![]() The digital audio revolution began with the introduction of the Compact Disc, which first saw commercial production in 1982 - though it would take a few years for CDs to appear in the homes and cars of average consumers. Anyone want a mixtape? Image used with permission by copyright holder CD Player The medium also made it possible to record music from other sources. By the early 1980s, virtually every component stereo system would include a tape player, and everyone used portable tape players and car cassette decks to take their favorite music outside the house with them. ![]() That said, because of their smaller size and improved sound, high-fidelity cassettes were in massive demand by the 1970s and 1980s, with home players and the innovative, hyper-portable Sony Walkman taking the audio world by storm. Image used with permission by copyright holder Compact Cassette PlayerĬompact cassettes were originally introduced around the same time as larger 8-track cassettes, but it took a few improvements in technology before the fidelity became optimal for listening to music. Though car-mounted record players did exist before the 8-track took hold, they were very costly and prone to skipping, and this meant the 8-track was the first format to really change the way most people listened to music in cars. Because of the 8-track’s portability and success in cars, many people also bought home players for their 8-track cassettes, allowing them to listen to the same tapes both at home and on the go. The first commercially viable portable tape player, the eight track was perhaps most noted for its inclusion in many classic-era muscle cars, with Ford adopting the player in the 1966 models of its Mustang and Thunderbird, as well as its high-end Lincoln brand. Viktorus/Getty Images Image used with permission by copyright holder 8-Track Tape Player ![]() Though audio enthusiasts had begun purchasing each component and assembling high-end systems out of the gear since the first high end home audio gear became available in the 1950s, the time when component stereo systems leaped into every home was the 1970s and 1980s, when great-looking - and often mediocre-sounding - pre-packaged systems were the norm. Rob/VWvortex Component stereoĪs technology continued to develop and several different formats began to exist in home audio, younger listeners moved away from the classy all-in-one setups of their parents, instead buying large multi-piece sets that consisted of an amplifier, speakers, radio, turntable, and tape (and later CD) players. Fancier iterations of these systems even hid full bars and TV sets, allowing dapper gentlemen and gentlewomen to grab a drink and recline while listening to their favorite record, radio station, or watching the evening news. Gorgeously built wooden consoles contained amplifier-powered stereo speakers, with a turntable and radio hidden under a lid in the center. With the growth of suburbia that followed World War II, the living room gained an updated (and even classier looking) version of the original console radio system and horn-based turntable. Who knew this format would see such a resurgence in popularity nearly a century later?Īleksander Rubtsov/Getty Images Image used with permission by copyright holder One piece Hi-Fi System Typically hand wound, many of the original turntables played music out of a large horn, rather than electrically-powered speakers. Bigger and shorter playing than the 33 RPM long-playing discs that would eventually replace them, these first records preserved the sounds of big band jazz, classical, and pop music of the day, often with just one or two songs per side. Though the original turntables were created in the late-1800s, the modern turntable as we know it didn’t really see production until the mid-1920s, when 78 RPM discs became standardized in the United States. Image used with permission by copyright holder Record Player Wells’ The War of the Worlds was first broadcast in October 1938, numerous listeners actually believed they were hearing reports of a real alien invasion. ![]() Just like what would become the internet of the future, not all could tell news from fiction When a radio version of H.G. Big wooden radios were the centerpiece of each family’s living room, and groups used to huddle around the massive armoires of sound to listen to live news, sports, and music on the AM and FM airwaves. Following technological developments in sound amplification and transmission that occurred during World War I, the first commercial broadcasts began in the 1920s, with radio quickly becoming the first major mass media outlet in the world, and revolutionizing the way that humans were able to consume new information. Topic Images/Getty Images Image used with permission by copyright holder Console Radioīefore TV and the internet, folks gathered around radios to get their news and entertainment.
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