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The First Ever
The first ever musical audio device was the phonograph. As a component in an audio system, a phonograph, or record player, is connected to an amplifier and loudspeakers to reproduce the sounds recorded on a record. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/phonograph/276406 -
The Gramophone
In 1887 Emile Berliner patented the Gramophone, a phonograph that traced sound grooves on a flat disc rather than on a cylinder. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/phonograph/276406 -
The Microphone
The first commercial electrical recordings were made in 1925. Microphones were used to transform the sound into electrical signals, which operated the cutting stylus. The electrical phonograph—using essentially the principles employed in the modern phonograph—was introduced at about the same time. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/phonograph/276406 -
Stereo Discs
In 1958 the first commercial two-channel, or stereo, discs were introduced. They held two separate channels of sound in a single groove. Stereo recording produced better-defined sound, with a greater sense of space and dimension. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/phonograph/276406 -
The Cassette Tape
The cassette, essentially a miniature reel-to-reel mechanism in plastic or metal case, was introduced in 1964. By the 1970s cassettes had become capable of high fidelity, and by the early 1980s the sales of music cassettes exceeded those of phonograph records. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/tape-recorder/277268 -
Compact Discs
Invented by Philips Electronics N.V. and Sony Corporation in 1980, the compact disc (CD) is a molded plastic disc containing digital data that is “read” by a laser beam. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/compact-disc/273758