In our present time society we all are quite familiar with the concept of headphones. We all know that they are nothing more than a pair of earphones joined together by a band that goes over the head and that their function it to allow us to privately listen to music or any kind of audio that comes out of another device like a phone or computer.
Most likely anyone reading this book owns a pair of them, knows what they are and how to use them, but in the early 1900’s, when they were first created the use for headphones was not exactly the same as it is nowadays and it was not the normal thing to own a pair of them for personal use.
Nowadays this device is especially popular among the younger population, but at some point, everyone has bought, owned or at least used a pair of headphones so it could be interesting to learn a bit more about this popular device.
What was their purpose back in the day? Who invented them? When where they first used as regular headphones? Keep on reading this book if you want to find out all about the creation and evolution of headphones which still has not stopped.
How were headphones invented? Who invented them and when? What was their purpose in the beginning?
You may not be aware of it, but headphones haven´t always been used for the plain purpose of listening to your favorite singer during a bus ride or for watching Netflix on your laptop. Headphones as a concept actually originate from the telephone receiver pieces that telephones back in the time used to have.
These pieces were the only way to be able to hear electrical audio signals. Back in the 1880’s headphones used to be a 10 pound piece used by telephone operators as the key tool in their workplace. As you can imagine, working a whole shift with one of these really heavy things attached to your ear wasn´t exactly a comfortable task.
For quite some time, headphones were only being used by the navy, radio, telephone or other industries’ operators as a working tool, nothing more.
Then, in the late 1800’s a company from Great Britain named Electrophone launched a remote system that allowed customers to connect via audio with the opera houses in the city of London and listen to the opera from the comfort of their own homes. The tool or instrument used to bring this service to people’s homes was an object very similar to what we know as headphones today. This was the first approach towards what the modern use of headphones is.
Historically, they say that the first successfully functional pair of headphones was created in the year 1910 by a man named Nathaniel Baldwin, who put them together by hand in his house’s kitchen and then sent the prototype to the United States Army.
At the time, this invention meant an incredible improvement in communication for the army, so Baldwin’s offer was really interesting to the military. After a few suggestions from the army, Nathaniel Baldwin did some adjustments on his prototype and, still from his own kitchen; he started making more “headphones” for the army.
As could be expected the audio quality of these early headphones was quite poor and they were quite uncomfortable to wear because they did not include any padding and they still were somewhat heavy, but it was a good step towards what we nowadays know as “a pair of headphones”. Also, this innovation appeared right before World War 1 started, so it came as a helpful tool for the US army.
A few decades later, in the 1950’s a jazz musician from Milwaukee named John C. Koss improved the invention and created the first stereo headphones, which resembled a little more closely what we today know as headphones. The creator of this new type of headphones gives name to the well known Koss Corporation which designs and manufactures headphones nowadays.
At the time, Koss had a strong will to bring sound and music to the public, so he created a full private listening system that included not only the headphones but also a phonograph and speaker. We could say this was the original mp3 player.
One year later, right across the world in Tokyo, the company Stax created the first ever electrostatic headphones. Sometime after, in the year 1968 Koss’ company “copied” the Japanese idea and created its own set of headphones, being the first American electrostatic headphones on the market.
By this time, the initial 10 pound weight that the original set of “headphones” had, had been reduced down to around 2 pounds which we can’t say is exactly a lightweight but there is definitely a big difference that I’m sure the ladies who used to work on the telephone companies would have thanked.
Around a decade later, in the year 1979, portable headphones were first created and sold on the market along with the well-known Walkman player which was created by Sony. Their main function from then on was not just as a work tool anymore.
They had become a leisure product and people were using them in their personal lives as a way of entertainment and as a way of listening to their favorite music anywhere and anytime without disturbing those who were around them. They were starting to become a necessity to the public.
In the 1980’s they came up with a variation of the invention, when someone had the great idea of making ear-in-headphones. Even though with time the concept would be improved and accepted and thought of as useful thanks to Steve Jobs and it’s brand’s iPod, at the time it didn`t really sell or catch people´s attention. However, this concept started being developed in the medical area, with the creation of hearing aids for those people who had hearing afflictions.
With the passing of time and the improvement of technology the concept of “headphones” kept evolving at a steady pace and as time went by they became more and more necessary and important in our everyday life, until it got to the point where everyone or almost everyone in modern society would own one or more pairs of headphones and use them in their daily lives as we currently do now.
Sometime later, in 2001 when the iPod came out, the whole music market changed and those ear-in-headphones we mentioned before finally got the attention they really deserved. Earphones were smaller and easier to carry in your pocket to they were a revolutionary product that won over almost every headphone user.
From that moment on, headphones became more than just an audio necessity, and started to be seen by people as a fashion item or a statement of one’s personal style. It even became a fashion trend to wear headphones around your neck even if you weren’t listening to music or even had the intention to do it.
Challenges faced by the headphone “industry”.
As could be expected with any invention as old as this one, the process of getting to where headphones are now was tough and long. Originally they were only destined to work use but with time they became a necessity in everyone’s daily life. In order to achieve this, headphones and their creators faced a number of challenges.
The main challenge would be their weight. Initially they were too heavy to be something one would voluntarily use but throughout time and with the help of technological evolution it was possible to make them lighter and easier to carry making them perfect for the use people give headphones and earphones nowadays.
Another challenge headphones faced when it comes to people accepting them and using them in their daily lives as a more comfortable way to listen to music was that the structure of headphones annoyed some people because it messed with their hair.
Some companies like Sony tried launching sets of headphones that went around your neck instead of your head so it would not bother you or your hair but they weren´t really a success. With time people eventually got over the whole hair thing and more padded headphones helped with this issue too. Also, the evolution of headphones into earphones suited perfectly those who were worried about this whole hair thing.
Technologically, gaining audio quality was also a challenge. As we also mentioned earlier, the audio quality of the first set of headphones created by Nathaniel Baldwin was not the greatest, not even close really, but as technology evolved, the audio quality kept getting better until it got to the point where we find ourselves at right now, where the audio quality in headphones from brands like Apple are quite amazing
The materials used to create the first headphones and the conditions in which Baldwin produced them were obviously a big challenge as well, but luckily for us all those challenges were overcome and we can all enjoy music and all kinds of speech using our headphones or earphones comfortably.
If you want to buy a pair of safe, durable and comfortable headphones, then below is our list of recommendations based on quality, price and users’ feedback
For more information about noise cancelling headphones and headphones in general you might want to have a look at our list of e-books below
- Your health and headphones
- The In and out of anti-noise headphones
- Evolution of headphones technology
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