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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

Audio Manufacturing in Vietnam: An Introduction to a Brave New World

December 16, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Audio Manufacturing in Vietnam: An Introduction to a Brave New World

This article for Voice Coil magazine offers a valuable perspective about one of the most promising manufacturing opportunities in Asia. While there has been speaker parts manufacturing and speaker assembly for more than 20 years in Vietnam, the recent influx of speaker and audio OEM/ODMs that are expanding satellite factories through the country was motivated particularly by companies looking to counter the trading tariffs imposed in the United States. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, September 2020.

Voice Coils: A Tutorial

October 15, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Voice Coils: A Tutorial

Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) provides an overview on how to specify or manufacture voice coils. In this reference article, Mike Klasco recaps on voice coil basics, bobbin materials and sizes, collars, winding techniques, configurations, tips and tricks and wire types and considerations - a valuable, concise compendium of unique knowledge. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, August 2020.

The Intelligent Microphone: The Next Generation of MEMS Microphone Technology

August 6, 2020 by Mike Klasco

The Intelligent Microphone: The Next Generation of MEMS Microphone Technology

At the end of July 2020, audioXpress ran a product release on Vesper's VM3011 intelligent digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphone. Its claim to fame is a power saving architecture that enables battery standby life that otherwise would be unattainable without the "smarts." There are another half-dozen developers working on integrating all sorts of capabilities within the MEMS mic package. This article, originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter, discusses those developments.

Soundmatters and BDNC's Super-Shallow High-Excursion Speakers

July 23, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Soundmatters and BDNC's Super-Shallow High-Excursion Speakers

Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) writes about "a very cool" concept from Soundmatters, the company's UPstage speaker design, a new speaker product category and the next trend from the people that invented the soundbar. The sophisticated engineering implemented by soundmatters into the UpStage compact high-performance audio system was also the launch platform for BDNC's high-power, flat glass woofer that uses a 0.2 mm glass diaphragm. This article also explains what manufacturers need to know about the BDNC glass diaphragm, high-excursion, ultra-low profile woofer technology.

Servo-Control in Mainstream Audio: From Motional Feedback to the Bend-Sensor

July 16, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Servo-Control in Mainstream Audio: From Motional Feedback to the Bend-Sensor

Imagine a new class of speaker diaphragm position sensors that enable audio engineers to reduce distortion and extend bass response from studio monitors, soundbars, smart speakers, and even smartphone microspeakers. With the precision of laser displacement instrumentation, this sensor is located between a stationary component of the speaker and an appropriate moving part to provide an error correction reference signal back to the amplifier. Well, that sensor has already been developed. This article was originally published in The Audio Voice weekly email newsletter.

More Developments in Loudspeaker Enclosure Materials

June 24, 2020 by Mike Klasco

More Developments in Loudspeaker Enclosure Materials

In this report, Klasco once again shares his knowledge with loudspeaker enclosures and reports on the progress in enclosure materials and technologies in 2020. And if someone has interesting things to share about wood enclosures, composites, plastics, improved plastic-based formulas, ABS/PA (polyimide), thermoset and thermoplastic resins, bulk-molded and sheet-molded thermosets and more, it's certainly Mike Klasco. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, March 2020.

Voice Capture Challenges: The Threshold of the Golden Age of Voice

May 6, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Voice Capture Challenges: The Threshold of the Golden Age of Voice

Voice processing and recognition leading to the development of voice-based personal assistants is one of the decade’s greatest achievements and provides a unique opportunity for the audio industry. Leveraging those sophisticated technologies now available to the consumer electronics industry makes the investment on new designs much more exciting. In this article, Mike Klasco provides an introduction to the voice capture, signal processing and voice recognition challenges. This article was originally published in audioXpress, December 2018.

Speaker Cones — Fabrication, Materials, and Performance

April 15, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Speaker Cones — Fabrication, Materials, and Performance

This Voice Coil Focus article explores the fabrication, materials, and performance aspects of speaker cones, a critical component in driver design. With the author's extensive experience in dealing with innovative speaker designs and bringing concepts into production, the article explains vital aspects of both paper pulp cone fabrication and polypropylene cones, addressing even the lesser known aspects, such as software simulation programs used to model results before starting tooling. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, February 2020.

Neodymium - The Perfect Storm... Part 2 - Recycling Loudspeaker Neodymium Magnets

April 9, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Neodymium - The Perfect Storm... Part 2 - Recycling Loudspeaker Neodymium Magnets

In this article, Mike Klasco provides a unique overview of the neodymium supply chain, rare earth minerals trade, and its implications for the loudspeaker industry. Part 1 of the article explored the Chinese influence on the supply chain for rare earth ores and how that might have strategic implications if the trade wars between countries. This article was originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter of August 23 and 30, 2018. An extended version, also divided in two parts, was later published in Voice Coil magazine in November and December 2018.

Neodymium - The Perfect Storm... Part 1 - The Neodymium Supply Chain

April 5, 2020 by Mike Klasco

Neodymium - The Perfect Storm... Part 1 - The Neodymium Supply Chain

In this article, Mike Klasco provides a unique overview of the neodymium supply chain, rare earth minerals trade, and its implications for the loudspeaker industry. Neodymium magnets are a sensitive issue for the future, given the trend for escalating trade skirmishes with China. This article was originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter of August 23 and 30, 2018. An extended version, also divided in two parts, was later published in Voice Coil magazine in November and December 2018.

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