Page description

About Mike Klasco

Mike Klasco is the president of Menlo Scientific, an audio consulting firm for the audio and loudspeaker industry, located in Richmond, CA. He is a graduate from New York University, with post graduate work in signal processing, and he holds multiple patents licensed or assigned. For the past 35 years, since founding Menlo Scientific, he has worked on product development, design and technical support, liaison between suppliers and manufacturing facilities, sourcing guidance, and certification for a large number of companies. Mike specializes in materials and fabrication techniques to enhance audio performance, has over 500 articles published in audio magazines and technical journals, and to this day continues to be a regular contributor for audioXpress and Voice Coil magazines. He presented papers at the Acoustical Society of America, held positions as Session Organizer for the Audio Engineering Society, Chairman of the Committee on Acoustics, and is an AES Life Member.

All items written by Mike Klasco

Low Frequency in Loudspeakers: It’s All About the Bass!

April 3, 2024 by Mike Klasco

Low Frequency in Loudspeakers: It’s All About the Bass!

All the speaker design techniques to achieve more bass, challenging Hofmann's Iron Law. The same bass in a smaller enclosure? Deeper or louder bass for the same enclosure back volume? Higher efficiency for a given alignment? A cleaner lower distortion bass? Learn about the companies, products, and technologies that make all this possible. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2023.

First Magnet Powder Presses to Produce Neodymium Permanent Magnets in the United States

November 30, 2023 by Mike Klasco

First Magnet Powder Presses to Produce Neodymium Permanent Magnets in the United States

Most of us assume that neodymium must only come from China. Yet, rare earth ore is available in California, and reshoring neo-magnet production, including recycling neodymium, is now accelerating in the US. Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific), tipped off by Salvador Magdaleno (Salvador Consultant), writes about the first manufacturing operation that is ready to deliver neodymium permanent magnets in the United States. This article was written originally for The Audio Voice newsletter.

Voice Coil Focus: A Fresh Take on Green Audio 2023

June 14, 2023 by Mike Klasco

Voice Coil Focus: A Fresh Take on Green Audio 2023

Good intentions for sustainability, circularity, or simply reducing your carbon foot-print in the development or manufacturing stages not always produces the intended results. Mike Klasco reminds us how things are not always as simple as we would like, and that having good intentions and throwing empty claims might work on paper, but not actually work in the real world.

SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip: Next Gen MEMS for TWS Earbuds and Hearing Aids

February 24, 2023 by Mike Klasco

SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip: Next Gen MEMS for TWS Earbuds and Hearing Aids

Mike Klasco writes all about the cutting-edge SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip. A next-gen MEMS solution for TWS earbuds, hearing aids, and hearables. Entering production in 2023, this unique ultrasonic shutter MEMS-based speaker system represents a decade's work in a unique topology. The core of the design is one or more apertures driven by the ultrasonic carrier signal and one or more movable and over-sized obstruction elements that are configured to modulate the ultrasonic carrier signal (think of a shutter) thereby generating audio.

Voice Coil Focus-Audio Manufacturing Sourcing: The Philippines

December 1, 2022 by Mike Klasco

Voice Coil Focus-Audio Manufacturing Sourcing: The Philippines

Loudspeaker manufacturers need to multiply their efforts to make their supply chains more resilient, and it becomes important to know alternative suppliers in multiple regions of the world. Among the established alternatives in the Pacific region, The Philippines has been a long recognized location for reliable companies, including some of the world's leading OEM/ODM suppliers. The article, originally published in Voice Coil, August 2022, includes a small directory of audio factories in the Philippines.

New Thin-Film Technologies for Coatings and Treatments

October 12, 2022 by Mike Klasco

New Thin-Film Technologies for Coatings and Treatments

This article provides a valuable overview of the latest Thin-Film Coatings and Treatments solutions that are available in the market. Highlights include a new a state-of-the-art REACH-compliant CVD coating process from Oerlikon Surface Solutions, applicable on multiple substrates, such as aluminum, titanium, PEEK, and composites, and Nanovate, a metallurgical nano-coating technology based on electrodeposited nano crystalline structural metal from Integra. The report also highlights Antiviral/Antimicrobial Coatings from Integran, Kastus Technologies, and Nanowatt, among others. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2022.

Nuvoton ICs with Integrated Klippel Controlled Sound - New Possibilities for Speaker Design

September 22, 2022 by Mike Klasco

Nuvoton ICs with Integrated Klippel Controlled Sound - New Possibilities for Speaker Design

What more could speaker system designers want? How about not just to protect the speaker from overload, but enable the speaker to play louder with reduced bass distortion? Mike Klasco writes about his experience working with Nuvoton smart amps with integrated Klippel Controlled Sound (KCS) technology. Now in mass production and offering new possibilities for speaker design. First product examples are now available in the market.

Dr. Kurt Müller Anniversary! 100 Years of Loudspeaker Innovation

September 8, 2022 by Mike Klasco

Dr. Kurt Müller Anniversary! 100 Years of Loudspeaker Innovation

Mike Klasco writes about Dr. Kurt Müller's 100-Year Anniversary and revisits the milestones of this important supplier of cones, suspensions, dust caps and surrounds company. Perhaps the oldest surviving cone factory in the world and certainly one of the most advanced, DKM was originally founded in 1922, in Berlin, and in 1970, extended its product range with the acquisition of Pulsonic Ultrasonics Limited (now known as Kurt Mueller UK Ltd) in the United Kingdom. Happy Birthday!

Speakers and Transducers - Haptic Devices for Augmentation, Entertainment, and Wellness

August 18, 2022 by Mike Klasco

Speakers and Transducers - Haptic Devices for Augmentation, Entertainment, and Wellness

Expanding on previous articles about bass shakers and motion platforms, this article from Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) looks at exciting evolutions in haptic transducers and actuators that are being used in a growing number of applications - all of which depend upon audio sources for input. The ability to interact with the world through vibration and touch is central to all of our lives, and now increasingly so. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2022.

Some Thoughts on Plastics for Speaker Enclosures

April 7, 2022 by Mike Klasco

Some Thoughts on Plastics for Speaker Enclosures

Discussing speaker enclosures, this article examines all the different options for plastic applications and the implications for loudspeaker driver design in general. Enclosure characteristics, construction features, advantage comparisons between wood and wood particle board cabinets, and production techniques are some of the topics explored. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2022.

«
1
2
3
4
5
6
»