Headphones
A History Project by Nate Stringer, Tory Martin, and Claire Starke
Headphones

Documentary

Script

Intro:

In a survey conducted on social media, out of 500 students, 47.6% said that they use headphones every day and 14.6% said they use headphones 5 days out of the week. Headphones are a very important artifact in today’s society, some students from the poll said they used them to listen to music, audiobooks, podcasts, watch videos, and much more. But to know why they are used today, there needs to be a look at the past to see why there was a need for them in the first place.

  • Headphones are one of the most prevalent and widely used pieces of technology, as of the year 2019. In a survey conducted on social media, out of 500 students, 47.6% said that they use headphones every day and 14.6% said they use headphones 5 days out of the week. With the rise of mobile technology and remote workplace labor, headphones have become a necessity in the digital age. The ability to take a world of multimedia with you, in your own pocket, has created an unmatched demand to keep the audio accompanied by such media, as well as conversations with others, private and in-focus.

I, Nate Stringer, as well as Claire Starke, and Tory Martin will be discussing antecedents, early models, commercial and current products, as well as hypothetical future-headphones; based on our team’s historical analysis.

  • Now, headphones have undergone significant design and functionality changes throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century. Before we delve into some of the recent history of this essential technology, Claire will share with us some of the antecedents of headphones.

Antecedents: 

  • One of the simplest antecedents of headphones are ears. The purpose of headphones is to listen, whether it be to listen to “a computer, smartphone, mp3 player or other device to privately listen to audio.”  Ears are obviously made for listening, but headphones are what made listening into a private activity. 
  • Before telephones were invented, there was conversation about talking in distance without yelling to hear each other.  The tin-can telephone sparked the idea for the electric phone with wires instead of string. The basic science behind it is when someone talks into the tin can their voice sends vibrations, which then sends the vibrations down a taut string connected to the other person’s can.  “These vibrations are transferred to the string and then into the bottom of your partner’s cup, which makes the air inside of his or her cup vibrate and become detectable sound.” This simple design became the idea behind the telephone.
  • The telephone revolutionized talking and listening between far and near.  It is an antecedent of headphones because it has a listening component just like headphones do.  The telephone also added a privacy feature that people liked, they were able to talk to family or friends and it just be a conversation heard between the two people talking.  Later developments of telephones came with heavier challenges, telephone operators had to deal with a ~10-pound earpiece that rested on their shoulders. This clearly made inventors start thinking about inventions to ease the problem.
  • The first earbuds were not invented for private entertainment but were used to help the operators and get rid of all the extra weight.  This also freed their hands so they would be able to better do their jobs. It also improved telephone receivers so that the operator could move around while using them.  They were also used for radio communication.  
  • The Electrophone is one of the first inventions that most reflects the modern design of headphones.  It is a British invention that “created a system allowing their customers to connect into live feeds of performances at theaters and opera houses across London”.  It was the first invention that was intended for music and entertainment. 
  • After the Stereophone and the first earbuds found their shape, other listening devices were starting to be modeled after these.  The stethoscope was made to listen internally but it has the same science as headphones do.  
  • The phonograph was the first loudspeaker made.  Headphones have a speaker but it’s in the internal structure of the earpieces.  Phonographs are a device used for listening just like headphones. Edison told a newspaper the possible uses that the phonograph could have included “Reproduction of music, Music-boxes and toys, Phonographic books which speak to blind  without effort on their part” and many other uses. It made music more popular and devices like these more sought after, it almost paved the way for headphones to come in and storm the market. 
  • And lastly the microphone is a huge antecedent for headphones because without the microphone there would be no need to have any listening technology because it would not be recorded or transmitted.  There would be no purpose for headphones, other than to block out noise like ear plugs. Headphones were and always be dependent on microphones.    

Early Models:

  • Those early ideas and inventions gave birth to the early models of what we know today as functional headphones. The first pair of headphones were made in 1910, by Nathaniel Balwin, in the kitchen of his Utah home. They were initially dismissed by skeptical private investors, however, they were quickly picked up and put into use by the United States Navy. In the year 1937, the first dynamic headphones, known as the DT-48, which stood for the Dynamic Telephone 48, was produced by the German audio company called Beyerdynamic. Interestingly enough, the DT-48 model is still being produced today, with modern innovations, that make for a pleasant listening experience.
  • Beyerdynamic had a healthy share of the headphone market up until the 1960s, when a Milwaukee-based Jazz musician, by the name of John Koss, created the first-ever stereo headphones, which were designed specifically for consumers to listen to their new stereo LPs in the comfort of their own homes. Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, Koss’s headphones dominated the headphone market, largely due to the fact that home records were very popular throughout these two decades, and Koss’s headphones complimented them perfectly. A key part of John Koss’s marketing strategy was celebrity endorsements. Here, we can see the famous American singer, Tony Bennett, wearing a pair of Koss headphones in 1963. Other famous musicians who were fans and endorsers of Koss headphones included Mel Tormay and Bobby Hackett. However, Tony Bennett remains an active fan of Koss headphones to this very day.
  • The third and final trend in twentieth century headphone innovation came in the 1980s. By this point in time, John Koss had lost focus of his command over the headphone market by diversifying his company into other electronics that were just not meant for the company to expand into. As Koss headphones stepped out of the way, the Japanese electronics company, famously known as Sony, introduced the revolutionary Walkman. Since the Walkman music player was innovative in terms of mobile entertainment – lighter headphones were needed to accommodate this versatile device. With this, the MDR-3L2 headphones were introduced. These headphones were lightweight, stylish, and more comfortable than their earlier counterparts. The MDR-3L2 headphones were the predominant headphones used from the 1980s, up until the turn of the twenty-first century.

Later:

Earbuds: First modern earbuds to go into the ear canal

SCRIPT – The first earbuds came from the idea that headphones could either be covering the ear or they could go in the ear canal. This idea came from the original patent of Ernest Mercadiers patent in 1891 of the “bi-telephone” This was essentially a pair of buds that went into the canal that blocked outside noise. This idea really was not commercialized until 2001 with the iconic white wired earbuds sold by Apple. This idea was invented by Jonathan Ive who worked for Apple. These earbuds became popular because they were quoted as being “tolerable to use” by reviewers of the product. This new product at the time changed from their original design to what we know now as looking like “tiny hair dryers.” We see this popular style frequently now and is what we know of Apple’s white wired earbuds. 

The Bluetooth headphone: 2006 – Nokia BH-800 

SCRIPT In 1999 Bluetooth version 1.0 was invented and trademarked. This allowed people to begin to share data and audio between two different devices that had this capability. This then began the idea that mobile phones would also have this Bluetooth capability. Without mobile phones with this ability, we would never have been able to have Bluetooth headphones. In 2000 mobile phones were able to have this process in them which began the revolution of Bluetooth headphones. Leading into 2004 with the first actual Bluetooth headphones being sold. The first headphones were not meant for streaming music but rather for high-quality phone calls. The first bluetooth headphones according to Olli-Pekka Ahokas was the Nokia HDW-1. This version was developed but later canceled before going into mass production. This specific model of headphones was basically a prototype of the Bluetooth headphones we now know of. The idea of the Bluetooth headphones was very crucial to the history of headphones because it shows how different models were chosen and some were trashed. The Bluetooth headphones revolutionized headphone use because it allowed people to connect with their mobile phones creating importance for headphones usage. Without Bluetooth technology being created headphones could have became forgotten about but they weren’t. 

Beats headphones:

SCRIPT- Beats by Dre is an important step in the history of headphones. The duo of Hip-Hop legend Dr. Dre and his partner Iovine teamed up to start their company in 2006. Dr. Dre is a very well known influencer in hip hop field and Jimmie Iovine is a record producer, engineer, and businessman. They were then on a mission to create a specific brand of headphones. The first model of beats headphones came out in 2008 and was the model “Beats by Dre Studio. This model is very iconic and is a household name.  An important step in this process was their partnership with a company named Monster in 2007. They ended up breaking their deal with Monster in 2011 which allowed them to then create various different models of headphones and earphones. This was an important step in the process for them because it freed them of any liability to Monster and allowed them to freely create their different ideas. 

The idea of the beats headphones had a huge impact culturally and speaking from my own personal experiences they were virtually everywhere. In schools and going different places you almost always saw someone with beats headphones on. This created the idea that headphones aren’t just for listening to music or for phone calls but for a greater idea. Culture. Beats headphones impact on American Culture was HUGE. Headphones now seemed to be worn as part of your outfit and were essentially part of who you were. Headphones were a fashion statement and people wanted in. This is the idea of mimetic desire which is essentially “if you have it I want it” this psychological trend is something that was very impactful in beats headphones. The idea that if your friend had these headphones then you had to have them too. This tied together multiple different types of people. Whether you were wearing them to your basketball game or just around school in the hallways, it connected people. Beats brought people together over one common thing: headphones. The duo of Iovine and Dr. Dre created a trend that covers the rest of the history of headphones. This then leads us into our next model in the history of headphones timeline

Beats Earbuds:

The same creators of the Beats headphones led us to the creation of the Beats Earbuds. The duo of Dr. Dre and Iovine used culture tremendously well for this idea of Earphones. For it was the release of the Beats Earbuds in 2012. The duo had dropped Monster as their partner and from there went into trying to get celebrities to help them with their commercialization. They were able to get athletes like Lebron James to endorse them as well as Lady Gaga to catch the other sphere of users. They sold their earbuds as a high experience earbud. The background of already having a step up on other brands helped them with the release of this product. Because Beats by Dre was already a household name people were more inclined to buy into this product. The evolution of these specific headphones infiltrated the athletic culture of Americans as well. These earbuds became a fad with athletes of all types. They became a staple from the most serious runners to simply weekend warriors. Again these headphones connected people through their ability to share a common interest. These headphones functionality went along with the original beats by dre allowing them to become part of the users’ everyday outfit. They can be seen all across college campuses and throughout the United States.

AirPod:

SCRIPT- The Airpod is a type of headphones that is unlike any other. Its impact on American culture more than technology is one of unchartable measures. The Airpod was originally released by Apple in 2016 just before Christmas. It was then improved in March of 2019 and from then on has been the powerhouse of all earbuds and headphones. The Airpod essentially is two buds of the headphone that connects wirelessly to the users’ phones. The two individual pieces fit into the user’s ear and can be used to stream music, talk on the phone or many other uses. The Airpod was turned into a meme online that created the publicity that it needed to take off. The joke was “I can’t hear broke.” This joke online blew up and basically made the want for Airpods even higher. This culturally brought together but also divided many demographics. The users of the Airpods come together and the ones who didn’t have them were looked down upon. 

One of the main pushes for the Airpod came from Apple itself taking the earphone jack out of its phones. This created the want for a Bluetooth headphones and Apple filled this void with the Airpod. Because apple was such a common name that people continually use and trust this again led to the desire for Airpods. Airpods were able to connect automatically with Iphones and have many different tools that can only be used with Apple products. The Airpod was a creation by apple that apple had already laid out the pavement for and that is why it was able to become a fad so quickly. The Airpod in the history of headphones is the most revolutionized product of all of the prior forms. The ability to have two different earpieces with no wire connection was unlike anything seen before. The Airpod still continues to be able to thrive in this market because of popular US culture and the technological side set up by Apple itself. 

Future Products:

  • As headphones have undergone some impressive and drastic changes in recent years, it is worth discussing the hypothetical future, in regards to design and functionality of headphones. As the years progress, headphones have increasingly shrunk in size. Wireless charging, in place of battery-operated headphones, is a convenience that many consumers today enjoy. The most contemporary headphones, including Airpods and similar products, allow customers to enjoy discreet, wireless earbuds that deliver quality sound. Another trend in recent headphone developments are improvements upon the noise-canceling feature, which was revolutionized by Bose, and recently adopted by Beats Headphones. Our research team predicts that both headphones and earbuds will continue to become visually discreet, while simultaneously improving upon noise-cancellation quality. In fact, Apple has very recently attempted this feat, by introducing their new Apple AirPods 2 to the market, which serves as quality earbuds, while including noise cancellation technology.
  • In addition, we believe that improved User-Interface in relation to headphones will become more popular. This ascends beyond analog buttons into touch screen features on headphones, which will allow for more advanced user-options, and eliminates the need to use two devices in order to enjoy the private music and media experience.

Conclusion:

  • Headphones have become one of the most popular pieces of consumer technology throughout the twenty-first century, and as mobile technology continues to advance and grow, headphones will also do so, simultaneously. 
  • Over the years, headphones have technologically advanced very quickly, and will continue to do so in the coming years.
  • The impacts headphones have had on society include the seclusion of people in public places, whereas in earlier years, people tended to be more neighborly and friendly. However, privacy and mobile-media experiences have improved, and the social implications of headphones will continue to be studied by professionals as the years progress.

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