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Phonautograph
In 1857, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented the phonautograph. It was the first device to record sound, however it could not play it back. It's only purpose was for the visual study of sound. -
Phonograph
In 1987, Thomas Edison perfected the phonautograph. It used a needle to "read" etched grooves on a cylinder by amplifying, through mechanical means, the resulting vibrations. -
Gramophone
A decade later, the next innovation in sound was the transition from cylinder to disc. Emile Berliner began selling disc players, called gramophones. Discs were easier to ship and were louder than cylinders. It would take another 70 years before the sound quality would get better -
Magnetic recording
In 1898, magnetic recording involve the use of a magnetizable medium which moves with a constant speed past a recording head. An electrical signal, which is analogous to the sound that is to be recorded, is fed to the recording head, inducing a pattern of magnetization similar to the signal. -
Radio Broadcasting Started in the U.S.
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Electrical Recording
The advantage of electrical recording in 1925 greatly improved with new mechanics to record and playback. -
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Electrical Recording
From 1925 to 1930, the main technology used for home sound consisted of electrically recorded records with a special type of phonograph. It was a spring-wound acoustic phonograph which used waveguide engineering and a folded horn to provide a reasonably flat frequency response. -
FM Radio was created
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Further developments
Analog magnetic tape recording introduces noise, usually called "hiss", caused by the finite size of the magnetic particles in the tape.
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The U.S. created the first compact audio tape player
