It is so easy to listen to music in this digital era where everyone is techno-savvy. All you need is your smartphone or whichever light device you want to use to access the music. It might sound simple, and there is a generation that knows nothing more than that. Things were different back in the day. Have you ever wondered how your great grandfathers used to listen to music before technology took over? Some of the old music devices are as follows.
Victrola
In the late 1800, the Victrola was invented. It is a form of phonograph that was powered by wind up strings. It had a horn that was meant to diffuse the sound, and it became quite popular between 1910-1930. It would produce sound from a steel needle which would hold the record that is being played. Many homes that want to have a vintage theme always have a Victrola in their house as part of the decoration.
8 Track Tape Player
This is still found in some of the old vintage cars. Right before CD players become common, there was the track tape player. It was commonly referred to as Stereo Eight and it became an almost worldwide sensation in the late sixties. Since it was small and portable, it was preferred by the motor vehicle assembly industry, but it declined in popularity with the advent of cassettes.
The Boom Box
The boombox has maintained its popularity even up to now, and there are still people who own boom boxes in their homes. They came in the form of a record player that also have radio function (For AM and FM). In later years, they started coming with CD players to replace the cassette player. It was popular because it was portable and it came with an inbuilt speaker, making it a hit among young party-goers. It also came with battery functionality, and it was quite common to see a group of people dancing around to music booming from a boombox. There are still some boomboxes being manufactured, and they now incorporate features like using BlueTooth to keep up with technology.
CD Player
Until recently, there were portable CD player machines that would play CDs and MP3 devices. They were popular because of how easy they were to operate, and they came at a relatively lower price compared to using the players that came with radios that were bulkier. They also had a provision that allowed the listeners to use earphones, and this made them even more convenient and personal, especially among the younger generation.
Walkman
This list would be incomplete if there was no mention of the Walkman. This device that was portable and world play cassettes is considered to be what revolutionised the music industry in the 70s. The Walkman trend is said to have been what continues to influence innovations like iPods. It is through the Walkman that people would huddle closely with their devices and listen to select music that people faced the realisation that for some people, listening to music is intimate.
Portale Radio Headsets
As the name suggests, these were radios that came in the form of a headset. They were mostly preferred by people on the move who wanted to keep updated on what was going on in the world around them by listening to news items or radio while doing other activities.