Who invented the world's first headphones and in what year?

In what year were the first headphones invented?

The first headphones, or rather their prototype, appeared in 1881 thanks to the telephone operator Bella. The fact is that the work of telephone operators was difficult, because they had to simultaneously interact with the receiver and transmitter during conversations, that is, they constantly held the phones in their hands. Then Bella came up with a design with a metal arc on which parts of the telephone device were installed. The predecessor of the modern headset was inconvenient because... weighed under 3 kilograms. However, there was no need to hold anything else in your hands, which simplified the work for telephone operators and gave impetus to improving the device and creating full-fledged models.

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Huawei MatePad tablet

Photo: Huawei

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Who invented the first headphones

Although the history of headphones is deeper, their creator is considered to be the American Nathaniel Baldwin. In 1910, he drew up and sold blueprints for headphones to the US Air Force. Nathaniel did not invent the first headphones in the truest sense of the term. But he finalized their design. His device was equipped with an arc passing over the back of the head, and its length was adjustable. The arc held the “ears”, which completely freed the operator’s hands. The engineer also improved the characteristics of the emitters, increasing their sensitivity by 2 times in comparison with those of its predecessor.

Nathaniel Baldwin

Subsequently, the American military invited engineers to the laboratory, who began work on developing the works of the American inventor.

Active Noise Cancellation System

All types of headphones protect the ears to one degree or another from external sounds - both earbuds and full-size headphones one way or another create a barrier between the eardrum and the outside world. However, different headphones have different noise-reducing properties - this mainly depends on the design. Thus, earbuds provide almost no protection from noise, while vacuum headphones provide almost complete passive protection from external sounds. In the case of full-size headphones, the noise reduction rate is affected by the openness of the case.

For most situations, passive noise insulation is sufficient. However, this may not be enough in transport and on the noisy streets of big cities; In this case, you can use headphones with active noise reduction. They have microphones in their design that pick up noise and send an antiphase signal in its direction - similar waves destroy each other.

This system initially had nothing to do with headphones and was used in military equipment. Similar devices began to appear in headphones starting from the second half of the 20th century. Initially, they were intended for pilots - they should have been protected from engine noise, which caused pilots to lose hearing.

Today, active noise reduction systems can be found not only in headphones, but also, for example, in the interior of a modern car.

This has been the history of full-size headphones. Closer to the 21st century, headphones have improved even more, following the improvement of the sound sources themselves. In the 90s, in-ear headphones began to appear, which were invented based on devices used in medicine for hearing analysis. Headphones became more and more miniature, more comfortable, and their sound quality increased. Manufacturers are still looking for more and more new ways to make individual music listening more comfortable. Thus, wireless headphones using Bluetooth technology appeared - they greatly simplified the lives of users, becoming indispensable in a huge number of situations.

Who invented the world's first Bluetooth headphones

The first wireless headphones appeared in the early 90s of the last century, when the Koss brand introduced a model capable of connecting to an amplifier or sound source via an infrared beam. This idea was quickly picked up by global manufacturers. A little later, Recoton produced devices operating at a frequency of 900 MHz and with a range of up to 45 m.

However, in 1997, the company received a refusal from the British government to produce this model, because the same frequency has already been used. Looking for an alternative, in 1998 Recoton saw a new opportunity in the development of wireless accessories - Bluetooth. The first model based on this technology went on sale in 2004.

Then the headphones gradually evolved, becoming smaller and more comfortable. And at the end of 2016, Apple released wireless AirPods, thereby giving impetus to the fashion for TWS headphones. Although such devices first appeared in 2014 in the Bragi Dash model.

Bragi Dash Headphones

First there was iron

The history of headphones begins with the advent of the telephone. In the early 1900s, headphones were designed using movable metal (iron) membranes. Sound was transmitted along telephone lines in the form of electrical impulses that caused metal coils on the receiver side to vibrate, thus recreating the sound signal. The frequency characteristics of the metal headphones were terrible, but they still made it possible to understand the words. Metal headphones were such a success that they were used in the radio industry right up to the 50s. Headphones of this type were bulky and extremely inconvenient to use, so later, with the growing popularity of stereo sound, they were replaced.

How headphones have evolved

Previously, people never thought about the fact that you can listen to music through headphones (headphones), for example, while walking around the city or on the way to work. Back then these were massive devices designed for communication. Briefly about the evolution they went through:

In the 19th century, telephone operators interacted with both a transmitter and a receiver while working, which put strain on their hands. In 1881, telephone operator Bella Gilliland attached a microphone and speaker to her head. All this was attached to a structure weighing from 3 kilograms.

Bella Gilliland

Ten years later, Ernest Mercadier, a French engineer, patents the plug-in accessories. At that time, this design was revolutionary, because they were small devices with rubber tips for minimal impact on hearing and noise reduction. However, the world did not accept this, and for the next 50 years, headphones had the look proposed by Bella Gilliland.

The first in-ear headphones

In 1895, inventor Thomas Edison worked on in-canal devices and created a device called a kinetophone. The device reproduced pictures and sounds. In this case, the sound passed through tubes that were placed in the ears of the listeners.

Kinetophone and Thomas Edison

The next stage in the evolution of headphones was made by British engineers. In 1896, the Electrophone System developed an unusual service for residents. For £5, a person could listen to live broadcasts from theaters and churches around the world. The reproduction equipment resembled a wooden table - on it lay a pair of “ears” with a long handle, which held the accessory.

In 1910, Nathaniel Baldwin of the American Air Force drew drawings of headphones. He created the first headphones in which the arc is attached to the back of the head, rather than in the neck. A few years later, the model proposed by Nathaniel was adopted by US Air Force operators. Next, the gadgets were tested and improved - they were made smaller and lighter, covered in leather, and an arc size regulator was developed.

US Air Force operators wearing the first headphones

By the early 1930s, these devices were used for communication and were already owned by most urban residents. People listened to radio broadcasts through headphones, although their design was still far from complete. The voice was transmitted well through the device, but they never learned how to reproduce music well. Eugen Bayer, a native of Sweden, undertook to rectify the situation. He founded a microphone company, and by 1938 began producing headphones. The first was the dynamic model Beyerdynamic DT-48. The next version (DT-49) was released more than 15 years later.

Beyerdynamic DT-48

But the first who managed to release a mass model was John Koss. In 1958, his company presented a portable player for playing vinyl at an exhibition. Structurally, it was a kind of pinwheel enclosed in a suitcase. The box with the player also included “ears,” for the invention of which Koss and Martin Lange used aircraft phones as a basis.

Portable vinyl player KOSS

The appearance of the player itself at the exhibition did not surprise anyone, but the sound of the headphones amazed many. Koss then realized that these devices were the future, so he released the production model Koss SP-3. This is a prototype of in-ear models. The SP-3 delivers sound into the ear canal. This improved sound quality and noise reduction. Subsequently, Kossa’s company became a monopoly, and its turnover exceeded $1 million by 1967.

Koss SP-3

After the success of John Koss, the evolution of headphones reached its peak. In 1964, Beyrdynamic released a device that weighed 11 grams. The box also included a compact radio for listening. A year later, the Micro portable radio receiver, equipped with a mono earphone, was released in the USSR and immediately gained popularity in Moscow.

Radio receiver "Micro"

Until 1968, these accessories were represented only by closed-type devices, until Sennheizer released the world's first open-back headphones, the Sennheizer HD 414. Their sales exceeded 10 million units. Interesting fact: having established a patent for the production of open-back headphones back in the 60s, Sennheizer still receives royalties from each company that produces gadgets of this design.

Sennheizer HD 414

In 1979, the Japanese Sony released the first portable Walkman player, which was equipped with Sony MDL-3L2 headphones. They were light and affordable, so many could afford them. In appearance and design, they resembled headsets familiar to humans.

Sony player with MDL-3L2 headphones

By the 90s of the last century, prototypes of wireless models were created. And in 1998, Bluetooth technology began to be used for connection.

The emergence of stereo

Although stereo was invented in the 1930s, it was not commercially available until the mid-1950s, when microgroove long-playing vinyl records were introduced that allowed stereo recording. In 1958, American John Koss developed stereo headphones specifically designed for two-channel recordings. The advent of stereo headphones radically influenced their future fate - they became an integral part of recording studios, and also became widespread in everyday life. Although by today's standards these headphones were uncomfortable and did not provide good sound quality, at the time they were a significant improvement over the outdated iron-speaker headphones used with early telephones and radios.

Classification of headphones[edit | edit code]

By purpose[edit | edit code]

• monitor (studio)
  - this type has the highest and frequency-balanced sound quality; headphones are intended for use in recording studios. So that the sound engineer can hear minor recording defects, monitor headphones have very high sound detail, especially in high frequencies, which, however, limits their use in domestic conditions, since many music lovers consider such detail (revealing all extraneous and background noise, crackling microphones, etc.) etc.) unnecessary and unpleasant, especially for old and live recordings;
• consumer
  - intended for non-professional use. Such headphones may have a deliberately unbalanced sound, emphasizing, for example, low frequencies or mid frequencies. These headphones also pay more attention to design.

According to the method of signal transmission[edit | edit code]

• wired
  - connected to the source with a wire; the wire can serve as an antenna when working with portable FM radios;
• wireless
  - receive a signal from a source wirelessly via radio waves (including Bluetooth, etc.) or, less commonly, via infrared radiation. Wireless headphones allow you to move freely within the signal range. The signal can be digital (Bluetooth, etc.) or analog. Compared to analog, a more advanced digital signal ensures that there is no loss of sound quality when transmitted from the source. But this applies only to wireless headphones; in wired devices, the analog signal can often surpass the digital one. As a rule, wireless headphones provide lower sound quality than wired headphones of the same cost, due to the need for relatively expensive devices for receiving and transmitting (and, in the case of digital data transmission, also encoding and decoding) the signal - even the most advanced codec is not capable transmit sound without loss of quality.

Radio frequency (RF) technology is no longer in use, but has been replaced by Bluetooth technology, which allows devices to connect wirelessly using radio waves.

This technology has developed rapidly, especially in the music industry. Types of Bluetooth headphones have a small computer chip that allows you to connect to the device you are listening to music from. The only difference from wired headsets is that there is no need to get tangled in wires. In the gym, on walks, while running – wireless headphones are suitable for any purpose.[6]

But Bluetooth headphones are inferior in sound quality to models that receive an audio signal via a Wi-Fi channel, because Bluetooth technology involves preliminary data compression and only after that its transmission (because of this, there is a delay - a lag between the sound and the image can be noticed when watching a video).

By number of channels[edit | edit code]

• monophonic
  - the signal to the sound emitters (or one sound emitter) is transmitted through one channel, respectively, the sound coming out of both sound emitters is identical;
• stereophonic
  (the most common type) - the signal to each of the two sound emitters is transmitted via a separate channel;
• multi-channel
  - have more than one sound emitter for each ear, with a separate channel for each emitter, which allows you to better simulate surround sound or separate channels by frequency characteristics.

By type of design (type)[edit | edit code]

• intracanal

  (common name -
  “plugs”
  ,
  “droplets”
  ,
  “vacuums”
  ,
  “barrels”
  ,
  “earplugs”
  ) - inserted into the ear canal, also known as in-ear monitors (IEMs) - these are small headphones with a similar function compact in-ear headphones that are fully or partially inserted into the ear canal. These are high-quality headphones that are used by acoustic engineers and musicians, as well as audiophiles. The outer casings of in-ear headphones are made from various materials such as plastic, aluminum, ceramics and metal alloys. Since in-ear headphones interact with the ear canal, they can be prone to slipping out, and they also block out most environmental noise, providing good passive noise isolation. But sometimes this can be a problem when the sound is a necessary safety cue, such as when walking, driving, riding or navigating traffic. In-ear headphones can be custom-made, which use moldings of the outer ear canal to provide additional comfort and noise isolation;

• inserts
  (the common name is
  “earbuds”
  ,
  “buttons”
  ) - are inserted into the auricle. These are small headphones that fit directly into the outer ear, but are not inserted into the ear canal. In-ear headphones are compact, but not always comfortable, as many people find that they easily fall out of the user's ear. They also provide virtually no acoustic isolation and do not block out ambient noise, which can force users to turn up the volume dangerously high to compensate, risking hearing damage. On the other hand, they allow the user to better hear surrounding sounds. Since the early days of transistor radios, personal music devices have usually been equipped with similar headphones. They are sometimes sold with rubber or foam ear pads for comfort;

Mixed swivel headphones for constant wearing in one of two positions: “comfort” for quiet rooms and “quality” for passive sound isolation and good sound

• Mixed rotary
  - this type combines the advantages of in-ear headphones and in-ear headphones without the disadvantages inherent in both types. Mixed swivel headphones are securely held in the ear while worn, and their position can be easily changed by a simple movement of the user from the in-canal “quality” position to the “comfort” position, when the speaker is located in the auricle and does not interfere with the monitoring of surrounding sounds, and vice versa. Such headphones allow, depending on the situation and the user’s desire, to use passive noise reduction in the “quality” mode (conversation or actively listening to music) or control what is happening around the user in the “comfort” mode (when not in use or while listening to voice/music in the background). [1]
• overhead
  ,
  parotid
  - placed on the ear;
• full-size
  - placed on the head, completely covering the ear.
  These, in turn, are divided into headphones: open type
  - headphones transmit external sounds through special wide holes. Many listeners report that open-back headphones sound more natural, have a wider soundstage, and are less fatiguing than closed-back headphones. However, compared to closed-back headphones, open-back headphones do not provide good sound insulation and, as a rule, reproduce low frequencies weaker;
• closed type
  - the earcups do not have external holes. Due to this, the headphones do not allow external noise to pass through and provide maximum sound insulation, which allows them to be used in noisy environments, as well as in cases where you need to fully concentrate on listening or listen to confidential information. With high sound quality, the main disadvantages of closed headphones are high hearing fatigue and discomfort for the head due to the lack of air circulation due to the tight fit of the ear pads (if the ear pads fit poorly, the reproduction of low frequencies worsens) and, as a rule, greater pressure on the head, than open headphones;
• semi-open type
  (or
  semi-closed type
  ) - open headphones, but only with small external holes, designed to combine the advantages of closed and open type headphones.

By type of fastening[edit | edit code]

• with a headband
  - headphones with a vertical arm connecting their cups;
• with an occipital bow
  - the bow connects the two parts of the headphones, but is located on the back of the head; the main burden of the headphones falls on the ears;
• with ear mount
  - usually headphones of this type are attached to the auricle using ear hooks or clips;
• No mounts
  - In-ear headphones or in-ear headphones often do not have mounts.

By cable connection method[edit | edit code]

• double-sided
  - the connecting cable is connected to each of the earcups;
• single-sided
  - the connecting cable is connected to only one of the earcups, the second is connected by a wire tap from the first, often the wire is hidden in the earpiece.

According to the design of the emitter[edit | edit code]

• dynamic
  - use the electrodynamic principle of transformation.
  The most common type of headphones. Structurally, the earphone is a radiator or membrane to which a coil of wire is attached, located in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. If an alternating current is passed through it, it will interact with the magnetic field of a permanent magnet, as a result of which the membrane will move, repeating the shape of an electrical signal of audio frequency (see article Loudspeaker
  ). The electrodynamic method of signal conversion has many disadvantages and limitations, but the constantly improving design of such headphones and new materials make it possible to achieve very high sound quality;
• with a balanced armature
  - the main part is a U-shaped armature made of a ferromagnetic alloy.
  In colloquial speech, such headphones are often called “rebar” because of the consonance of the English word armature
  (
  here
  “anchor”) with the Russian word
  armature
  ;
• electrostatic
  - use the thinnest membrane located between two electrodes. The cost of such headphones is usually very high, but they demonstrate very high sensitivity and the highest fidelity of the reproduced sound. The disadvantage is that they cannot be directly connected to a standard headphone jack, so they come with a special docking station;
• planar
  or
  magnetoplanar
  [7] - contain a thin film membrane with metal conductive tracks applied to it, enclosed in a lattice of bar magnets and oscillating between them (see also Hale emitter).
  They are distinguished by the highest sound detail. Based on the shape of the membrane, such headphones are divided into: isodynamic
  - with permanent rod-shaped magnets;
• orthodynamic
  - with flat-cylindrical permanent magnets; slightly more compact than isodynamic.

By resistance[edit | edit code]

• low-impedance
  - with a resistance of up to 100 Ohms. For portable equipment, headphones with a resistance of 8 to 32 Ohms, up to a maximum of 50 Ohms, are recommended, since with a higher resistance, portable devices will not be able to provide sufficient sound volume without an additional amplifier;
• high-resistance
  - with a resistance of more than 100 Ohms. Such headphones usually require a separate power amplifier.

By type of connectors[edit | edit code]

• Jack (6.3 mm);
• Mini-jack (3.5 mm);
• Micro-jack (2.5 mm);
• DIN, ONTs-VN (currently obsolete);
• RPV-1, ShP-4, etc. (have a specific application or are outdated);
• USB (used in some new models of headphones, they have a built-in DAC).
• Lightning is used in iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, iPhone Xr, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro..
• Wireless