From recorded time, man has been fascinated and delighted with music. Bone whistles, used as a type of flute, have been found dating back to 5.000 BC. Paintings from the Stone Age show early musical instruments.

In modern times, man has further developed his interest in music and in recorded sound with the hardware of sound reproduction. American inventor Thomas Edison, who was considered the father of sound recording, developed the phonograph in 1877, the first device to record music in the world. While Edison concentrated at first mainly on the reproduction of voice. it was not long before the musical uses of his invention were recognized and marketed. The modern

recording industry was born to satisfy an enormous market for all types of music, folk, classical, orchestral and popular.

有史记载以来，人类一直痴迷于音乐,为音乐所陶醉。用作笛子的骨哨早已出现在公元前5000年。从石器时代的画中我们可以见到早期乐器的模样。

现代人进一步发展了对音乐的兴趣，十分钟情于用声音复制设备来录音的方式。被誉为录音之父的美国发明家托马斯・爱迪生于1877年发明了留声机，这是世界上第一台录音设备。爱迪生最初的精力主要放在对说话声音的复制上，然而时隔不久，爱迪生这项发明的音乐应用价值便为世人所认识，并被推向了市场。旨在满足人们的各种音乐需求的（如民间、古典、管弦、流行等）现代录音产业便应运而生。

The phonogram, the first affordable and mass-produced device, played records on a turntable. The device was mechanical and was wound up by means of a handle on the side of the machine. Such machines were common as late as the 1950s.

The widespread use of electricity in the post-World War Two period led to the invention of the modern, portable record player. It was, however, "mono". The real enthusiastic listener to music wanted a realistic reproduction of music with "high fidelity" or "hi-fi".

The invention of transistors and the rise of the giant electronic companies in the developed world in the 1970s fed the growing demand for hi-fi stereo systems using compact cassettes containing magnetic tape.

留声机是一种在转盘上播放唱片的机器，是有史以来第一批人们消费得起的、大批量生产的音响设备。留声机为机械结构，机子边上有一只用来上发条的摇柄。这种留声机在20世纪50年代还很普遍。

第二次世界大战后，电的广泛使用使现代可提式电唱机面市。不过这种电唱机只能单声道放音，而真正的音乐发烧友想要的是一种给人以身临其境感觉的高保真音响设备。

晶体管的发明，以及上世纪70年代发达国家大型电子公司的崛起，使人们对盒式磁带高保真音响的需求不断升温。

The 1980s saw an even greater series of developments in sound reproduction hardware. The examples are the Sony Corporation's invention and development of the tiny portable tape players known as the "Walkman", and the compact disc, oг CD, system based on the technology of computers with music information stored and reproduced digitally.

In the 1990s the development of music hardware continued, with the main purpose of transferring and recording the astonishingly clear digital sound of CD, without the "hiss" noise often affecting magnetic tape. These digital formats vary and include digital audio tape (DAT), digital compact cassette (DCC) and the minidisc (MD). They are mutually incompatible, so the user must make a choice when they make a purchase.

Will this ever-improving technology give rise to another development beyond digital sound, making the CD, as well the MP and iPod series, as obsolete as the record? The answer is a definite "yes". When will this occur, then? No one can tell yet.

到了80年代，声音复制设备的发展迈出了一系列更大的步伐。例如，推出了由索尼公司首创开发的被称之为“随身听”的袖珍便携式磁带放音机，以及采用电脑技术以数码储存与再现音乐信息的CD激光唱片音响。

进入90年代后的音响行业在继续发展，重点放在开发可转录那种无比清晰的CD数码声音的技术上，这种技术不会产生那种使用磁带时通常出现的“咝咝”声。数码声音技术有各种不同的编排格式，如数码音带(DAT)、数码微型盒式音带(DCC)、数码微型光盘(MD)等。由于这些编排格式互不兼容，所以客户在购买音响时得作出明智的选择。

音响技术的改进永无止境，我们是否会开发出一种超越数码阶段的音响，使CD 片（包括MP系列产品和iPod系列产品在内的电子产品）像从前的唱片那样退出历史舞台?答案是肯定的。那么这种替代何时会发生?目前尚无人可知。

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