Formerly | KLH Research and Development Corporation; KLH Audio Systems |
---|---|
Industry | Audio electronics |
Founded | 1957Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. | in
Founders |
|
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Owner | Kelley Global Brands |
Website | klhaudio |
KLH Audio is an American audio electronics company based in Noblesville, Indiana. [2] Originally founded in 1957 as KLH Research and Development Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company takes its name from the initials of its founders: Henry Kloss, Malcolm S. Low, and Josef Anton Hofmann.
The original aim of the company was to design and produce loudspeakers in speaker enclosures. [3] KLH had sales of $17 million, employed over 500 people and sold over 30,000 speakers a year before it was sold to Singer Corporation in 1964. [4] In 1970, KLH became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Electro Audio Dynamics (EAD) of Great Neck, New York. [4] EAD moved KLH's headquarters to Canoga Park, Los Angeles, in 1980. [4]
Japanese conglomerate Kyocera acquired KLH in 1982, [5] and production was shifted overseas. Kyocera later decided to stop manufacturing audio products, and sought a buyer for the KLH brand. In 1989, KLH was acquired by Wald Sound of Sun Valley, Los Angeles. [5]
In 2003, Sony filed a lawsuit against KLH (then Lavcon, Inc., trading as KLH Audio Systems) asserting copyright infringement of a Sony home theater system. [6]
In January 2017, Kelley Global Brands bought the company and renamed it KLH Audio. [7] [8] The company makes premium high-end speakers.
Sony Group Corporation, commonly known as simply Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional electronic products, the largest video game console company and the largest video game publisher. Through Sony Entertainment, it is one of the largest music companies and the third largest film studio, making it one of the most comprehensive media companies. It is the largest technology and media conglomerate in Japan. It is also recognized as the most cash-rich Japanese company, with net cash reserves of ¥2 trillion.
Magnavox is an American electronics company that since 1975 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen, co-inventors of the moving-coil loudspeaker at their lab in Napa, California, under United States Patent number 1,105,924 for telephone receivers. Six decades later, Magnavox produced the Odyssey, the world's first home video game console.
Panasonic Holdings Corporation, formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of Panasonic Corporation between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb socket manufacturer. In addition to consumer electronics, of which it was the world's largest maker in the late 20th century, Panasonic offers a wide range of products and services, including rechargeable batteries, automotive and avionic systems, industrial systems, as well as home renovation and construction.
Aiwa (アイワ) is a consumer electronics brand owned and used by various companies in different regions of the world. American and other regions are owned by Chicago-based Aiwa Corporation. Towada Audio based in Tokyo owns the rights to the brand in Japan and other countries, and has been manufacturing Aiwa-branded products since 2017. In Mexico and other countries in Latin America, the rights are owned by Audio Mobile Americas, S.A.
Kyocera Corporation is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as Kyoto Ceramic Company, Limited in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, office document imaging equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools, and components for medical and dental implant systems.
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., stylized as SANYO, was a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by Toshio Iue in 1947.
Pioneer Corporation commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop. Its current president is Susumu Kotani.
Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation was an American radio and electronics manufacturer and retailer from approximately 1931 to 1981, headquartered in Syosset, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. The company sold radio sets, Amateur radio (Ham) equipment, citizens band (CB) radios and related communications equipment, electronic components, microphones, public address systems, and tools through their company owned and branded chain of retail outlets and by mail-order.
Altec Lansing, Inc. is an American audio electronics company founded in 1927. Their primary products are loudspeakers and associated audio electronics for professional, home, automotive and multimedia applications.
Henry Kloss was a prominent American audio engineer and entrepreneur who helped advance high fidelity loudspeaker and radio receiver technology beginning in the 1950s. Kloss was an undergraduate student in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but never received a degree. He was responsible for a number of innovations, including, in part, the acoustic suspension loudspeaker and the high fidelity cassette deck. In 2000, Kloss was one of the first inductees into the Consumer Electronics Association's Hall of Fame. He earned an Emmy Award for his development of a projection television system, the Advent VideoBeam 1000.
Cambridge SoundWorks was a Massachusetts-based consumer audio manufacturer and retailer.
Infinity Systems is an American manufacturer of loudspeakers founded in Los Angeles in 1968 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Since 1983, Infinity has been part of Harman International Industries, which became a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics in 2017.
Harman International Industries, commonly known as Harman, is an American audio electronics company. Since 2017, the company has been operating as an independent subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
Acoustic Research was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that manufactured high-end audio equipment. The brand is now owned by VOXX. Acoustic Research was known for the AR-3 series of speaker systems, which used the 12 in (300 mm) acoustic suspension woofer of the AR-1 with newly designed dome mid-range speaker and high-frequency drivers. AR's line of acoustic suspension speakers were the first loudspeakers with relatively flat response, extended bass, wide dispersion, small size, and reasonable cost. The AR Turntable remains a highly sought vinyl record player.
Advent Corporation was a consumer audio and video hardware company founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Henry Kloss in 1967. It closed in 1981.
RCA is an American multinational trademark brand owned by Talisman Brands, Inc. which is used on products made by that company as well as Sony Music Entertainment, Voxx International and ON Corporation. 'RCA' is an abbreviation for the Radio Corporation of America, founded in 1919. The company became known as the RCA Corporation in 1969. RCA was purchased by General Electric in 1986 and its various divisions and assets were then liquidated.
Onkyo Corporation is a Japanese consumer electronics company, specializing in premium home cinema and audio equipment, including AV receivers, surround sound speakers and portable devices. The word Onkyo translates as "sound resonance". On (音) is from Chinese pronunciation, with traditional Japanese pronunciation as Oto, meaning "the sound". Kyo (響) is also from Chinese pronunciation, pronounced as Hibiki (noun) or Hibiku (verb) in traditional Japanese, meaning "resound, sound, or echo". The company started under the name of Osaka Denki Onkyo K.K. in 1946. The current Onkyo Corporation umbrella includes the Integra and Integra Research divisions as well as the main Onkyo brand.
Josef Anton Hofmann was a London-born American audio engineer and speaker-system designer. He is known for Hofmann’s Iron Law, and was a son of pianist Josef Hofmann.