KLH (company)

Summary

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.

KLH Audio
FormerlyKLH Research and Development Corporation; KLH Audio Systems
IndustryAudio electronics
Founded1957; 67 years ago (1957) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founders
Headquarters,
U.S.
OwnerKelley Global Brands
Websiteklhaudio.com
Model Eight Radio
Model 41 Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck

History edit

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.

References edit

  1. ^ "Malcolm Scollay Low". The New York Times. July 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  2. ^ "Contact Us". klhaudio.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Dritsas, David (January 2001). "Audio's Dedicated Servant. (Henry Kloss; Kloss Video Corp.)". Dealerscope: The Business of CE Retailing. Vol. 43, no. 1. p. 28.
  4. ^ a b c Rosenberg, Ronald (September 18, 1980). "KLH is leaving for California". The Boston Globe. p. 34. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Blumenthal, Howard (September 30, 1989). "How to get older electronics fixed". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. United Feature Syndicate. p. B3. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sony Corporation Files Suit Against KLH Audio Systems". sony.com (Press release). June 9, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "History". klhaudio.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "About Us". klhaudio.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.

External links edit

  • Official website