Speakers: Our favourite music pals were first used in telephones!  

Looking around your house, you will notice that almost every electronic device has speakers. Leaving the house without earphones is unthinkable. Without speakers, no party is complete. Movie nights are more enjoyable now that theatre systems with surround sound are available. Mega speakers with bass boosters and equalisers bring concerts to life. We are truly fortunate to have these amenities. But how do the speakers function? A driver, similar to an electroacoustic transducer, is used in speakers. The transducer is responsible for converting audio signals into sounds. Isn't that brilliant? Once upon a time, the concept of a speaker was only a passing thought. We've come a long way since then, thanks to the many people who helped make this idea a reality. Here’s all about the first speakers invented and their journey through time. 

The first loudspeaker was invented in 1861 
The speakers we use today are sophisticated, come in a variety of sizes, and can be installed in any device. Do you know which device was the first to have speakers installed? If you're thinking about radio, you're mistaken. In 1861, the first speaker was invented and used in telephones! Johanne Philipp Reis, a self-taught German scientist and inventor, was the first to instal sound-producing loudspeakers in a telephone. Following his invention, many people began to experiment with the idea of adding speakers to devices. You must be familiar with Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. He patented the loudspeaker portion of his telephone in 1876. Since then, various people have attempted to develop new technologies to produce better sounds. However, the first speakers had a long way to go before reaching the state that we see them in, today.  

The dynamic speakers of 1915 
The year of 1915 saw the invention of dynamic speakers which revolutionised the loudspeaker industry. The masterminds behind the dynamic speakers were Peter Jensen, a Danish American engineer and Edwin Pridham, a US-born electrical engineer. They designed the first practical moving coil loudspeakers. Even today, moving coil technology is widely used in speakers! Unfortunately, Jensen and Pridham could not obtain a patent for their invention. Chester Rice and Edward Kellogg, inventors from America, received a patent for moving coil when they modified it to produce sound waves. 

Chester Rice and Edward Kellogg's invention was a huge success. They went on to develop a radio for the first time with which people could listen to news and music. Following its phenomenal success in 1937, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), an American film, television production house, introduced the world to the first film industry standard loudspeaker. With this move, MGM forever altered our cinematic experience. 

The emergence of loudspeaker cabinets  
We have another American inventor thank for the loudspeaker boxes or home theatres that we have today. We are talking about Edgar Villchur here. In 1954, he came up with a design where one or more loudspeaker drivers were mounted in a sealed box or cabinet. This innovation, known as acoustic suspension loudspeaker, offered much better sound quality