[melomaniac]

http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/most-wanted/infographic-the-history-of-headphones-10304.html

[size=smaller]Source: VoucherCodes.co.uk[/size]

 

[kckc]

This is pretty interesting, thanks for the link/post. 

 

[melomaniac]

actually, I bet some real head-fi experts could expand and improve on that timeline: anyone? bueller?

 

[obobskivich]

The picture of a moving iron headphone looks lifted from either Wikipedia or a collector's website (there's a few guys who restore these things and I'd swear I've seen that picture before). A quick check confirms it was lifted straight from Wikipedia, and is a Brandes set. 
 
Koss himself didn't invent the dynamic headphone nor the stereo headphone, in collaboration with engineers the company basically did for headphones what Ford did for cars (made them affordable and not suck and then marketed them; I'm not trying to say John Koss and Henry Ford are in any way similar people). I'm also unclear on who really invented the first 'stat, the ESP/6 is the first offering from Koss, but not the first electrostatic headphone ever (the STAX SR-1 is nearly ten years older). I also think the Koss ESP/9 or ESP/10 should be up there, as they represent substantial refinements over the ESP/6 - and if we're going to talk about Koss, we have to talk about the Pro4 too. 
 
Koss actually has it's own version of the history of the headphone, but it appears to be down right now. They've added some neat videos though:
http://www.koss.com/community/2011/November/A%20History%20of%20Innovation
 
Beyerdynamic also has a timeline:
http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/company/once-today.html (it's also my understanding that all Beyerdynamic headphones come with a little book that goes through most of this, I know the T70 do).
 
You'd also really need to mention Sony and their influence beyond a simple blurb about the Walkman - it changed a lot more than most people today want to believe it did. It may not be commercially relevant in 2012, but it really did create a new "thing" that everyone else has been following along (this includes the iPod). I would also contend that if we're talking about hi-fi/audiophile stuff, there are a few Sony cans worth mentioning, like the MDR-R10 (which did a lot of things "first" as far as I know; being a woody among them). Sennheiser also needs to be mentioned, as they introduced us to open-back headphones (!!!). You could also talk about some of the weirder products from AKG and Koss over the years (these two more than anyone else, are really obsessed with stuffing more than two drivers into a single pair of headphones). Finally, you might also include Grado, the HP1000 (the Joe Grado stuff) are significant as being among the first "hi-fi" headphones put onto the market in the 1980s (if memory serves; this is along the R10 of course). 
 
Depending on how much you really wanted to get into, you could talk about other technologies too (orthos, electrets, that kind of thing) and the influence of Yamaha, Toshiba, Fostex, and some of the more obscure products from Audio-Technica, Sony, and Beyerdynamic. You could also do in-ears some better justice (I'm not really versed in this, so feel free to fill in where I'm wrong) - the transition from dynamic to BA, and the influence of Etymotic and then UE, Shure, and so on. 
 
 
 
 
Quote:

actually, I bet some real head-fi experts could expand and improve on that timeline: anyone? bueller?

 

 

[Ishcabible]

They totally should have put that the ER4 was created in (I think) 1991 and was the first universal IEM for monitoring, I think. Jerry Harvey did stuff with IEM's, but they were customs. ClieOS would be a lot better with explaining that.

They completely skipped planars and electrets, and while most people don't care about the latter, I think they're really cool, especially Sony's pentagonal designs. Although planars probably didn't influence the mainstream industry too much.

The K1000 deserves a shout out, since they're such a deviation from normal headphones that, even though they kinda tanked and didn't really influence many other companies, AKG deserves props for doing something more radical than stuffing an electret and a dynamic driver into a headphone that's only a little bigger than a half dollar coin. (AKG K4)

Oh, and the Jecklin Float should be there. Just because.

The SR-009 and Orpheus should probably be on a headphone history list because of how ridiculously priced and supposedly amazing they are, but that might scare some people off.

There's a bit too much about Koss (and they totally should have mentioned Koss went full circle and have a pair of Tony Bennett branded headphones now), not that that really bugs me. I have a pair of the SPX3 (the first pair of Koss headphones). and they're really, really bad.

Oh, and the DT48 enthusiast in me thinks it's slightly annoying how the used a DT48S for the picture. Those are a few decades off from the original DT48 with the less weird-looking headband.

 

[ClieOS]

The first pair of custom stage IEM was invented by FutureSonics founder Marty Garcia back in 1984~85. Jerry was a few year late at the game (In fact, I think FS once did a custom IEM for Jerry). The first universal for music was indeed Etymotic at 1991, ER4B to be exact. The actual first universal IEM was a few years earlier, also by Etymotic, but not for music and instead for research / audiology.
 
I agree that Sennheiser should have been mentioned for the HD414.

 

[obobskivich]

Ah the Jecklins, yes!
 
If you want to list headphones that are ridiculously overpriced, I wouldn't start with the SR-009 or HE-90; I'd look at the Ultrasone Edition series. The SR-009 (from what I've read) actually represents some engineering advances in 'stat tech (just like the ESP/950 did, 20+ years ago - and remember it cost like $2000 new), and the HE-90 probably has some "special ness" (it's still silly expensive). Compare this to something like the Edition 7, which cost over $3000, and seemingly flopped, or the Edition 10, which costs around the same, and is not universally well received or even regarded as "the best." They're just expensive for the sake of being expensive, and due to using rare/expensive materials. 
 
Also, ClieOS - thanks for adding that in! Was hoping someone who knows their in-ears would join in!
Quote:

They totally should have put that the ER4 was created in (I think) 1991 and was the first universal IEM for monitoring, I think. Jerry Harvey did stuff with IEM's, but they were customs. ClieOS would be a lot better with explaining that.
They completely skipped planars and electrets, and while most people don't care about the latter, I think they're really cool, especially Sony's pentagonal designs. Although planars probably didn't influence the mainstream industry too much.
The K1000 deserves a shout out, since they're such a deviation from normal headphones that, even though they kinda tanked and didn't really influence many other companies, AKG deserves props for doing something more radical than stuffing an electret and a dynamic driver into a headphone that's only a little bigger than a half dollar coin. (AKG K4)
Oh, and the Jecklin Float should be there. Just because.
The SR-009 and Orpheus should probably be on a headphone history list because of how ridiculously priced and supposedly amazing they are, but that might scare some people off.
There's a bit too much about Koss (and they totally should have mentioned Koss went full circle and have a pair of Tony Bennett branded headphones now), not that that really bugs me. I have a pair of the SPX3 (the first pair of Koss headphones). and they're really, really bad.
Oh, and the DT48 enthusiast in me thinks it's slightly annoying how the used a DT48S for the picture. Those are a few decades off from the original DT48 with the less weird-looking headband.