In the Beginning, There Was Iron
The history of headphones began with the phone. Headphones in the early 1900s consisted of moving iron transducers. Sound was carried across the phone lines in the type of electrical impulses, making the iron transducers move at the receiving finish, transmitting sound. Frequency response on moving-iron headphones was poor, but words were recognizable. Moving-iron headphones were so successful that they were adopted by the radio industry, where they reigned until the 1950s. Moving-iron headphones were large and not basically adjusted, making them uncomfortable, which made them simple to replace when stereo became the dominant type of electronic audio.
The Introduction of Stereo
Although stereo was invented in the 1930s, it wasn't commercially available until the mid-1950s, with the release of the LP, a microgrooved record that could hold stereo audio. In 1958, John Koss, an American, developed stereo headphones specifically for use with stereo recordings. With the arrival of stereo headphones, the history of headphones changed again, bringing stereo headphones in to recording studios and homes similar. While these early stereo headphones were uncomfortable and provided low sound quality by today's standards, they were a large improvement over the elderly moving-iron headphones used in the phone and early radio industries.
Progress in the Sixties
The advent of stereo ushered in an period of change for the history of headphones. Early stereo headphones replaced moving-iron transducers with plastic cones. From there, John Koss invested in refining stereo headphones, moving the know-how along to a microphone transducer and finally to the first pair of electrostatic headphones. Advances in know-how in the coursework of the 60s, specifically by John Koss's company, Koss, made it feasible to create smaller headphones that provided better quality audio playback. Koss's advances paved the way for another change in the history of headphones: the Walkman.
The Walkman Changes Headphones in the Eighties
In the 1980s, Sony developed the Walkman: a transportable music gizmo you could over with you to listen to your favourite tunes. Since the Walkman was transportable, stereo headphones evolved to become smaller and more basically transported. The enclosed circumaural design faded away, to get replaced by a supra-aural design that sat lightly over the ears, with only a little foam padding to protect the ears.
The changes didn't cease there, though; in the 1990s, the earbud headphone came to light; a little headphone that fit inside the ear in lieu of sitting over it. Canalphones also came along in the 1990s, providing sound directly in to the ear canal for superior sound quality and the combined effect of earplugs to prevent outside noise from leaking inside. Today's experiments in noise-canceling headphones are the latest chapter in the history of headphones.
The history of headphones began with the phone. Headphones in the early 1900s consisted of moving iron transducers. Sound was carried across the phone lines in the type of electrical impulses, making the iron transducers move at the receiving finish, transmitting sound. Frequency response on moving-iron headphones was poor, but words were recognizable. Moving-iron headphones were so successful that they were adopted by the radio industry, where they reigned until the 1950s. Moving-iron headphones were large and not basically adjusted, making them uncomfortable, which made them simple to replace when stereo became the dominant type of electronic audio.
The Introduction of Stereo
Although stereo was invented in the 1930s, it wasn't commercially available until the mid-1950s, with the release of the LP, a microgrooved record that could hold stereo audio. In 1958, John Koss, an American, developed stereo headphones specifically for use with stereo recordings. With the arrival of stereo headphones, the history of headphones changed again, bringing stereo headphones in to recording studios and homes similar. While these early stereo headphones were uncomfortable and provided low sound quality by today's standards, they were a large improvement over the elderly moving-iron headphones used in the phone and early radio industries.
Progress in the Sixties
The advent of stereo ushered in an period of change for the history of headphones. Early stereo headphones replaced moving-iron transducers with plastic cones. From there, John Koss invested in refining stereo headphones, moving the know-how along to a microphone transducer and finally to the first pair of electrostatic headphones. Advances in know-how in the coursework of the 60s, specifically by John Koss's company, Koss, made it feasible to create smaller headphones that provided better quality audio playback. Koss's advances paved the way for another change in the history of headphones: the Walkman.
The Walkman Changes Headphones in the Eighties
In the 1980s, Sony developed the Walkman: a transportable music gizmo you could over with you to listen to your favourite tunes. Since the Walkman was transportable, stereo headphones evolved to become smaller and more basically transported. The enclosed circumaural design faded away, to get replaced by a supra-aural design that sat lightly over the ears, with only a little foam padding to protect the ears.
The changes didn't cease there, though; in the 1990s, the earbud headphone came to light; a little headphone that fit inside the ear in lieu of sitting over it. Canalphones also came along in the 1990s, providing sound directly in to the ear canal for superior sound quality and the combined effect of earplugs to prevent outside noise from leaking inside. Today's experiments in noise-canceling headphones are the latest chapter in the history of headphones.
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