Sony Walkmans
Sony Walkmans

Technological advancements and style innovations have transformed headphones from bulky mono accessories to sleek stereo-sound devices. Take a closer look at the evolution of these sound-delivering devices.

Sony Walkmans
Sony Walkmans

Electrophone Paves the Way

Before radios or in-home stereos, music was something you could only experience in person. The electrophone, developed in the 1890s, changed all that. It relayed live theater productions and concerts into homes for a yearly subscription equivalent to more than $4,600. That made them too expensive for mass popularity and they fell out of favor after the radio’s invention in 1895.

Baldwin Brings Headphones Back

Headphones might have been forgotten if not for Nathaniel Baldwin, an electrical engineer who wanted to hear Mormon sermons over the noisy Salt Lake Tabernacle crowds in 1910. He created a homemade device featuring two sound receivers connected by a headband. Word spread and the U.S. Navy commissioned Baldwin to make more so officers could hear orders over artillery fire. Sensing commercial potential, he opened the Baldwin Radio Company in 1914. However, he never patented the device and went bankrupt as competitors released similar models.

The 50s: A Time for Change

Eugen Beyer created the first dynamic headphones, the Beyerdynamic DT48, in 1937. World War II interrupted their production, but they became available to the masses in 1950. Beyer was a true visionary, developing technical principles used in dynamic headphone production today.

Their 1950s release coincided with the era of rock and roll, vinyl LPs, and a new kind of headphones — stick headphones — which revolutionized music retail. Consumers used them to listen to music in record bars before deciding whether they wanted to purchase it.

John Koss also had music on his mind when he released his Koss SP3 headphones in 1958. These were the first headphones designed for listening to music, rather than radio communication, and their high-quality stereo sound reflected that.

Music Goes Portable

Sony Walkman’s 1979 launch tied headphones to music, as they required headphones for listeners to hear their music on the go. Experts say its release was “the single most important development in the evolution of the headphone.”

The first Walkmans came with a compact set of H-AIR MDR3 headphones which were around a tenth of the weight of previous models for easy portability. Sony innovated again in 1982 with the release of the MDR-E252 earphones, the first in-ear headphones or earbuds.

Earbuds continued their reign with the 2001 release of the iPod. Yet they too evolved into more functional devices offering volume and playback controls, microphones for phone calls, and voice control.

The Latest Headphones

Sleek, modern headphones bear little resemblance to the electrophone that started it all. Models like the LG Tone Infinim demonstrate the latest innovations with their wireless design, retractable earbuds, jog function, and premium sound quality.

And then there are the Beats headphones, a return to the larger overhead style, developed by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. As much a fashion statement as a functional device, Beats owns more than half of the world’s premium headphone market.

Headphones have already come so far, but as technology advances and consumer demands change there’s no telling what the sound-delivering devices of the future might look like.

Written By Boris Dzhingarov who is passionate about blogging. Boris is the founder of TechSurprise.