A brief history of microphones

A brief history of microphones

By Hugh Robjohns

The humble microphone has been with us for a rudimentary telephone system – the famous
well over a century and has come a long way request by Bell of his assistant: ‘Mr. Watson,
from its crude beginnings. Identifying the come here. I want you’. However, the true
inventor of the microphone is not a simple task, inventor of the telephone was originally disputed
and depends very much on the definition used. since Bell filed his original patent application for
the telephone on the same day that Gray also
In the beginning applied for a Caveat announcing his intention to
The German physicist Johann Philipp Reis claim the same invention (a caveat being a
(1834–1874) is a strong candidate for the title. means of protecting an idea in advance of a full
His design for a 'sound transmitter' (optimised patent application). At this time, though, neither
around 1861), used a metallic strip resting on inventor had actually succeeded in transmitting
a membrane with a metal point contact speech over a telephone system at all! The
completing an electrical circuit. It was Reis's complaint was that Bell's first demonstrations of
theory that, as the membrane vibrated, the his telephone employed a 'liquid transmitter' of a
metal point bounced up and down ‘producing kind previously developed and shown publicly by
intermittent contact and thus a varying current Gray – and not of the type documented in Bell's
synchronous with the vibrations’. He believed patent application. However, the courts decided
the height of the bounce and the force of its that, since Bell had filed his application several
return caused variations in the amplitude of the hours before Gray's caveat, he should be
current pulse proportional to the intensity of the awarded the patent.
sound. It worked in a fashion, but not really well
enough for intelligible speech!

The next recorded attempt was that of Elisha

Gray (1835–1901), an American inventor and
one of the founders of what became the
Western Electric Company. The Gray design
was called a 'liquid transmitter' in which a
diaphragm was attached to a moveable
conductive rod immersed in an acidic solution. A
second, fixed rod alongside the first continued
the circuit through the solution with a battery
connecting the two. Sound pressure variations
through the diaphragm caused the separation
between the two rods to vary in proportion to
the sound, producing corresponding changes in
the electric resistance through the cell and,
therefore, the amount of current flowing around
the circuit.

On March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell

employed a very similar transmitter design for
the first transmission of intelligible speech over Bell’s original liquid transmitter microphone

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 A brief history of microphones

The poor quality of these 'liquid transmitters' Reisz 'transverse-current' carbon microphone.
prompted a number of inventors to pursue This was invented in Germany by a young
alternative avenues of design – David Edward employee of the Reisz company, Georg
Hughes (1831–1900) was one such man.. Neumann (who went on to manufacture
Already involved in the fledgling telegraph microphones under his own name). In 1925 the
industry, he was granted a patent in 1855 for a Marconi-Reisz design was employed throughout
type-printing telegraph instrument, his design the recently formed BBC, where it remained in
became very successful in America and was daily use for over a decade.
widely adopted throughout Europe. By 1878 he However, the inherent instability problems of
had designed a new kind of microphone, using carbon granules provoked the search for better
carbon granules loosely packed in an enclosed alternatives. One avenue was the piezoelectric
space. In response to varying pressure from a (crystal) transducer, based on fundamental
sound diaphragm, the electrical resistance research by the Curies during the previous
through the carbon granules changed century. These transmitters originally used
proportionally. Although the performance of this quartz or Rochelle salt crystals but the sound
kind of microphone is poor by today's standards quality was not particularly good. Today,
(inherently noisy with high distortion), it was a piezoelectric foils in contact microphones use
significant step forwards at the time and was specialised ceramics with very respectable
the enabling technology for voice telephony. results.
The modern term of 'microphone' also appears The first capacitor microphone (and associated
to have been coined by Hughes. He impedance converter/amplifier set) was
demonstrated his transmitter by mounting it on developed by EC. Wente in 1917, based on
a sound box containing insects whose scratchings work at Bell Laboratories in America. This was
were then perceived to be 'amplified'. Reports in
a laboratory sound intensity measurement tool
the newspapers suggested that the device ‘...acts
and it wasn't until the early 1920s that precision
for the ear much in the same way that the
microscope serves the eye, hence its name’. stretched-diaphragm condenser microphones
started to be manufactured for recording and
Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931) is well known broadcast applications. The thermionic valve
for his work refining the carbon granule (invented in 1907 by Lee de Forest) was a key
microphone, resulting in the carbon-button factor in this, as capacitor microphones require
transmitter in 1886. This consisted of a cavity impedance conversion impossible to achieve in
filled with granules of carbonised anthracite coal any other practical way. Condenser
confined between two electrodes, one of which microphones were employed, to a limited
was attached to a thin iron diaphragm. Edison's extent, in the BBC from 1926 but they had a
transmitter was simple and cheap to reputation for being 'temperamental' due to
manufacture, but also very efficient and durable, their susceptibility to moisture causing 'frying
becoming the basis for the telephone noises'!
transmitters used in millions of telephones
around the world for the majority of the last Electromagnetic microphones (moving coil,
century. moving iron and ribbons) were relatively late on
the scene because permanent magnets were
Recording and broadcasting very weak and only electromagnets could create
developments sufficient flux densities. As a consequence, the
first moving coil microphones were very large
The advent of electrical disc recording and radio
and required power supplies! The Marconi-Sykes
broadcasting in the early 1920s stimulated the magnetophone (developed from a patent by
development of better quality carbon Sykes in 1920) was the first design to become
microphones. Perhaps the best known is an popular and was adopted by the BBC in 1923,
octagonal design often seen in photographs of where it was known as the 'Meat Safe'. It used
the early broadcasting stations – the Marconi- a thin, flat, annular coil of aluminium as both

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 A brief history of microphones

diaphragm and motive coil, suspended on cotton Type A ribbon microphone was introduced in
wool. The magnetic field was created by a large 1935 and became the microphone of choice for
electromagnet consuming around 4A from an the BBC's radio services, although the EMI/
8V battery! Blumlein HB1B moving coil microphone (and its
variants, the HB2, HB3 and HB4C) were
The renowned Alan Blumlein also worked on the
preferred in the television service. This division
design of a moving coil microphone to
was partly due to the relative prices of the two
complement his electrical record cutting
microphones: the Type A was considered
systems when he was employed by the Columbia
inexpensive at £9, whereas the HB1B cost a
Graphophone Company (later to become EMI).
He used a diaphragm made from a laminate of whopping £40!
balsa wood (impregnated with celluloid) and thin It wasn't until powerful permanent magnets
sheets of aluminium foil. An anodised aluminium became available after the Second World War
motive coil was riveted to the diaphragm and, in that the external dimensions of ribbon (and
his first tests, the electromagnet was powered
moving coil) microphones could be reduced. The
earliest ribbon microphones employed relatively
long, corrugated diaphragms which were easily
stretched and damaged by surprisingly small air
currents (blowing on the diaphragm would
destroy it). In 1958 Eugen Beyer changed all that
with his introduction of the world's first
robust, 'short diaphragm' ribbon mic. Its capsule
shared dimensions similar to the moving coil
transducers of the time and his original designs
are still manufactured today.

The first carbon and condenser microphones

were omnidirectional (pressure operated)
devices whilst ribbons introduced pressure
gradient operation when the diaphragm was
Blumlein’s HB1 exposed on both sides, with the resulting figure-
of-eight polar response. However, RCA soon
by batteries borrowed from the cars of several
developed a cardioid pattern ribbon in which the
colleagues! His first HB1A microphone (named
after its two main inventors, Blumlein and upper part of the diaphragm was open on both
Holman) was tested in November 1930 and sides (pressure gradient), but the rear of the
compared directly with the Western Electric lower part was enclosed (pressure operation).
Condenser Transmitter (CT) microphone, the An alternative approach, adopted by Western
best standard of the day. After numerous
Electric and ST&C, employed a ribbon capsule
revisions, including a screw tensioning system
(pressure gradient, figure-of-eight response)
to adjust the diaphragm resonance, the result
and a separate moving coil capsule (pressure
(the HB1B) was widely used in the EMI recording
studios and by the new BBC television station at operated, omni response) in the same unit. The
Alexandra Palace when it opened in 1936. diaphragms of the two capsules were in close
proximity and their outputs combined electrically
The first ribbon microphone also appeared
in series to produce a cardioid polar response.
around 1930 and is believed to have been
developed by Harry Olson, based on a modified Although physically large, these designs were
ribbon loudspeaker (invented by E. Gerlach in rugged and worked well, becoming the mainstay
1924). Early designs were excessively large, in early television sound boom rigs. Later a more
heavy and cumbersome, but were of a quality practical way to create a cardioid response
directly comparable to the condenser emerged: a single transducer with a rear phase-
microphones of the time without being shifting acoustic network. This scheme was
susceptible to moisture. The BBC/Marconi quickly adopted by the likes of Western Electric,

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 A brief history of microphones

Shure, and Electrovoice in America, as well as came up with the principal of the RF condenser
Neumann, AKG, ST&C and others in Europe. microphone as a means of measuring sound
The technique was developed further in pressure variations down to 0.1Hz. He used a
Germany with the introduction of a dual- capacitive microphone capsule in a low
diaphragm condenser capsule. The outputs impedance resonant circuit, excited by a radio
from the resulting pair of back-to-back cardioid frequency oscillator. Capacitance variations due
capsules were combined electrically and, by to soundwaves caused corresponding changes
varying the capsule polarising voltages, a range to the resonant frequency and demodulation of
of different polar responses could be obtained. this varying RF signal provided the required
audio frequency output.

As the film and television industries developed, This laboratory technique was improved by
microphones with greater directionality were GFHull in 1946 and JJ. Zaalberg van Zelst in
required to complement long focal-length 1947, but it wasn't until the early 1960s that it
camera lenses. The first attempts to increase was applied to recording microphones. The
directionality relied on crude interference impetus was to replace bulky valve impedance
techniques with multiple omnidirectional converters with much smaller transistorised
microphones fitted to large planar baffles. Later circuits. Bipolar transistors are low impedance
refinements included mounting an
devices and, although they couldn't be employed
omnidirectional microphone at the focus of a
with conventional condenser systems, they
parabolic reflector but by the late 1930s,
Western Electric and RCA had developed a suited the RF condenser technique very well.
more practical system. This used a long bundle Sennheiser pioneered the technique for
of narrow-bore tubes mounted in front of, and recording microphones and continue to
perpendicular to, the plane of the diaphragm. manufacturer a wide range of RF condenser
For on-axis sounds, the tubes played no microphones.
significant role as the soundwaves passed
through them to arrive coherently at the The miniaturisation of conventional condenser
diaphragm. However, off-axis sounds entered microphones had to wait until the Field Effect
different tubes at varying distances from the Transistor became available (with its extremely
diaphragm and, consequently, were largely high input gate impedance) to replace valve
incoherent when they arrived, so suffered a impedance converters. Other attempts at
large amount of cancellation. miniaturisation have focused on the close
integration of transducer and amplifying circuit
This technique was refined over the years with many attempts dating back to the 1950s.
resulting in the interference tube (shotgun) mics In one early example, Olson coupled the
commonly used today although, unfortunately, diaphragm to a pivoted beam-electrode inside a
directionality at low frequencies remains a thermionic valve, modulating the current flow
problem unless the interference tube is directly according to the displacement of the
extremely long. However, digital signal diaphragm. Later, Sikorski used a diaphragm to
processing techniques, combined with a vibrate a sapphire pin attached to the emitter
multiple capsule array, appear to provide one region of a transistor, the induced mechanical
way forward, and Audio Technica have taken stress affecting its conductivity. Rogers did a
this approach with their inventive AT895 similar thing with a Tunnel Diode in the 1960s
directional microphone. and, more recently, purpose designed strain
gauges have been used. For example, National
One of the problems plaguing early condenser Semiconductor manufacture a piezo-resistive
microphones was their susceptibility to silicon strain gauge constructed on a flexible
humidity. Essentially the capsule operates at substrate and claim a flat frequency response
very high impedance whereas the surrounding up to 20kHz (albeit with relatively low sensitivity).
air, when damp, provides a low impedance path
through which the polarising charge can The true capacitor microphone, once the
escape, causing 'frying noises'. In 1924 Riegger champion of microphone quality, has been

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 A brief history of microphones

increasingly challenged by sophisticated pre- designed to take advantage of this new fidelity.
polarised (back-electret) capsules over the Sony's C2 three-capsule microphone has a
last twenty years. The well known B&K (now claimed bandwidth of 100kHz, and has been
used on some DSD recordings, whilst
DPA) 4000 series microphones were amongst
the first electrets to be accepted for quality Sennheiser have a reworked version of their
recording applications, and AKG recently highly regarded MKH80 RF condenser
microphone – the new MKH800 – which is
introduced their C4000 model – the world's
first multi-diaphragm, switched pattern pre- claimed to provide a flat response to over
polarised microphone. 50kHz. Many of the Earthworks microphones
also have a response extending to over 40kHz.

One of the most important innovations of

microphone design was the Soundfield capsule,
originally conceived and developed in the 1970s
to originate ambisonic surround sound material –
a technique developed by Michael Gerzon
(Mathematical Institute in Oxford) and Professor
PB. Fellgett (University of Reading). The
underlying concepts of ambisonics are relatively
simple (and derive logically from the coincident
stereo investigations of Blumlein forty years
earlier), although their implementation is
extremely complex and highly mathematical.

The Soundfield microphone comprises four sub-

cardioid capacitor capsules in a tetrahedral
array, producing 'A-format' signals. These are
DPA’s 4003 combined electronically (with compensation for
the physical separation between capsules) to
produce 'B-format' signals which are the basis of
'UHJ Ambisonic' encoded material. These
signals represent the outputs of four (perfect)
virtual microphones consisting of three mutually
perpendicular figure-of-eight elements – left/
right (X), front/back (Y) and up/down (Z), plus
an omnidirectional component (W). These can
be thought of as three-dimensional extensions to
Blumlein's original MS configuration. An
Ambisonics decoder calculates which
combinations of B-format signals to route to
which loudspeakers ('D-format' signals), given
information about their number and
approximate location, and how to process them
to create incredibly stable and accurate
surround sound images.
AKG’s C4000B
The latest development in Soundfield Technology
has been a specialised decoder generating a
Innovations 5.1-channel compatible output from the
The current interest in high sample-rate digital
systems (96 and 192kHz, and the Sony DSD Soundfield microphone (or other 'B-format'
format) have encouraged microphone sources). One application is to enable a
manufacturers to market microphones Soundfield microphone to generate actualité

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 A brief history of microphones

surround sound on location, or in a foley studio, The future

for feature film production. The decoder is,
effectively, preset to produce five loudspeaker
In recent years, some of the more radical
outputs corresponding to the locations of a
conventional 5.1 speaker array – an approaches to microphone design have
arrangement known as the 'G-format'. included detecting the movement, in response
to sound pressure variations, of charged
particles – a system analogous to the ionic
loudspeaker. Another idea is the laser-velocity
transducer where a vibrating reflective surface
is scanned by a low power laser, the resulting
Doppler shift conveying the audio signal, and
over the last decade research into 'optical
microphones' has started to bear fruit.
Laboratory systems have been in use for
some time but are too unwieldy for practical
recording microphone systems. Sennheiser
have developed a compact optical microphone
Soundfield’s MKV for use in gas pumping stations to detect the
sound of leaks without the rick of explosion
Currently, the best of the conventional potentially caused by biasing voltages of
traditional microphones. Development is
microphone designs comfortably outstrip
continuing in the hope of using the technique
analogue preamplifiers in terms of noise and in theatrical applications where typical electret
dynamic range, and both have significantly
capsuals rapidly suffer damage from the
better performance than digital converters. effects of artist make up and perspiration!
However, miniature optical interfaces and
related devices developed for the
telecommunications industries, such as
miniature laser diodes, polarising beam
splitters and photodiodes, are now enabling
the construction of high quality optical
microphones. At present, using conventional
interferometry techniques and low-power
lasers, the achievable dynamic range is
typically a little less than that of a conventional
microphone and the distortion is rather worse,
but selfnoise is inherently lower. Research in
providing a direct digital output, by opto-
sensing the amount of movement of different
parts of the diaphragm, is also widespread
although the resolution appears extremely
limited with present technologies.

Perhaps a more promising approach is to use

'force feedback' in conjunction with an optical
Neumann’s TLM103
microphone. An optical interferometry
The Neumann TLM103 condenser microphone technique detects movement of the diaphragm
has a self-noise figure of just 7dBA, for (of a capacitive capsule) in response to sound
example, and a dynamic range of 131dB.
pressure variations. A feedback circuit applies
However, digital technology and sophisticated
a voltage to the capsule creating an
conversion techniques will continue to improve
electrostatic force opposing the movement –
over the next decade, and electromechanical
the effort required being proportional to the
transducers will probably be replaced by opto-
sound pressure acting on the diaphragm –
mechanical devices.
and an analogue or digital output signal could

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 A brief history of microphones

be derived depending on the design of the

circuitry. Although maximum sound pressure
levels in excess of 135dB can be accommodated
and the frequency response of the system is
dictated entirely by the feedback electronics,
this technique is, unfortunately, considered too
expensive to be marketable at present.

Hugh Robjohns was a lecturer at the BBC‘s

Wood Norton training establishments for many
years. Now a technical author and consultant,
he contributes to many technical publications, is
Technical Editor of Sound on Sound and Editor
of LineUp, the journal of the Institute of
Broadcast Sound.

First published Microphone Data Book

2001

© 2006 Rycote Microphone Data