standard by which the company produces loudspeakers today. In fact, Klipsch designers, acousticians and scientists are continuously pushing the laws of physics and developing new and improved ways for audio lovers to experience the company’s signature high-output, low-distortion sound.

Offering the highest level of perfection in every respect, the Klipsch Palladium Series is the pinnacle of modern-day horn-loaded technology and craftsmanship. Taking the “live” music concept into a new realm, this high-end seven-model lineup—three floorstanders (P-39F, P-38F, P-37F), one bookshelf model (P-17B), one center channel (P-27C), one surround speaker (P-27S) and one subwoofer (P-312W)—utilizes new materials, transducer advances as well as unprecedented proprietary technologies to create a luxurious balance of performance and lifestyle.

Conceptualized as the ultimate global expression of Klipsch, the carefully planned and executed Palladium Series brought in design and engineering teams from around the world. Top professionals from Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Hope, Arkansas; Munich, Germany; Guangzhou, China; and Shenzhen, China participated in bringing this remarkable vision to fruition.

However, it was not a vision that came overnight. While the Palladium design itself was a 1½ year process, Klipsch’s quest to bring live-performance sound into the realm of high-end audio dates back nearly a decade. Setting no timeline and sparing no expense, Klipsch saw to it that every innovative idea was pursued and every expectation was surpassed. Time and time again, the company returned to the drawing board to push the boundaries of sound, style and technology as never before.

So, after years of refusing to ever lower its standards even the slightest degree, Klipsch brings you Palladium—a true work of art.

What is your name? 
Etienne Iliffe-Moon

What is your role at BMW?
Creative Director, in the Product Design team at BMW Group DesignworksUSA

What is your role on the Palladium project?
Designer and Creative Director

What was your first reaction when you were given the Palladium assignment? Was it a bit intimidating? Exhilarating? How does it rank with other projects you typically work on?
Every design challenge is exciting. What made the Palladium project special was Klipsch’s mission to redefine the brand in the high-end premium audio segment. The entire Klipsch team was committed to this, and in doing so remained very open to pushing the boundaries on the design and engineering of the speakers. Much of our work at DesignworksUSA focuses on addressing the needs of the clients’ brand; in this respect Klipsch ranks on par with our premium client base.

What role did Klipsch’s legacy of horn-loaded sound and audio innovation play in the design? 
In the creative search for a unique product signature for the Palladium Series, we’ve focused on a number of key elements of the design context. One of these elements is truly understanding what it means for a product to wear the Klipsch badge. Going beyond what today’s brand means, but delving into the Klipsch archives to discover the history behind founder Paul W. Klipsch and the brand.

Klipsch is synonymous with horn-loaded speakers. The Palladium Series celebrates the company’s proprietary Tractrix® Horn technology, in a package that clearly belongs in the modern lounge or home theater. Klipsch definitely has a bold approach to acoustic design—this led us to the idea of ‘Pure Sound.’ The horn delivers rich dynamics, capturing the true essence of a sound recording. We wanted to capture this in the design of the Palladium Series. That’s why the dual horns are the centerpiece of the design.

The design should be driven by the heart and soul of the loudspeaker—the Klipsch acoustic story. Immersed in the idea of ‘Pure Sound,’ Designworks created a resonating theme for the new loudspeaker concept: ‘Classic Audio—Contemporary Furniture Design.’ The theme felt like a natural and clear connection between the contemporary lifestyle aspirations of the Palladium Series and everything the Klipsch brand represents. Throughout the design process, this theme has been an important guiding principle to maintaining the design’s integrity. The result is an inspiring design language that successfully welds the Klipsch acoustic story with the industrial design.

Aesthetically, the P-39F is a striking advance for Klipsch. Talk about the departure from the traditional, boxier look. Were you nervous about moving so far, so quickly? Tell us about the acoustic reasons for the cabinet’s shape and the advantages it provides. What about the design reasons? Did Klipsch’s engineers give you a blank slate? If not, what were the parameters?
The modern listening room or living room has changed with both lifestyles and technology. People are filling their rooms with thin panel TVs and advanced digital technology. The speaker needs to evolve with these trends in home interiors, whilst staying true to the performance aspirations—delivering immersive entertainment experiences. The cabinet design is essential in pulling together Klipsch’s proprietary technology and expressing the idea of ‘Pure Sound.’

The Palladium Series has a provocative and progressive design language that boldly expresses power and performance yet retains an architectural sophistication and elegance. The controlled curvature of the cabinet and precise use of metal accents elevates the design to a feeling of fine cabinetmaking and bespoke tailoring. The profile of the cabinet is based on a catenary curve or Gothic arch that inherently offers structural, acoustic, and visual benefits. The curvature adds stiffness and integrity, whilst breaking up higher frequency standing waves. The curved form itself creates a rich sheen and reduces the perceived visual mass of the cabinet.

The Klipsch engineers were fabulous! They were as committed to the idea of ‘Pure Sound’ as anybody else on the design team. This shows how the speaker’s acoustic design, engineering, and technology stories are so intertwined with the industrial design. This synergy as a design team is critical in ensuring the integrity of the design vision and that it remains with the speakers as they are crafted in production.

Share your thoughts about the horizontal grain veneer and why you chose a zebrawood look. 
We talked earlier about needing to understand several elements of the design context. In addition to understanding the brand context, we also focused on looking at the context of the consumers themselves. Designworks evaluated how trends in lifestyle, furniture and interior design should influence and form aspirations for future Klipsch products. A third element was researching the market context; the team analyzed the competitive market as a basis to formulating differentiation strategies and revealing new opportunities for Klipsch.

From this research in interior and furniture design, we could clearly see that contemporary furniture is about horizontal lines. The horizontal grain reinforces the contemporary furniture feel; the veneer grain acts as contour lines that emphasize the curvature of the cabinet and a unique differentiator. We chose a zebrawood look because of its contemporary and exotic look and feel. However, because actual zebrawood is on the verge of extinction, Klipsch wanted to seek out an earth-friendly alternative. 

The P-39F features what Klipsch calls a ‘Linia’ veneer. Linia is a very close match to zebrawood. It is a hand-selected zebra-grain veneer produced from real wood; tree sources include the Ayous, Obeche and Italian Poplar. These trees are part of a government-sanctioned controlled harvest, so they are a renewable wood resource.

The P-39F has consistent linearity, tonal depth, and low cathedral; just right for a premium product. We wanted the veneer to feel natural and honest, to almost have an oiled Scandinavian feel. From our experimentation with many different kinds of veneers, stains and gloss levels, we quickly discovered that we could offer a single wood veneer with different colored stains to offer subtle color variations with dramatic results. This also allowed us to control the consistency of the design’s feel between different color options.

The horizontal veneer is unique to Klipsch, it gives us the bold look Paul W. Klipsch would be proud of and clearly differentiates the Palladium Series from its competitors.

At Designworks, we are fortunate to be a full service design consultancy from start to finish, with design strategy through to 3D modeling. Unlike many other design consultancies, we have a full department dedicated to color, material, and finish. Our CMF team works on cross-industry projects and is able to transfer unique color and material applications for various industries. The CMF team has created color, material, and finish programs for aircraft interiors, yacht interiors, consumer products, spaces, and more. This expertise greatly enhanced the end result of the P-39F.

Let’s talk about the journey of Palladium. How long did you work on it? How many teams/designers? How many ID sketches, CAD drawings, etc. did you go through?
It’s been a journey! We pulled a design team from all over the world, including American, British, French and Finnish designers! DesignworksUSA has a global outlook, thanks to our three studios in California, Munich, and Singapore. Our ability to understand and translate design influences in North America, Europe, and Asia were a critical factor in delivering a product with global potential, geared to global lifestyle tastes. Additionally, we were able to increase our global collaboration with a design exchange between the California and Munich studios specific to the Klipsch project. Olivier Molody, based out of our Munich studio, provided a European design perspective and expertise while on the project, which was led out of our California studio. Olivier was joined on the project by Holger Hampf, Director of Product Design, and Johannes Lampela, Senior Color, Materials, and Finish Designer for BMW Group DesignworksUSA.

We first started on this project in October 2006; we’ve been following it ever since. Following the product development cycle for well over a year, we’ve been through countless concept sketches, models, CAD models, computer simulations and manufacturing revisions in search of perfection. The results of our passion for—and dedication to—design are evident in the Palladium P-39F.

What was the biggest challenge—design-wise?
A design that makes a clear iconic statement and has beauty in its simplicity. On top of that, one of the significant challenges in the design work has again been maintaining the integrity of the design vision. Ensuring the design details make it through to production—design is in the details. We’ve been working hard to achieve a premium design, designed from the inside out, using premium materials and components, crafted in production.

Was there an ‘eureka’ moment for any part of the design? What are you most proud of? What gets you excited as a designer? Did your love for music/art play a role or serve as inspiration?
You don’t always have a ‘eureka’ moment in every design project. However, in the design of the Palladium Series, this particular moment came late one night as we played around with mock-ups (life-size preliminary models) of the speakers with veneer samples. We clearly saw the effect of turning the zebrawood veneer vertical; we went from the old paradigm that a speaker must appear like a solid block of wood (with grain vertical), to a new more sophisticated paradigm— that the speaker, with horizontal grain, can be crafted more like fine contemporary furniture. This gives a deliberate, executed feel that has honesty in stating the speaker is composed of panels, just like furniture.

Music is certainly food for the soul. A vital ingredient to creativity; it can lift the mood, create energy and help you reflect—I can’t work without it!

What was the design goal of Palladium? How is it supposed to make people feel as they see it from across the room? Up close? What’s your favorite accent or detail?
The goal has been ‘Pure Sound.’ One of the objectives has been to find the sweet-spot between the conceptual intersection of ‘classic audio’ and ‘contemporary furniture’ in speaker design.

The speakers are designed to have presence. To the extent that you can hear the sound with your eyes! My favorite part of the design is the sound. (That’s essentially why the presentation of food is so important in the restaurant industry.) It’s the ultimate goal of any designer to bridge the physical dimension and stimulate the emotional senses. It’s the essence of the experience, and capturing experiences is what designers do.

How long did it take to nail the perfect shape for both sound and style? How many designs were discarded?
The design team included not just the designers, but also Klipsch’s acoustic and mechanical engineers—we were engaged in a truly collaborative design process. Beyond the original concept selection process, the product development process was more evolutionary and iterative, fueled by simulation and testing.

Having said that, getting the cabinet shape has been important not just acoustically, but visually. The P-39Fs are big speakers; the curved sides and angled cabinet top took a lot of work to get right. The angled cabinet top conceals the true visual mass or size, but also (as every guy knows) prevents the speaker from being used as a stand for empty glasses, ornaments and nasty things that just don’t belong on the top of your speakers.

What was your reaction the first time you saw one fully assembled? What about other reactions you’ve witnessed? What’s your favorite finish? Why two grilles?
Elated! It’s great to see the culmination of a lot of hard work result in something that resonates with enthusiasts and is a compelling solution to what we originally set out to achieve in 2006.

I love the natural feel of the blonde zebra-grain Linia, especially with the horizontal grain showing off the curve of the cabinet. What’s interesting about the horizontal grain is it challenges people, it’s a little unexpected. It perhaps makes you stop and think if you like it or not; that’s intentional. We wanted to challenge people’s preconceptions to make a bold design statement.

The grilles were intended more to be modesty screens for those with better halves. The top horn grille allows you to liberate the high frequencies, while modestly concealing the 9-inch woofers. I feel the Palladium design sounds and looks best without the grilles on. You get the performance statement of the drivers and horns, plus you can display the horn grille with solid aluminum logo bar in the trophy cabinet.

What is the first thing you want someone to think when they see the P-39F?
Premium performance, contemporary design—that’s ‘Pure Sound!’

Why does it matter how a speaker looks if it sounds good?
As I said before, our different senses, to an extent, all play a role in our sensory perception. What we hear is affected by what we see, smell and touch, and vice versa. That’s why the smell of leather in a new car has such an emotional impact on consumers. And, that’s why you can’t taste anything when you have a cold!

Where did the European styling influences come from? What things were done to ensure that it works with all contemporary living spaces?
With DesignworksUSA’s global base, we have three studios in Munich, Los Angeles and Singapore. This allows us to tap into local cultural trends and understand the big picture of what’s happening globally, in this case with contemporary interiors, furniture and consumer lifestyles. By understanding what’s going on today, it allows us to uncover what the opportunities or possibilities are for the future.

Talk about the luxury lifestyle and how Palladium fits into modern, sophisticated living spaces… about how ore than a speaker, but also a piece of furniture, for those who expect only the finest, etc. Explain how the European influences that impacted Palladium’s design. Maybe share a few of the latest interior design trends that also played a role.
Luxury lifestyle is based on exclusivity, separating the standards of living from the mass consumables of everyday living. Having a product by appointment—designed for you and delivered to you, that is personalized, tailored and bespoke. The Palladium design uses only the finest materials: Titanium, gold, aluminum, reinforced BMC, exotic hard-woods. Crafted and detailed by hand, uncompromised in acoustic performance and design, where quality is utmost.

“Simplexity” is a design trend that looks to simplify the physical product, eliminating complexity to focus on the true experience. In designing the Palladium series, we set out to question everything and to eliminate anything that brings unnecessary complexity without net gain. This is demonstrated by the absence of visible fasteners or screws, the hidden magnets that secure the dual grilles and the flush mounted drivers and horns. The inverted surrounds on the woofers amplify this, creating a seamless acoustic baffle that looks incredibly simple. It’s ironic that simplicity is often incredibly difficult to achieve.

As far as interior trends go, we’ve been seeing a transition to horizontal living environments— both in furniture and technology. As the centerpiece of most living rooms, the flat-panel TV goes 9:16 wide screen aspect ratio and depth has been eliminated. We’ll be seeing full-size TVs less than 1 or 2 inches in a couple of years. This, in turn, is affecting how people live and is enabling new lifestyles. At the premium level, the Palladium Series is designed to live in this evolving, modern home interior environment.

What piece of music would you first play on a pair of P-39Fs if you had the opportunity?
I’ll need to think about that, some classics on vinyl no doubt…

What do you want to say about this project, this speaker that you want people to know?
The Palladium Series is designed to be a modern classic that’s true to Klipsch’s heritage. It’s about the true sound behind a recording and emotion of live music. You really can have that rock band, hip-hop crew, quartet or ensemble in your living room.

Nearly a decade ago, the quest began to create the ultimate global expression of Klipsch® sound technology. After years of designing, refining and searching throughout the world for the best possible components, the stage was set. With the introduction of the flagship P-39F Palladium floorstander, we’ve achieved a new standard of excellence—one that is reflected in the entire Palladium family.

The Palladium Series brought together design and engineering teams from around the world. Top professionals from Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Hope, Arkansas; Munich, Germany; Guangzhou, China; and Shenzhen, China participated in bringing this remarkable vision to fruition. While literally hundreds of men and women were closely involved with the Palladium Series, three Klipsch employees formed the core of this development team, seeing these unique speakers from inception to completion:

Larry Coan, director of mechanical engineering:
A significant portion of Larry’s two years at Klipsch have been spent working on the Palladium project. Prior to joining us, he was part of the senior technical staff at Thomson Consumer Electronics, involved with RCA television design and development. A native of Springfield, Ohio, Larry received his BS in mechanical engineering from Ohio University and his MBA from Indiana. He is 48 years old.

“The Industrial Design provided by BMW DesignworksUSA in California pushed the mechanical design envelope in every way—from the radically curved cabinets to the elegant aluminum trim pieces. Once the consumer gets past this product's amazing performance, they should be equally impressed with its form and finish.”

Greg Matuszak, senior program manager:
Greg’s program management experience with Bendix Corporation and Harman Motive led to a similar position at Klipsch—one which he’s held for the past seven and a half years. As with other members of the Palladium core team, Greg spent nearly two years overseeing the development of these flagship speakers. Born in South Bend, Indiana, he received his BS in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1987. Greg is 44 years old.

“Each time we came upon a major roadblock, we simply figured a way to get by it, as we knew—and still know—that the Palladium products will be special for years to come.” 

Chris Perrins, senior acoustics engineer:
Although he’s just 30 years old, Chris had significant experience with KEF Audio UK before arriving in the United States to join the Klipsch organization two years ago. His role as an acoustic engineer for the Palladium project took him around the world, working with suppliers here and abroad. A native of Kinver, West Midlands, UK, Chris is a graduate of Salford University.

“It’s been a fun project to work on, as everything was designed in-house with a no-compromise approach and no tight constraints.”

INDIANAPOLIS (July 8, 2008) — With the introduction of its flagship Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding speaker last year, Klipsch established new standards for audio excellence and visual impact. Now, the company is bringing the same design principles and style to six other Palladium Series speakers: the P-38F and P-37F floorstanders, P-17B bookshelf speaker, P-27C center channel, P-27S surround and P-312W subwoofer.

“The entire Palladium family bears a sophisticated, modern design, incomparable craftsmanship and new proprietary technologies,” said Mike Klipsch, Klipsch brand president. “This new series is more than the ultimate expression of our sound; it is a triumph of passion.”

According to Mike Klipsch, while the Palladium family design process took a little over a year to complete, the company’s quest to bring live-performance sound into the realm of high-end audio dates back nearly a decade. “We wanted to pursue every innovative idea and surpass every expectation before entering the high-end luxury arena,” he said. “So, because we refused to ever lower our standards, we were able to bring Palladium to market—a series that is truly a work of art.”

The P-38F and P-37F floorstanding speakers feature the flagship P-39F’s technology and gallery-like appearance in slightly smaller, but equally stunning, packages. The P-17B raises the bar for bookshelf speakers, with full, rich sound that belies their smaller size and the same visual impact that sets the P-39F apart from other premium speakers. When combined with P-27S surround speakers, the P-27C center channel speaker and P-312W subwoofer in a home theater environment, the result is simply remarkable.

The Palladium P-17B and P-27C speakers feature 3-way design, while the floorstanding models offer 3.5-way performance. Trickle-down technology is represented in the floorstanding, bookshelf and center channel models by using the same Tractrix® Horn-loaded midrange and supertweeter as the P-39F.

“While many manufacturers depend on “off-the-shelf” drivers, even for their top of the line products, Klipsch engineers were convinced that these speakers deserved more,” noted Klipsch.

Proprietary hybrid drivers were designed in-house to deliver a higher level of performance than similarly sized components; all of these new speakers—including the subwoofer and surrounds—use this technology. The P-17B, P-27C, P-27S and P-37F all feature 7-inch woofers. The P-38F has three 8-inch and the P-312W three 12-inch woofers.

The entire Palladium family features what the company calls a “Linia” zebra-grain veneer, which is available in three different finish stains: natural, merlot and espresso. The horizontal linear grain matches that of the most popular contemporary furniture and emphasizes the elegance of the cabinets. 

Accessory floor stands have also been developed for the P-17B and P-27C models to provide additional placement options. These aluminum and steel stands were designed to match the contemporary look of the speakers. The center stand for the P-27C has an up-tilt adjustment of up to 6-degrees to allow listeners to optimize speaker placement.

The entire Klipsch Palladium Series will be available for purchase at select specialty retail locations around the world in July. U.S. MSRP pricing is as follows: the P-39F, P-38F and P-37F are priced at $20,000, $12,000 and $8,000 per pair respectively, the P-17B is $4,000 per pair, the P-27C is $3,500 each, the P-27S is $4,000 per pair and the P-312W is $4,000 each. The PFS-24 accessory floor stand is priced at $800 per pair, while the PFS-18 center stand is $650 each. 

Visit the Palladium Series mini-site for more information.

INDIANAPOLIS (March 25, 2008) — For over 60 years, Klipsch engineers have sought the ultimate: a loudspeaker that could reproduce recorded music with all the passion of a live performance. The new Palladium™ Series approaches aural perfection, while making a visual statement that is every bit as elegant and passionate as the sound.

The Palladium Series P-39F floorstander represents the epitome of loudspeaker technology, with remarkable clarity throughout the dynamic range and bold styling. Today, Klipsch Group, Inc. is a global force, and this flagship loudspeaker reflects that leadership status; design and engineering teams from the United States collaborated with colleagues from Germany and China to plan and execute the Palladium project.

To ensure that the new speaker exceeded consumer expectations, the Klipsch team enlisted the assistance of BMW Group DesignworksUSA—a global design consultancy that has done projects for BMW Group vehicles as well as other premium brands. The result is simply spectacular; a clean, contemporary look that enhances any living space. According to Jim Garrett, Klipsch director of product planning, “The Palladium Series is intended to represent the highest levels of achievement in engineering and style; the look and finish of these speakers certainly achieve that goal.”

In designing the Palladium P-39F cabinet, Designworks first considered the Klipsch heritage and unique approach to acoustic design. Trends in home interior and furniture were also factored in, as was the current audio market landscape.

The result is a speaker that flawlessly melds classic Klipsch® audio with the latest in home furniture trends. The striking “boat-tail” design hints at the power and performance inside, while maintaining a high degree of sophistication and beauty. More importantly, the arched shape of the P-39F flagship loudspeaker actually contributes to its remarkable sound by breaking up standing waves at higher frequencies. 

Next to its unique shape, the most striking visual element is the beautiful stained zebra-grain Linia veneer finish. The horizontal linear grain matches that of the most popular contemporary furniture and emphasizes the elegant curvature of the cabinet. Three different finish stains are available: natural, merlot and espresso.

When in place, the two magnetically attached speaker grilles are designed to subtly reveal the classic Klipsch horn at the top and the hybrid drivers below; those who desire a more functional, powerful look may choose to remove them entirely to display the components.

The P-39F’s side-firing ports are another example of the marriage of form and function. The ports themselves increase bass response, while their metallic finish mirrors the horn and driver trim rings. Because Palladium P-39F loudspeakers are sold as matched left-right pairs, the ports make an easily seen visual statement.

An adjustable brushed aluminum floating base supports the cabinet at just four points, rather than the entire area of the base. This raises the cabinet from floor level but maintains absolute stability.

Power. Detail. Emotion. Combined, these qualities are the embodiment of the Klipsch core philosophy. And all are expressed—beautifully—in the brilliant new Palladium P-39F loudspeaker.

Priced at $20,000 per pair (U.S. MSRP), the Palladium P-39F speakers will begin shipping to select specialty retail outlets around the world in July. 

Visit the special Palladium mini-site.

INDIANAPOLIS (March 25, 2008) — Klipsch developed its new flagship Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding speaker to be a universal masterpiece of sound and design. The company plans to use this ultra-luxury product with unprecedented proprietary technologies to fulfill the most exacting demands of select customers around the world.

“Offering the highest level of perfection in every respect, this speaker is the pinnacle of modern-day horn-loaded technology and craftsmanship,” said Mike Klipsch, Klipsch brand president. “Steady global growth of the Klipsch® brand has proven to more and more people that horn-loaded speakers just sound better. Now that the Klipsch name is highly recognized and trusted on a much broader scale, we believe the market is ready to experience our more esoteric side.”

According to Mike Klipsch, a large percentage of high-end speakers utilize “off-the-shelf” drivers; the P-39F drivers were carefully designed and tested in the company’s advanced engineering and technology center in Indianapolis, Ind.

A 3.5-way Tapered Array design, the P-39F employs a new, proprietary horn-loaded tweeter assembly made of unique acoustically-damped materials, a sophisticated inverted dome midrange, and three high-output woofers to create a stunningly precise audio experience with high sensitivity and extremely low distortion.

Developed from the ground up, the speaker’s ¾-inch titanium diaphragm tweeter utilizes two powerful neodymium magnets and a resistively damped back chamber. A uniquely chambered phase plug and exclusive Tractrix® Horn combination delivers an extended high-frequency response that is inherently flat from 3kHz to 30kHz. Additionally, this arrangement reduces heat levels so that the driver will maintain its full dynamic capability at any volume level.

Housed in its own acoustically-tuned, sealed enclosure, the P-39F midrange employs a 4.5-inch inverted aluminum diaphragm driver powered by three high-temperature neodymium magnets, allowing it to operate effortlessly from 500Hz to 3kHz. A copper-capped pole piece reduces inductance modulation, giving a low-distortion, clean sound. The 1-inch voice coil not only delivers high sensitivity, but also generates a very responsive and accurate moving system.

The midrange’s lightweight foamed rubber surround allows the P-39F to achieve improved linear excursion, especially in the high-frequency range. The midrange driver is coupled to a 90-degree by 60-degree acoustically-damped Tractrix Horn via a four-to-one compression phase plug, which is specifically designed to operate over the midrange frequencies.

The P-39F’s three low-frequency drivers employ 9-inch hybrid cone woofers (made of aluminum, Rohacell® and Kevlar®), powered by a unique three-part neodymium magnet structure with dual stabilizing rings that reduce nonlinear flux. Triple ports further enhance low-distortion bass response. Each woofer’s 1.5-inch voice coil responds accurately to the smallest signal modulation, yet can also handle the high power of the most demanding soundtracks.

For signal purity and perfect driver integration, the P-39F’s crossover network features the finest components. When combined with the smooth, natural roll off of the drivers, the network creates a fourth-order electro-acoustic filter. Found in a damped region of the speaker’s base plate, the network also allows the tri-wire input connectors to be hidden from view.

Featuring a “boat-tail” enclosure, the P-39F’s cabinet walls are up to 30mm thick with multiple laminations of medium density fiberboard that have been molded through a proprietary process. Extensive internal bracing gives the speaker a more rigid and structurally sound enclosure.

It is also important to note that every P-39F comes as a “matching” left and right speaker pair. Not only are all of the driver components within each particular set acoustically matched, their cabinets also coordinate with one another by positioning their triple ports on opposite sides and sharing the same wood grain finish.

Having worked in conjunction with BMW Group DesignworksUSA—a global design consultancy that has done projects for BMW Group vehicles as well as other premium brands—Klipsch was able to make the P-39F a truly unique and elite statement piece.

Palladium P-39F floorstanders will begin shipping to select U.S. specialty retailers this summer. For a complete home theater experience, six other globally-inspired high-end models which use the same technology and design principles as the P-39F will launch during the same timeframe.

P-39F Technical Highlights: 

• Acoustically inert, carbon-infused, thermoset composite 90 x 60-degree Tractrix Horns and
phase plugs 

• 19mm (0.75-inch) titanium diaphragm super tweeter with twin N38H neodymium magnet motor
structure mated to 4:1 high-compression chambered phase plug 

• 114mm (4.5-inch) inverted aluminum diaphragm midrange with triple N35H neodymium
magnet motor structure with dedicated sub-enclosure mated to 4:1 high-compression
chambered phase plug 

• 3 x 228mm (9-inch) hybrid aluminum / Rohacell® / Kevlar® diaphragm woofers with triple
N35H neodymium magnet motor structures and dual Faraday aluminum shorting rings 

• High-flow, low-restriction, die-cast aluminum midrange and woofer frames with integrated
heatsinks 

• Optimized Tapered Array 3.5-way (4th order electro-acoustic) networks with high-linearity, low
insertion loss air-core inductors, Solen metalized polypropylene fast capacitors and ultra low
inductance power resistors mounted on double-sided, plated-thru PCB’s 

• Tri-wire, gold-plated brass Klipsch binding posts with gold-plated bus bars 

• All drive units and networks are hand sorted and factory matched within 0.5dB

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

Visit the special Palladium mini-site.

INDIANAPOLIS (April 18, 2008) — When the Klipsch® industrial design team set out to create the flagship Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding loudspeaker, their goal was to have it resemble a premium piece of handcrafted furniture. And, by looking at its striking boat-tail silhouette and exotic zebra-striped finish, it’s quite obvious they hit the mark. But, less apparent is the team’s environmentally friendly approach.

According to Paul Jacobs, president and COO of Klipsch Group, Inc., often, when building luxury goods, manufacturers will use a zebrawood veneer because their affluent target market is awed by its dramatic color banding of light and dark stripes. However, it’s a resource that is considered threatened in its native habitat, meaning it’s vulnerable to extinction in the near future. “With the P-39F, we too are trying to reach upper-echelon customers using a distinct, zebra-striped veneer, but we’ve found a way to lessen the impact it has on our mother Earth,” he said.

The Palladium P-39F features what the company calls a “Linia” veneer, which is available in three different finish stains: natural, merlot and espresso. According to Glen Fuller, Klipsch director of design, Linia is a very close match to zebrawood. It is a hand-selected zebra-grain veneer produced from real wood; tree sources include the Ayous, Obeche and Italian Poplar. These trees are part of a government-sanctioned controlled harvest, so they are a renewable wood resource. “By using the Linia zebra-grain veneer, we’re proving that the essence of nature can still be enjoyed without harming the environment,” noted Fuller.

There are several other advantages that Linia has over zebrawood. Five times as much zebrawood needs to be used to find an acceptable product finish, resulting in an incredible amount of waste material. Worse yet, it is wasting a natural resource that is not easily renewable. The non-threatened Linia is a more eco-friendly choice, in that its repeatable pattern/grain is consistent and offers graphic uniformity, leaving hardly any waste material behind. Fuller also mentioned that Linia’s stain and color consistency from model-to-model is good for manufacturing and matching models from run-to-run and year-to-year.

“Because we want to be an environmentally responsible company, while still setting the highest production standards, we decided to go with a zebra-grain Linia version rather than a zebrawood veneer on the P-39F,” said Jacobs.

Priced at $20,000 per pair (U.S. MSRP), the Palladium P-39F speakers will begin shipping to select  specialty retailers around the world in July. 

More information on this luxury product can be found on the Palladium mini-site.

INDIANAPOLIS (February 7, 2008) — On February 5, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced the finalists of its 2008 Mark of Excellence Awards. The Klipsch Palladium™ P-39F floorstanding loudspeaker was among them, recognized for its outstanding achievement and innovation in the best freestanding speaker category.

The Klipsch name has been synonymous with horn-loaded technology since 1946. And since then, the company has been guided by the four design principles established by its founder Paul W. Klipsch: high efficiency with low distortion, controlled directivity, flat frequency response and wide dynamic range.

According to Klipsch officials, the Palladium P-39F represents the latest advancement in horn technology and purest application of those design principles yet. The carbon-infused, thermoset composite dual-horn configuration is unique to the P-39F. It consists of a proprietary tweeter design combining a chambered phase plug and Tractrix® Horn for extended high-frequency response; a second 90-degree by 60-degree acoustically dampened Tractrix Horn is coupled to the midrange driver. The result is remarkably precise and detailed reproduction of music.

The P-39F’s cabinet features no parallel walls and extensive internal bracing; the structure minimizes resonance and maximizes acoustic performance. The 27mm constrained layer side panels feature multiple laminations of medium density fiberboard that are molded through a proprietary process. When combined with the angled top panel and 31mm steel-reinforced front baffle, the finished cabinet enclosure offers ideal rigidity, strength and sound.

Next to its uniquely built enclosure, the P-39F’s most striking visual element is its beautiful zebra-grain Linia veneer finish. The horizontal linear grain matches that of the most popular contemporary furniture and emphasizes the elegant curvature of the cabinet. Three different finish stains are available: natural, merlot and espresso. 

The Mark of Excellence Awards program, presented by CEA's TechHome Division, recognizes the best in custom home electronics products, services, and installed technology. Each year, manufacturers, distributors, and systems integrators enter to compete in award categories for this coveted honor. A four-member judging team comprised of systems integrators, manufacturers and members of the trade press/industry consultants evaluate the entries.

All of the winners will be announced at an awards dinner on Friday, March 14 at the Rosen Centre Hotel, during the ninth annual Electronic House Expo (EHX) Spring 2008.

About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $161 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. For more information, visit www.ce.org.