Have you ever wondered how sounds engineering started and where has it came from? Or what is the history of portable audio and headphones for that matter? Well, we cant explain in detail the complete history of sound, but we know that headphones are an absolute necessity in our daily lives. Years later, when Steve Jobs invented earbuds, and Dr. Dre has commercialized studio headphones for the mainstream – the modern perception of headphones was formed. So let’s take a look at the rich history of headphones full of innovative ideas, influential people, and dazzling details.
1881 – The First Headphones
In the 1880s, the first headphones were introduced, which was used as telephone operators. It was a single earpiece that is rested on the shoulder of the user. This headphone weighed almost over 10 pounds.
1895 – Headphones like Stethoscopes
In 1895, people started rocking out to the sick beats of the local opera house. The headphones at that time looked like stethoscopes with a modern offering as more and more people were producing sounds from miles away.
1910 – Manufacturing of the first modern headphones
In 1910, Nathaniel Baldwin started manufacturing the first modern headphones. That headphones resembled a lot to the one that we see today.
1937 – The first dynamic headphones
The first dynamic headphones to hit the market were DT-48’s from Beyer dynamic. It is only a few decades before we get the electrostatic headphones. We know that dynamic headphones are still the most popular type that people love to get!
1949 – First Pair of Headphones by AKG
The first pair of headphones, the K120’s was produced by the AKG. These headphones, if present today, will sell at very high numbers at Urban Outfitters. This and other models are what made AKG quit the film equipment business and focus just on audio.
1958 – John C. Koss changed the headphone game
Yes, John C. Koss changed the complete headphone game of Dr. Die. He created the first stereo headphones (Koss SP-3) in 1958. Koss dominates the headphone industry for the next few decades, and amazingly he did it all without any college education.
1959 – The World’s First-Ever Electrostatic Pair Of Headphones
Stax debuted the world’s first-ever electrostatic pair of headphones at a show in Tokyo. The SR-1s go into production a year later, but they are very rare to find today.
1968 – The First Us-Made Electrostatic Model
Koss introduced the first US-made electrostatic model a decade after introducing the first stereo headphones. The ESP-6’s weren’t actually like a pair of earbuds, but they are still the best ones created a century ago.
1979 – Sony Dropping the Walkman
Walkman by Sony is the best and most important event in headphone history. The first Walkman was Sony’s MDL-3L2 headphones, which is portable and made the world amazed.
1997 – Neckband Headphones
Sony thinks that a pair of neckband headphones would be better if you wanted to keep your hair in check and hated that earbuds couldn’t isolate sound well.
2000 – Bose Unveiled Their Quietcomfort Line
Bose unveiled their QuietComfort line as they were like screaming babies with loud snores. Pilots have been using noise-canceling technology for decades; with these headphones, passengers also got the relief on loud flights.
2001 – Introduction of iPod
It is no wonder that the whole music universe changed with the introduction of the iPod. We can see the importance of headphones, as they have sold over 300 million iPods with the accompanying pair of earbuds since their inception in 2001 to today.
2008 – Beats by Dre headphones
To create Beats by Dre headphones, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine joined forces with Monster. These headphones were designed with deep bass and great sound quality in mind. These headphones had a large market share and can be found on every NBA player.
2012 – Style More Than Sound Quality
Yes, headphones have become more of a fashion as people go for more stylish than sound headphones. It is best to buy the ones that have both amazing style and sound quality.
With the complete history of headphones, we can understand why headphones are used and loved widely!