Audio HistoryAlan Missildine

The Phonograph, 1877Thomas Edison was

the inventor of the Phonograph which was the first device to playback the human voice. But the mystery remains that his assistants (Charles Batchelor and John Kruesi) had accomplished the same before Edison.

The Gramophone, 1893A German

immigrant by the name of Emile Berliner who was settled in Washington D.C. also took interest in the recording technology. She created the Gramophone or “Record player” in 1888.

1898Valdemar Poulsen obtained the first patented

on a magnetic recorder. This was the first glimpse of the tape recorder

1900Thomas Lambert obtained a patent for the

use of celluloid as a recording medium. Celluloid was one of the first versions of plastic. It was rigid but far from unbreakable as Columbia and the Indestructible Record Company claimed.

1908Thomas Edison devolved a longer playing

wax cylinder than played double the length and time than his last invention.

1923Henry Stroller and Harry Pfannenstiehl

worked on synchronizing recorded sound with movie playback. This system used two electric motors one for the record player and one for the film projector. The sound was recorded onto 16 inch discs called platers.

1929Edison closed his recording career.

1930Most recording companies adopted the

electrical recording process.

1931Blumlein obtained a patent for a stereo

record cutting system. This used both a lateral and a vertical cut in the same groove. This was quickly improved on by Blumlein and Keller. A different channel of sound was inscribed into each side of this V shape cut.

1934The RCA Victor company introduced a small

electrical turntable designed to be plugged into the family radio using the radio\'s amplifier and loudspeaker. The Duo Jr. sold for $16.50. The Columbia Company sold a similar player, the Radiograph for $55.00.

1941Recording of sound was used to break secret

codes, record telephone messages from spies, and record intercepted enemy communications during World War II. Wire recorders were used because they were much more durable. This increased interest to improve wire recorders.

1950The public now had four record speeds to

choose from: 16, 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm.

1957The Record Industry Association of America

decided to make the Westrex stereo disc system as the American standard.

1963The Philips Company introduced the compact

cassette tape cartridge although it did not take hold until five years later. The larger eight tack tape cartridge would be popular first.

1966The Lear Jet Company created an eight track

stereo tape cartridge with continuous looping tape. The Motorola Company manufactured them. The Ford Motor Company offered these as an option in their luxury cars. The RCA Company offered the prerecorded eight track tapes to consumers.

1971The new Ray Dolby system now greatly

reduced unwanted background sound on the cassette tape.

1977Record companies now offered their

prerecorded music on both cassette tape and disc.

1988The compact disc sold slowly. In 1988 CDs

finally out sold vinyl records. The cassette tape was still the top seller.

1990Sony made DAT, Digital Audio Tape, available

to the American public.

Works citedhttp://

library.thinkquest.org/19537/Timeline.htmlhttp://

www.videointerchange.com/audio_history.htm