Klipsch Model K (1957)

Name: Klipsch Model K
Brand: Klipsch

In 1957, Paul W. Klipsch introduced the Model K as a miniature version of the Klipschorn, built for the smaller homes that were becoming common at the time. Klipsch was concerned about speaker placement in compact living spaces. The K was designed to sit tucked into a corner, out of the way, and still deliver the company's signature horn-loaded efficiency.

The design is unusual. It's a corner horn with two rear-facing folded-horn bass cabinets, not a conventional direct-radiating enclosure. The bass consists of two separate folded horns made of 3/4-inch plywood that face outward from the rear, each loaded by a 12-inch driver with an expanded polystyrene block. A K-5-M midrange driver on a 180-degree exponential horn handles the mids, and the tweeter is the same K-77 used in the full-size Klipschorn. The speaker must be placed in a corner to work properly. The basic Model K shipped without grille cloth, since the rear-facing bass wasn't visible anyway. Klipsch rated it at 40 to 17,000 cycles, with a 16-ohm impedance, a crossover at 600 and 4,500 cycles, and a 20-watt power rating (10 watts recommended). It measures 20 inches wide, 13 inches deep, and 31 inches high.

Contemporary accounts describe the K's overall sound as much like its big brother's, though it lacked the Klipschorn's bass extension. Small rooms reportedly didn't present the usual problems of boominess or poor low-frequency cabinet design. One listener noted that the small 31-inch speaker was so efficient you could almost hear the music at just 2 to 3 watts, and called it a great choice for bar rooms and jazz venues. High Fidelity (January 1971, p.48) described it as a non-corner horn with only the slightest hint of "forwardness" in the 300-Hz region, noting clean bass down to about 35 Hz.

The record on the Model K is thin — virtually everything known comes from a single retrospective source, and no original price, production end date, weight, or sensitivity rating has surfaced. What's documented is a fascinating footnote in Klipsch history: a corner-horn speaker scaled down for the living rooms of 1957, built with the same engineering philosophy as the Klipschorn itself.

Type: 3-way corner horn, bookshelf/floor placement in corner
Bass: Two rear-facing folded horns, 12" driver each, 3/4" plywood construction, expanded polystyrene block
Midrange: K-5-M driver with 180-degree exponential horn
Tweeter: K-77 (same as Klipschorn)
Frequency response: 40–17,000 Hz (manufacturer rating)
Impedance: 16 ohms
Power handling: 20 watts max, 10 watts recommended
Crossover: 600 and 4,500 Hz
Dimensions: 20" W × 13" D × 31" H