The eccentric touch and no-compromise spirit of Paul W. Klipsch is well known in the industry. For example, Klipsch related that when he was developing a smaller speaker for use between two Klipschorns, an acquaintance declared that he couldn't possibly introduce it to the public because it was in direct violation of Klipsch's own corner horn principles, and amounted to acoustic heresy. "The hell I can't," Klipsch said. "And that's exactly what I'm going to call it!"[2]
A year later the Klipsch Heresy loudspeaker was introduced and it became a bestseller in the church sound reinforcement market.
While the official company motto is “The Ultimate Sound Experience,” the unofficial one is “Bullshit.”[2] Klipsch started using the slogan after reading a competitor’s loudspeaker ad that made claims of supposed “breakthroughs.” After that, he wore a yellow "Bullshit" button behind his lapel and showed it to anyone he felt was making an outlandish claim.[4]
Many of the eccentricities of Paul W. Klipsch were captured by author Jim Shahin in a 1989 interview for American Way Magazine, who told of his taking notes during sermons so as to better take issue with exasperated ministers after the service. Parishioners even remember his walking over pews to get out of church. He also retells of an audio retailer’s recollection of Klipsch drilling a hole through the top of his Mercedes to install an altimeter.
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