Stereophonic Audio:
Its Commercial Beginning
The 1954 Cook Binaural LP Disc
and Binaural Phonograph Adapter
This adapter, shown mounted on a monaural Livingston phonograph arm,
allowed two monaural cartridges to play the twin record tracks.
Precise placement of the two needles at the beginning of the tracks
was always a problem.
The 1951 Magnecord Binaural tape transport and amplifier
This Model PT6-BA2HZ used the standard PT-6 transport
modified with two staggered, half-track record/playback heads.
Interior view of the Magnecord binaural amplifier, Model PT6-BN
The First Four Years of
Stereophonic (a.k.a. Binaural) Products
1951-1954 The following products were offered to pioneers of stereophonic sound and high-fidelity audio
before the advent of the single-groove stereophonic disc and FM-multiplex stereo broadcasting.
Some stations combined their AM and FM transmitters to broadcast the left and right channels
of experimental binaural broadcasts, and a few tuners with separate AM and FM
tuning controls and circuits were made to receive those broadcasts.
Note that "binaural" in the 1951-54 era meant ordinary stereophonic audio, whereas
today "binaural audio" refers to a richer three-dimensional audio experience by
the use of headphones for listening and head-mounted microphones for recording.
Its Commercial Beginning
The 1954 Cook Binaural LP Disc
and Binaural Phonograph AdapterThis adapter, shown mounted on a monaural Livingston phonograph arm,
allowed two monaural cartridges to play the twin record tracks.
Precise placement of the two needles at the beginning of the tracks
was always a problem.
 |
The 1951 Magnecord Binaural tape transport and amplifier
This Model PT6-BA2HZ used the standard PT-6 transport
modified with two staggered, half-track record/playback heads.
 |
 |
Interior view of the Magnecord binaural amplifier, Model PT6-BN
The First Four Years of
Stereophonic (a.k.a. Binaural) Products
1951-1954 The following products were offered to pioneers of stereophonic sound and high-fidelity audio
before the advent of the single-groove stereophonic disc and FM-multiplex stereo broadcasting.
Some stations combined their AM and FM transmitters to broadcast the left and right channels
of experimental binaural broadcasts, and a few tuners with separate AM and FM
tuning controls and circuits were made to receive those broadcasts.
Note that "binaural" in the 1951-54 era meant ordinary stereophonic audio, whereas
today "binaural audio" refers to a richer three-dimensional audio experience by
the use of headphones for listening and head-mounted microphones for recording.
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