The evolution of headphones in 10 models that made history

Headphones have their own name and date of birth. In 1910, the engineer Nathaniel Baldwin realised a pair of headphones similar to those we still use today. Made by hand from metal, leather and fabric, they are called The Navy and this name came from their first customer, the US Navy, who ordered a hundred of them without knowing that Baldwin made them himself on his kitchen table. Furthermore, the navy advised Baldwin to patent them, but the engineer refused, considering his innovation trivial.   

The evolution of headphones is rather slow if you think that it took almost fifty years to reach the first stereo model. We are talking about the Koss SP/3, one of the few technological devices that has become a real break, clearly defining a before and an after. Designed by John C. Koss, in addition to stereo, they were the first to be aimed exclusively at music listening. They were designed to support a small portable audio system, the Koss Model 390, which allowed to switch from community to personal listening through headphones. But no one cared at the time: people wanted headphones.

Seen today they certainly do not attract for their aesthetics nor for their construction details but the Sony Mdr-3 have become a status symbol. No one knows them by this name and it is enough to mention their partner in crime, the Walkman, to rekindle the passion. It was 1979 and Sony was aiming for extreme lightness, with extensive use of aluminium, a linear design and cheap sponge earcups. The breakthrough it opened up would contaminate all the following products: music became portable and spread. Thanks in part to them, the Walkman became one of the best-selling products of all time, selling 400 million units.

While the Walkman was opening up to the masses, the high-end brands were targeting the more refined public with design products that combined quality and aesthetics. The B&O U70s are among the few headphones to have found a place at Moma and just seeing them is enough to understand their value. Designed by Jacob Jensen, they were square, light (300 grams) and fit the listener’s head. The earcups could be adjusted independently in height and angle, the headband could be lengthened or shortened and the whole thing could be locked in place with ingenious side buttons.

It is hard to think of anything less calm than a helicopter, but if we enjoy music and podcasts in silence today, it is because of the noisy aircraft. Bose had been making active noise-cancelling headphones for pilots for decades, but it was not until 2000 that they decided to offer them to the general public. With the claim “Escape the noise”, it launched the first QuietComfort, a headset with a strong business design that always had the sky in its soul. If noise bothers pilots, the company founder said, Amar Bose will bother passengers too.

After the long interlude of the Walkman, headphones are miniaturised, becoming what we call earphones, and larger models now seem to be limited to business class travellers and audiophiles. However, the turnaround came with Beats, a line created in 2008 by rapper Dr Dre and the record producer Jimmy Iovine, which made its debut with the Studio model. With their exaggerated bass lines and street aesthetics, they also appeal to sportsmen and women, who wear them on all occasions, even before a competition. Headphones have become a status symbol that reveals the wearer’s musical tastes and lifestyle. The rapper Lil Wayne, for example, commissioned a diamond-studded model in 2012 for a million dollars.

The iPod was the new Walkman and the first 2001 model carried all-white earpieces that made it unique. Nevertheless, Apple’s real innovation came later in 2016. Five years ago, the AirPods were revealed to the world. Small and light, they were capable to spread the idea of true wireless, of in-ear headphones with no cables connecting to the device or to each other. It is not an Apple’s invention: the record in the sector goes to the Onkyo W800BT, silently released in 2015. 

While there are those who struggle to erase external noises, there are those which are doing everything they can to make us hear them as well. Sometimes it is convenient to hear what is going on around you, think of when you are running or cycling, and here the bone conduction becomes one of the possibilities offered by these headphones. Speakers placed on the skin and transmitting sound via vibrations is a very old idea, but only in recent years it has become mainstream. Although incomparable to that emitted by traditional devices, the sound today is quite clear and pleasant, as long as you do not overdo the bass.

The appearance is that of sunglasses, the function is similar to headphones. In 2019, Bose launched Frames, a very original hybrid. Made in the squared Alto version or the more circular Rondo, the temples integrate two speakers that allow you to listen to music or make calls while leaving your ears free to hear outside noises. However, the real innovation is their smart platform: according to Bose’s intentions, the Frames’ motion sensor and the smartphone’s GPS which they are connected to would allow them to receive audio information about what you are looking at.

We close with a true work of art that combines audiophilia and design. Created to be “the best headphones in the world, at any price”, the Sennheiser HE1 are unique in the sector. The headphones are just part of a complete system consisting of an amplifier with eight exposed valves and a Dac that converts digital audio to analogue. Both have been encased in a single block of Carrara marble with cushioned feet to prevent vibration. The weight of 20 kilos is as stellar as the price, 59,900 euros.