Techinfo

Invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and patented in 1878, the first sound recording device was the phonograph cylinder. This project was a wax cylinder that when vibrations hit the cylinder hole would imprint. The development of mass-production techniques enabled cylinder recordings to become a major new consumer item in industrial countries and the cylinder was the main sound invention from the late 1880s until around 1910. The invention was the first step to our new iPods and MP3 players.

After Edison, a significant jump in sound recording was electronic systems. In 1906 Lee De Forest invented the "Audion" triode vacuum-tube. This invention greatly amplified weak electrical signals. This was first used to amplify the sound in long distant phone calls. The valve was quickly followed by the invention of the Regenerative circuit, Super-Regenerative circuit and the Superheterodyne receiver circuit, all of which were invented and patented by Edwin Armstrong between 1914 and 1922. His inventions made recording sound a much easier process on a higher level. After 1925 these systems had become standard in the recording and radio industry.  In 1943, German audio engineers working on magnetic tape are reported to have developed stereo recording. Not until the introduction of the first commercial two-track tape recorders by Ampex in the late 1940s, the stereo tape recording became commercially possible. The stereo did not become the standard system for commercial music recording for some years and it remained a specialist market during the 1950s. This changed after the introduction of the "Westrex stereo phonograph disc". Decca Records in England came out with Full Frequency Range Recording in the 1940s which became internationally accepted and a worldwide standard for higher quality recordings on vinyl records, bringing stereo sound into the home.
 * //1946//**
 * Webster-Chicago manufactures wire recorders for the home market.


 * //1956//**
 * Les Paul makes the first 8-track recordings using the "Sel-Sync" method.


 * //1963//**
 * Philips introduces the Compact Cassette tape format, and offers licenses worldwide.

1967 Elektra releases the first electronic music recording: Morton Subotnick's //Silver Apples of the Moon.//


 * //1970//**
 * The first digital delay line, the Lexicon Delta-T 101, is introduced and is widely used in sound reinforcement installations.


 * //1980//**
 * Sony introduces a palm-sized stereo cassette tape player called a "Walkman."


 * //1982//**
 * Sony releases the first CD player, the Model CDP-101.


 * //1997//**
 * DVD videodiscs and players are introduced. An audio version with 6-channel surround sound is expected to eventually supplant the CD as the chosen playback medium in the home.


 * //1998//**
 * MP-3 players for downloaded Internet audio appear.