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First speaker in telephone - Johann Phillip Reis
In 1861, Johann Phillip Reis became one of the first to create a speaker in order to be used for a telephone. While impressive, his design was still quite primitive, and the sound that emitted was very muffled and difficult to understand. -
First patented telephone - Alexander Graham Bell
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. The sound from the telephone was still a bit scratchy, but speech was now able to be understood much more clearly compared to the Reis telephone. -
Cylinder phonograph - Thomas Edison
In 1878, Thomas Edison patented the phonograph, which could emit and record sound. It became very popular among people because they could listen to music as well as record short messages. Because the technology has been tweaked and improved, record players are still very big among music enthusiasts today. -
The Auxetophone - Horace Short
In 1898, Horace Short patented the auxetophone. It was notable at the time due to the fact that instead of using electricity to transmit sound, it used compressed air. They were mostly used to play music, and because of the horn as seen in the picture, could amplify quite well. However, the sound quality was still poor, and many didn't care for how loud it was. -
First headphones - Nathan Baldwin
In 1910, Nathan Baldwin created the first headphones. Although they're primarily used today for listening to music or watching film, they were originally created to be used for the US Navy! They were used in order to help make communication easier. -
First working dynamic speaker - Peter Jensen & Edwin Pridham
In 1915, Peter Jenson and Ediwin Pridham created a dynamic speaker called the "Magnavox". While they had existed some years prior, this was the first one that actually worked properly. They were mostly used as PA systems and were the only ones in the American market until the 1920s. -
Improved dynamic speaker - Chester Rice & Edward Kellogg
A decade after the first dynamic speaker was made, two researchers, Chester Rice and Edward Kellogg, went on to write a paper about the technology as well as release their own model. Not only were they used in theaters and for "The Jazz Singer", the first movie to have audible dialogue and music, but the technology was also used for some of the first home stereos in America. -
Shearer Horn System for Theater - John Hilliard & James B. Lansing
Shearer Horns were created to improve on technology already used in theaters. The main issues it addressed was outputting more detailed sound and making sure the system could fit in various kinds of theaters. It became the industry standard during its time. -
First acoustic suspension speaker - Edgar Villchur & Henry Kloss
The first acoustic suspension speaker, the AR-1, not only improved bass and reduced sound distortion, but was also much more compact compared to previous speakers that took up a lot of space. This made it a popular option at the time for home audio. -
First stereo headphones - John Koss
Later, in 1958, John Koss created the first stereo headphones. Stereo headphones were a huge deal, because instead of playing the same sound on both sides, the sound is played through two channels. This makes listening feel more immersive, because different sounds can be played through different channels. -
First Boombox - Phillips
In 1966, Phillips Netherlands released the first boombox. It was referred to as the Phillips Norelco 22RL962. It was the first portable radio with a cassette recorder. But it wouldn't be until the 1970s when America would have boomboxes in the market, and they didn't become popular until the 80s. -
First internal speaker in a computer - IBM
The first speaker built inside a computer was introduced in the first IBM PC, the IBM 5150. It was limited to only beeps and tones due to the overall restricted capabilities of the computer. It was still a major event because it affected how later computers were made, as nearly all of them today feature an internal speaker with much better quality and more capabilities. -
First Bluetooth headset - Ericsson
The Ericsson HBH-10 Bluetooth headset was first revealed in 1999 at a computer expo. It also won an award for "Best of Show Technology". There isn't much else information available online about this headset, but I think it deserved a spot here for being the first wireless form of speaker. Most headphones and earbuds today support Bluetooth, as well as many other speakers. Many newer phone models also don't have headphone jacks anymore, suggesting the prevalence of wireless headphones. -
First wireless earbuds - Onkyo, Bragi Dash, and Earin
Beginning at 2014, many companies started creating the first wireless earbuds. Many of them were crowd-funded and released at similar times, so it's difficult to pinpoint who had and/or created the idea first. Still, the battery life was short compared to modern standards, and the connection was often unreliable. -
The AirPods - Apple
It wouldn't be until Apple released the AirPods that wireless earbuds would surge in popularity. Not only did they work better than previous attempts at wireless headsets, but they also had a better price, noise cancelling, and wireless charging.