Engineering Frontier Science Talk
From the Phonograph to the Phone: The History and Technology of High Fidelity Sound Reproduction
Speaker: Reji Philip (Raman Research Institute)
Date and time
Venue
JN Planetarium, Bengaluru
Abstract
In the past, musicians played and vocalists sang into large acoustic horns to mechanically imprint the sound on wax cylinders, which were later played back using artfully crafted “sound machines”. However, within 150 years, digital audio files of high quality are being streamed into the comforts of our homes instantly over the internet. Wax cylinders, gramophone discs and spool tapes have given way to mobile phones and streaming services. This talk will discuss the analog and digital eras of audio reproduction, their merits / demerits and include various demonstrations.
Short Biography
Reji Philip is a Professor of the Light and Matter Physics at the Raman Research Institute. He is passionate about music and audio systems and enjoys trying out various audio amplifier topologies and speaker configurations at home, towards the unattainable goal of ultimate high fidelity.