The Awesome Daily - Your daily dose of awesome
TRENDING
  • About
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
  • Funny
  • Photography
  • Animals
  • Art
    • Design
  • More
    • Food
    • Science & Tech
    • Life
    • Heartwarming
    • Community
    • Fashion
    • Memes
    • Tattoos
    • Travel
The Awesome Daily - Your daily dose of awesome
No Result
View All Result
Home Music

The Crazy Cool History of Headphones in pictures

Ana Maria by Ana Maria
July 16, 2019
in Music, Science & Tech, Trending
0
the history of headphones
6
SHARES
605
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Headphones are now a very normal object of our daily lives. They’re an extension of our music tastes, movie preferences and an everyday companion on our never-ending Social Media roaming.  In a world that’s been constantly shifting from the prevalence of the written word to pictures and now videos, it seems headphones are a must if you want to keep up with the latest music videos, the latest viral or catch up on Netflix‘s newest series while on the bus, on your way to work. Yes, they seem part of our day and the more expensive, wireless, colorful and marketed they are, the better.  They’ve even become a statement of style, money and influence in our fast-moving world. Since, the technology they’re based on is 100 years old. Let’s see!

The Electrophone

the history of headphones

Internet Book Archive Images / Flickr

This is not exactly headphones, but it’s the headphones’ distant ancestor. Invented in 1890s, in the United Kingdom, the electrophone allowed a user to connect with a switchboard and then directly into live performances or Sunday church services in London. It is, mostly, the predecessor of radio technology by which it was replaced in the 1920s. If you think about it, it was like some kind of Spotify of our days. You would put those receivers over your ears and listen to music or any type of live performances on demand, based on a paid subscription. By 1906, there were 14 theaters and 15 different church services a user could dial into. By today’s metrics, it doesn’t sound big, but remember that was more than a hundred years ago.

The Headphones of Nathaniel Baldwin

the history of headphones

John Davidson / Wikimedia Commons

This is the year 1910, on the other side of the Atlantic, where Nathaniel Baldwin is hoping to find a way to amplify the sound of his Mormon temple sermons. With over a mile of coiled copper per earcup, he manages to create a device which successfully receives sound without the need of electricity. More than that, he gave the world the initial earcup design for the headphones of our day. The US Navy understands the utility of this new devices and buys a few dozens of them for their radio operators. The invention becomes famous and numerous companies start investing in developing this kind of devices.

The Headphones of John Koss

the history of headphones

Koss

READ NEXT

Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!

Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!

February 21, 2025
This is the reality of what airport security could actually see through an X-ray machine

This is the reality of what airport security could actually see through an X-ray machine

April 29, 2024

The German company Bayerdynamic produces the first consumer headphones in 1937, but the big breakthrough comes in 1958 when John Kross invents the first pair of stereo headphones.The funny thing is he invents them to show the world that his company’s portable record player is superior to all the others on the market. Then the 1960s take the world by storm with their rock and roll phase and Koss collaborates with the Beatles to release the Beatlephones. This is where headphones start getting strong marketing, aiming at the younger audience.

Sennheiser Headphones

the history of headphones

Yukon1994 / Wikimedia Commons

For the rest of the story, it seems like someone has just pressed the fast forward button and everything starts to happen at a startling speed. Phillips gets in the game producing more affordable headphones, then Sennheiser HD414 steals the show. With a thick foam cup, these headphones were lighter and more comfortable, while the actual bulk was reduced. This instant hit headphones were sold in over 100,000 units in 1969 and this design  soon became the norm for headphones for the following decade.

Sony Walkman comes into play

the history of headphones

Sailko / Wikimedia Commons

In 1979, the now-legendary Sony Walnowkman starts revolutionizing the portable music experience. The headphones that came with it borrowed the HD414 design, but the sound quality was inferior to many headphones on the market. This is why, third-party headphone companies jumped in on the “bus of portable music”.

It is Dr. Amar Bose’ s turn to revolutionize the headphones

the history of headphones

Syohta Tamura / Wikimedia Commons

Motivated by the awful headphones given to passengers during air travel, Amar Bose created the first noise cancelling pair of headphones. At first, they were only for pilots, but the technology caught rapidly with the big public as well, especially with the glorified arrival of the Bose QuietComfort headphones in 2000.

The iPod

Apple’s iPod took the world by storm, but it wasn’t really because of its headset. Still, Apple’s decision to go for earbuds, instead of headphones, really secured the place that in-ear headphones would play this century.

Headphones now. Wireless is the new trend

the history of headphones

Brian Solis / Flickr

In 2008, Jimmy Iovine and the famous rapper Dr. Dre worked together to release a new famous line of headphones called Beats by Dr. Dre, with one thought in mind: to bring back the old heavy bass of the older headsets.  Then, almost a century after they’ve been invented, headphones started glowing by the mighty power of the Bluetooth connectivity.

Via INTERESTING ENGINEERING

ShareTweetPin6
Previous Post

41 Cute Baby Chinchilla Pictures That Will Simply Destroy You With Cuteness

Next Post

15 Crazy Hybrid Animals That Will Make You Scratch Your Head

Ana Maria

Ana Maria

About Ana Maria: Ana Maria is an editor for The Awesome Daily publishing articles about anything that is interesting and awesome! Ana has many years of experience both as a content writer and editor in various popular online magazines.

Related Posts

Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!
Science & Tech

Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!

by Awesome Daily Staff
February 21, 2025
0

New Cancer Treatment Developed by Korean Scientists Korean scientists have developed a new technology that can turn cancer cells into...

Read more

This is the reality of what airport security could actually see through an X-ray machine

Did We Just Talk to a Whale? Scientists Stunned by Possible Two-Way Communication

Forget Apple! YouTuber Builds INSANE DIY VR Headset Out of Thrift Store Junk!

Webb Telescope’s First Look at an Earth-Sized Planet Could Change Everything

Scientists Discover Kitchen Staple That Might Regrow Hair

Next Post
15 Crazy Hybrid Animals That Will Make You Scratch Your Head

15 Crazy Hybrid Animals That Will Make You Scratch Your Head

  • Hiker Unknowingly Take One in a Million Chance Picture Only to Find Out Days Later When It Goes Viral

    Hiker Unknowingly Take One in a Million Chance Picture Only to Find Out Days Later When It Goes Viral

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 16 Young Models And Their Controversial First Steps In The Fashion Biz

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 36 Mexican Word Of The Day Memes That Are Funny In Every Language

    252 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 62 of The darkest Jokes Ever Told Online | Dark Humor Jokes

    1448 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Funny Ways To Answer The Phone? Hello??!! We have plenty!

    235 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NASA’s Mars helicopter finds ‘otherworldly’ wreckage on planet’s surface

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • People are Shocked After Seeing a Picture of Earth From Space They Never Saw Before

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!

Cancer Breakthrough: Scientists Discover “Undo Button” for Tumors!

February 21, 2025
This is the reality of what airport security could actually see through an X-ray machine

This is the reality of what airport security could actually see through an X-ray machine

April 29, 2024
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Showering: The Hilarious Reason Men Love Long Showers

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Showering: The Hilarious Reason Men Love Long Showers

April 24, 2024
  • Entertainment
  • Trending
  • Life
  • Food
  • About
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Give Us Feedback
  • Sitemap
  • Editorial Team
cropped-alony-media-logo-done-1

The Awesome Daily is part of Alony Media.

No Result
View All Result
  • About The Awesome Daily
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • DMCA
  • Give Us Feedback
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Subscribe
  • Thank You For Subscribing
  • The Awesome Daily Editorial Team

© 2022 Theawesomedaily.com.