Henry Kloss, I Hardly Knew You
Henry Kloss, Engineer, Inventor, Entrepreneur, and innovator died on January 31, 2002 at the age of 72.
When I read the obituary it hurt. It was as if I had lost an old friend. Who would take his place in the world of Toys? I have been, and still am, a person addicted to toys. If I am a toy addict, Henry was an enabler.
1952: Henry Kloss and Edgar Villchur found Acoustic Research
In 1958, I got married, and the first thing I added to our apartment was a Hi Fi system. I built it all from Heath Kits; A Williamson Amplifier, Preamp, AM Tuner and FM tuner. For a speaker, I used an Acoustic Research Model AR2. At the time I did not know that the Co-Founder of Acoustic Research was Henry Kloss and that he was the person running the company when it was designed. His first speaker, the AR-1, was the first acoustic suspension loudspeaker built. It produced clean bass equal to speakers many times its size and price.
1957: Henry Kloss, Malcolm Low, and J. Anton Hoffmann found KLH.
A few years later I bought my father a gift for his birthday. He was hard of hearing, so I got him the only table radio that could put out a decent volume without distorting. The radio was the famous KLH Model 8 FM radio, designed by Kloss and known for its sensitivity and selectivity. The KLH name became known for high quality audio equipment. In 1967, the KLH-6 Speakers were considered among the best bookshelf speakers made. I think it was about that time that I heard the name Kloss.
1968: KLH produces the first consumer Dolby Noise Reduction Tape deck
By 1968, I had moved into a house and built my new Heathkit stereo amplifier/tuner combination. The speakers were AR3s, which were the original Kloss-designed AR1 woofer with added mid range and tweeters. The one item that I longed for was a quality tape deck that could allow me to make copies of records. Unfortunately, high-end tape decks at that time cost a small fortune. Then came the KLH Model 40 tape deck with Dolby Noise Reduction. The price was under two hundred dollars! Again Henry provided the right toy at the right time. Today digital audio allows perfect copies, but in 1968, this was breaking the state-of-the-art in consumer audio.
1971: Kloss forms Advent and produces the first HI FI cassette deck with Dolby Noise Reduction.
1972: Advent introduces the first home projection TV: The Advent Video Beam 1000
1980: Henry Kloss forms Kloss Video Corporation and introduces an inexpensive projection TV.
It was in 1981 that I received a bonus from my company. A bonus of such size that I could justify the $3200 I spent for my Kloss projection TV and not feel guilty. Before the X-Box, before Play Station, my friends and I were skiing and playing tennis and golf using the Intellivision game set and the 6-foot screen that my Kloss video boasted.
1988: Henry Kloss forms Cambridge SoundWorks
By now I knew who Henry Kloss was and remained faithful to him when I bought my Cambridge SoundWorks speaker system for my office computer. It was the last item that I bought that Henry was involved in.
1997: Henry Kloss sells Cambridge SoundWorks to Creative Labs.
2000: Tivoli Audio, introduces the Henry Kloss Model One Table Radio, considered to be the best table radio ever. (
http://www.tivoliaudio.com)
February 14, 2002
Henry, I am sorry that I never got to meet you personally, but it isn't difficult to see that you were an original. You were a genuine engineer, plus a person who's goal in life was driven to provide the world with affordable audio and video products.
Henry's son, David Kloss said, "His real big thing was not to make money, ever. It was to pay bills and get great stereos for the masses."
Henry, you succeeded.
Beside David, his two daughters, Margot Rothmann and Jennifer Hummel, and seven grandchildren survive him. His wife Jacqueline Sweeny Kloss died last year.
Frank Greenhalgh
February 14, 2002
About the Author
Frank Greenhalgh has been working in power supplies and systems for 38 years. He has many impressive accomplishments and patents. Over the years he has made significant contributions to Trio Laboratories where he held the position of Chief Design Engineer and was then promoted to Vice President.
