-
Very first headphones
Headphones had little to do with music at all. Back in the 1880’s, the first headphones (or at least their early ancestors) were used by telephone operators. It was a single earpiece that rested on the user’s shoulder and weighed over 10 pounds (kinda like placing a boombox on your shoulder. -
1895
In 1895 folks could start rocking out to the sick beats of the local opera house from the comfort of their own home. Subscribers to the pricey service would listen through headphones that looked more like stethoscopes than a modern offerings as very large people produced very big sound on a stage miles away. -
1910
Nathaniel Baldwin began manufacturing the first modern headphones. He crafted them in his kitchen and sold them all to the U.S. Navy. This was the first time a pair of cans resembled something you’d see today. Baldwin never patented them. -
1937
The DT-48’s from Beyerdynamic became the first dynamic headphones to hit the market. Though it would be a few decades before electrostatic headphones came into play, this was obviously a huge leap forward in the can story. Dynamic headphones are, to this day, the most popular type on the market -
1949
With design in mind, AKG produced their first pair of headphones, the K120’s. If they were reproduced today, they would sell like hotcakes at Urban Outfitters. This model, and other more popular ones that followed, were enough to make AKG quit the film equipment business and focus just on audio. -
1958
John C. Koss changed the headphone game in a way that would make Dr. Dre jealous. In 1958, Koss created the first stereo headphones and launched an all out assault on awaiting ear canals. Over the next few decades, Koss would come to dominate the headphone industry, and he would do it all without the need for a pesky college education -
1959
At a show in Tokyo, Stax debuted the world’s first ever electrostatic pair of headphones. The SR-1’s would go into production a year later. They are now extremely rare like an original pair of Nike Air Mag’s or a headphone user without hearing loss -
1968 ESP-6's
A decade after introducing the first stereo headphones, Koss unleashed the first US made electrostatic model. The ESP-6’s clocked in at around two pounds -
1979 sony headphones
All of a sudden, headphones had to be portable. Included with the purchase of the first Walkman were Sony’s MDL-3L2 headphones and everything you needed to rock out to London Calling while roller skating in your driveway -
sony headphones 1997
– If you wanted to keep your hair in check but also hated the fact that earbuds couldn’t isolate sound well, Sony thought you might like a pair of neckband headphones -
2000,2001,2008,2012 headphones
Headphones have become as much about style as they are sound quality. This may never have been more relevant than when Lil Wayne wore these $1 million dollar pair of Beats.
