How audio formats and audio technologies “fought” and evolved: a big historical digest

Today we present to your attention selected historical materials from our “ Hi-Fi World ”. They will be interesting to everyone who likes to read articles about unusual musical instruments, audio brands and their creators, as well as media and formats.


Photo by Ed Uthman / CC

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Sound recording

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• Music from paper and cardboard: a brief history of the variofon and the “drawn sound”. The article is devoted to the innovative development of Soviet inventors - variofon. This optical prototype sampler was created at the beginning of the last century. We will tell you what “drawing sound” is, who invented it and what films were voiced with its help.

• "The sound of a length of 8 seconds": the story of mellotron. Mellotron was created in England in the middle of the last century as a tool for home music. However, it became popular among rock musicians. Muse, Pearl Jam, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead and others used it in their songs. We will understand the device tool and the reasons for its popularity.

• “How the screen became speaking”: the story of the shorinofon. The story of the Soviet predecessor of the tape recorder - Shorinofone. Let's talk about how he worked and about the collaboration of its creator with directors Sovkino and Lenfilm. Also tell where now you can look at this unusual device.

• “Between vinyl and tape”: the history of tefiffon. An unusual audio tape - teffon was sold in stores in post-war Germany. Here we will discuss its history. From the article you will learn what is common between the teffone and the vinyl record, why the recordings of famous musicians did not come out on this format and what led to his sudden death.

• Fairy tales in the USSR: the story of "child" vinyl. We recollect the Soviet audio performances on vinyl and flexible records. “Alice in Wonderland”, “Hottabych!”, “The Bremen Town Musicians” - these and many other “vinyl tales” were released at the Melodiya factory. They brought up a whole generation of schoolchildren. We will talk about the history of the emergence of "child vinyl" in the USSR, famous actors and musicians who participated in its voice acting, and the censorship to which it was subjected.

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Audio Gadgets and Tools

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• Receivers from the USSR: a brief history of audio systems in Soviet cars. The first car radio appeared at the very beginning of the last century. At the World Exhibition in 1904 he was introduced by the American inventor Lee de Forest. In the USSR, the manufacture of receivers for cars began later, with the development of broadcasting in the country. We tell about the first receiver for a limousine, give examples of rare models, and also talk about the audio system in the car of Leonid Brezhnev.

• Highway Hi-Fi: how it started and how the history of record players for cars ended. This article can be considered a logical continuation of the previous one. In it, we talk about the next stage in the development of car audio - vinyl systems, also known as Highway Hi-Fi. How did these gadgets look and work? What unusual record formats did they use? Why motorists stopped buying them?

• "This is a hit": the history and records of music charts. 79 weeks - so much time the songs of Elvis Presley headed the Billboard Hot 100. We are talking about the history of the music charts. From the article you will learn how the first hit parade in the USSR was called and why the charts are gradually becoming obsolete.

• Wheel lira, harp, kahon and musical saw are instruments that did not become mainstream. We recall three entertaining tools from the past. We talk about the wheel lyre and wandering musicians, vargan and shamanism, kahon and national Peruvian music. Let's talk about the device and the purpose of these instruments, and also we will understand who plays them now.

• Unusual musical instruments you need to know: ocarina, panflute, sopilka and glass harmonica. Another review of unusual musical instruments. In it, we will introduce you to the Italian whistle, multi-barreled flute, chromatic pipe and glass harmonica. The article will be useful for those who want to learn more about the musical instruments of antiquity and their creators.

• The most unusual musical instruments: Hammond organ, Vako Orchestron and Synclavier. Lawrence Hammond invented the electric organ in 1935 as an inexpensive alternative to the spiritual organs in churches. However, the original sound of the instrument was appreciated by jazz and rock musicians. The material speaks about the features and history of the development of Hammond and two other interesting keyboards. What offer did Henry Ford Lawrence Hammond, for how much was sold the most expensive Synclavier and why Orchestron lost to the mellotron by sounding - look for answers in the article.

• Musical instruments that have not become mainstream - from modernity to classic. In this review, we recall the original musical instruments, released relatively recently. We share the stories of the creation of the Theremin, Omnikord and Hang. Each of them is interesting in its own way. The Thereminox came about through physical experiments, the omnichord was a distant relative of the harp, and the Hang was invented by Swiss engineers. We are talking about the concert of Lev Termen in the Kremlin, the differences of the khang from the glucophone and the unusual applications of omnicord.

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Brand history

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• Soviet legend: the history of the plant "Radiotekhnika". We share the history of the brand "Radio Engineering" from 1927 to the present day. For 90 years, the company has come a long and interesting way - from the purchase of German radio receivers to the production of acoustics under the brands Arslab, Old School, Penaudio and ICE. The work of the radio giant, its most interesting products and the fate of its founders is our material.

• Arslab: accurate calculation as art. Photo report from the Audimania factory in Riga where Arslab speakers are created. We offer to look at the production and get acquainted with the company in more detail. The tour is devoted to the stages of manufacture and assembly of acoustic systems. You will find out what materials are used for the columns and see the entire production cycle.

• “Do not stop and try new things”: A little about the history of Lehmannaudio. Lehmannaudio was founded in the late 1980s. For 30 years, their portable amplifiers have won the hearts of Hi-Fi enthusiasts. Let's talk about the differences between various Lehmannaudio amplifiers and find out which audio equipment is installed in the house of the company’s founder.

• "From Austria with love": acquaintance with AKG. In the early years of its existence, AKG was engaged exclusively in the production of microphones. We will tell about how these Austrians made their way from obscurity to a contract with the organizers of the Olympic Games.

• The history of the brand Sennheiser: freedom and visionary. “Laboratory in Wennebostel” (Laboratorium Wennebostel) - this was the first name of Sennheiser. Let's talk about the major milestones in the history of the company, its products ahead of the time, and developments in the field of stereo sound.

• “Innovative Conservatism”: A History of Bang & Olufsen. The story of one of the oldest companies producing hi-end audio equipment. The Bang & Olufsen Danish approach to audio production has always been a combination of tradition and innovation. In the material we tell about it in more detail, and also we share the podcast of the company about "noise space".

• History of the Ortofon brand: from sound films to pickup heads.
  Review of another Danish brand. Fame came to Ortofon in the late 1940s, with the invention of a moving-coil vinyl pickup. And the company began with the development of technology for the cinema voice. The material is versed in the principles of creating cartridges and tasks that faced the engineers of the time. Those interested in the company can watch a short video about its 95-year history.

• The history of the company Penaudio. The story of the realization of the dreams of the Penttils themselves about quality sound. He founded the brand Penaudio , known for its “believable and comfortable sound”. After reading, you will learn about the first experiments of the founder with loudspeakers, the birth of the concept of Penaudio and the northern traditions of wood finishing for speakers.

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Technology return

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• Audio tapes in pop culture: why the outdated sound recording format is again considered fashionable. Audio tapes are inferior in sales to vinyl, but they cannot be called a dead format. In 2017 alone , 174 thousand cassettes were sold . What is the cause of nostalgia for this format? We understand the article. Let us give examples of the use of audio cassettes in well-known films and TV shows, and also find out to which companies and labels this carrier owes its revival.

Photo by Maria Eklind / CC
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• Audio Search, Audio SEO, and Podcast Help - Google experts are already working on this. The popularity of podcasts is growing every month. Because of this, Google developers decided to run a search for audio recordings. On the existing developments and future plans of the company in the field of audio-SEO - read the article.

• The release of "HD-plates": a new technology will be released next year. The head of the Austrian startup Gunther Loibl said that the first HD-plates will be released in 2019. We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the new media compared to classic vinyl.

• Flexible plates - a universal carrier, which is back from the past. The material focuses on the development of the format of a flexible plate, its mass production in the USSR and abroad. We'll talk about how they were used in the election campaign of Richard Nixon and advertising McDonald's.

• The return of the era of vinyl. Portland is known as a hipster mecca. Not surprisingly, it was there that music lover Mark Rainey launched the production of vinyl records. In this article, he and music retail representatives discuss the resurgence of the vinyl industry. You will learn why record companies are lagging behind the plan and how the growth in vinyl demand and quality is interrelated.

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