headset with improved, doughnut-style, earphone socket
Date: circa 1942
Inventory Number: WJ1140
Classification: Headphones
Subject:
Manufacturer: Permoflux Corporation (fl. 1942 - 1955)
Maker: Electro-Acoustic Laboratory, Harvard University (1940 - 1947)
Maker: Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory, Harvard University (1940 - 1962)
Manufacturer: General Radio Company (1915-present)
Cultural Region:
Dimensions:
9.8 x 19.6 x 13.4 cm (3 7/8 x 7 11/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
Material:
Bibliography:
When Noise Signals Change: The Electro-Acoustic and Psycho-Acoustic Laboratories from 1940 to 1945
Description:
The headset has a metallic structure padded with leather. The earpieces are made of rubber with lambswool-padded leather. A wire terminates in a plug so it can be connected to noise-generating and measuring instruments, such as WJ0285 and WJ0554.
In Collection(s)
Signedon right earphone: Permoflux Corp. / Chicago, U.S.A.
on plug: General Radio / Co.
on plug: General Radio / Co.
Inscribedon both earpieces: Patent pending
top of headset: 107-4
on the wire: P-23
on the plug: General Radio / Co. / type 274-MB
on left earpiece: Type / 49456 / P/O / H-3/ARR-3
on right earpiece: CQF / PDR-8
top of headset: 107-4
on the wire: P-23
on the plug: General Radio / Co. / type 274-MB
on left earpiece: Type / 49456 / P/O / H-3/ARR-3
on right earpiece: CQF / PDR-8
Historical AttributesBetween 1940 and 1945, Harvard physicists and psychologists worked side-by-side to bring man and machine into a harmonious union. Communication equipment studied and engineered by the Electro-Acoustic Laboratory was sent to the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory for speech articulation tests with human subjects in high-noise or low-pressure environments. Leo Beranek's and Stanley Stevens's teams developed improved microphones and earphones, and the armed forces rushed these into production.
As one can see from this example, the "patent pending" found on the headset establishes it as something new and innovative. The doughnut-style earphone socket came to be known as Harvard Socket. Stevens used this improved headset to study sound transmission in a noisy environment.
As one can see from this example, the "patent pending" found on the headset establishes it as something new and innovative. The doughnut-style earphone socket came to be known as Harvard Socket. Stevens used this improved headset to study sound transmission in a noisy environment.
ProvenancePsycho-Acoustic Laboratory , Harvard University
Published ReferencesBrandon Shackleford, When Noise Signals Change: The Electro-Acoustic and Psycho-Acoustic Laboratories from 1940 to 1945 (Senior thesis, Harvard University, 1997). CHSI Lib.4875.
