You can't touch the Speaker.

Mr. Thomas Alva Edison invented the rudimentary gramophone. It reproduced the music recorded on a wax cylinder.

Alexander Graham Bell modified the recording device to a wax coated cardboard cylinder. Later Emilie Berliner modified this further, using vulcanized rubber & shellac as the recording medium. The plastic age brought in polymerized plastic records.

The early gadget had a mechanical winder, primitive recording system and horn. The mesmerizing rotation of the record; short meandering arc of the stylus; and a shining brass horn was a thrill and joy.

The horn, as the speaker gently vibrated the air waves around the listener’s ears -the horn acting like the vocal cords for the audio system.

It was a sight to admire, from a distance as only the elite could own and maintain such a contraption. Truly an owner’s pride!

This contraption, meta-morphing, became portable. A pioneering company even had this logo- a ‘player with horn’ and a doggie, sitting in rapt attention, facing the player.

Were they paying a tribute to the acute sense of hearing and fidelity of the canines? A hiss master’s voice!

The player became popular and business prospects improved all around. Motion picture producers and Music groups cashed in -riding piggy-back. The audio player and record manufacturers too benefitted from the windfall.

Electrical drive replaced the mechanical winding system to keep the player turning. Modern versions used plastic discs for storing music.

The records/discs such as EP and LP were well received by the music lovers. The audio technologists added new dimensions to sound reproduction.

Engineered speakers were introduced – bass, treble, hoofer & wafer et al. The heart of the speaker, the vibrating metallic membrane was replaced with a paper cone.

The quality of the treated paper- isotropic thickness and texture played an important role in sound reproduction & fidelity that reached the human ears.

The cone paper innovator might have been an inspired spider-lover. He imitated the vibration of the spider web in the cone paper. In this process, he effectively threw a challenge and made the Creator to pause and think on the possibility of re-engineering the human ears!

The player did not mind the decision of the in-built speaker to strike a partnership deal with an amplifier.  Players & Speakers moved to different quarters. Any how its purpose of reaching the human ears was being heard!

Slowly, both players and discs gave way to tape-recorders and magnetic tapes. Both reconciled to the writing on the wall and gracefully gave in to next-gen versions.

Yet, it mutely looked on with a tinge of envy and wondered whether Mr. Edison had been little too conservative in his original thinking at that time – entrusting only mono-task to it!

It felt happy that the speaker only suffered up gradation and not being side lined. The player did not forget to show its fidelity to its erstwhile mate - the Speaker.

The electronic age, catalysed by World War II, ushered in an era of miniaturization. It shrank, with a single minded devotion, the size of radio and the tape-recorder, elevating the performance levels .

Innovative and mass production techniques resulted in “palm size” products. Quality at throw away prices ensured a huge consumer base.

The magnetic tape wala’s did not sit idle. The Spool type tapes became history. Cassette type & multiple track recording magnetic tapes were introduced.

Stereo music filled the tracks and flooded listener’s ears with trills and shrills of music – an altogether different kind of musical experience.

None of these had any impact on this Honourable speaker but it lent itself willingly to performance enhancement. Beyond tinkering with size the speaker, per-se, was left untouched!

Even the new avatars (2-in-1 & 3-in-1) had to have the speaker to be heard. The gramophone had finally become an antique and collector’s item. The only consolation it got, in the bargain, was a place of pride – in a well maintained show case.

Home theatre versions with surround sound – imagine that without the speakers! Here player & speakers grew in size defying the logic “small is beautiful” and showing us “grander the better for quality “sound of music”

During all these cataclysmic events, who weathered the storm better? You guessed it right – the SPEAKER!

Be it Graham Bell’s telephone or  Edison’s gramophone or present day Cell phone or any other  sound reproducing gadget - the speaker had been left untouched.

Whoever had thought up this sound reproduction system, had surely paid back his gratitude to the Almighty, for endowing human and non human beings with a pair of genetically crafted ears.

What for? To simply receive and appreciate the melodies of music, from the speaker!

Will any body dare to touch and replace the speaker now, the DNA and RNA of sound reproduction system?