The first microphone that enabled proper voice telephony was the (loose-contact) carbon

microphone. This was independently developed by David Edward Hughes in England and Emile
Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US. Although Edison was awarded the first patent (after a long
legal dispute) in mid-1877, Hughes had demonstrated his working device in front of many witnesses
some years earlier, and most historians credit him with its invention.[8][9][10][11] The Berliner microphone
found commercial success through the use by Alexander Graham Bell for his telephone and Berliner
became employed by Bell.[12] The carbon microphone was critical in the development of telephony,
broadcasting and the recording industries.[13] Thomas Edison refined the carbon microphone into his
carbon-button transmitter of 1886.[10][14] This microphone was employed at the first radio broadcast
ever, a performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1910.[15]

Humphrey Bogart, Jack Brown, and Lauren Bacall with RCA

Varacoustic MI-6203 ribbon microphones broadcast to troops overseas during World War II.
In 1916, E.C. Wente of Western Electric developed the next breakthrough with the first condenser
microphone.[16] In 1923, the first practical moving coil microphone was built. The Marconi-Sykes
magnetophone, developed by Captain H. J. Round, became the standard for BBC studios in
London.[17][18] This was improved in 1930 by Alan Blumlein and Herbert Holman who released the
HB1A and was the best standard of the day.[14]
Also in 1923, the ribbon microphone was introduced, another electromagnetic type, believed to have
been developed by Harry F. Olson, who applied the concept used in a ribbon speaker to making a
microphone.[19] Over the years these microphones were developed by several companies, most
notably RCA that made large advancements in pattern control, to give the microphone directionality.
With television and film technology booming there was a demand for high-fidelity microphones and
greater directionality. Electro-Voice responded with their Academy Award-winning shotgun
microphone in 1963.[20]
During the second half of the 20th century, development advanced quickly with the Shure Brothers
bringing out the SM58 and SM57.[21]

Varieties[edit]
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Microphones are categorized by their transducer principle, such as condenser, dynamic, etc., and by
their directional characteristics. Sometimes other characteristics such as diaphragm size, intended
use or orientation of the principal sound input to the principal axis (end- or side-address) of the
microphone are used to describe the microphone.
Condenser [edit]
 Inside the Oktava 319 condenser microphone

Audio-Technica AT3035 Inner workings of the condenser

microphone
The condenser microphone, invented at Western Electric in 1916 by E. C. Wente,[22] is also called
a capacitor microphone or electrostatic microphone—capacitors were historically called
condensers. The diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor, and audio vibrations produce changes
in the distance between the plates. Because the capacitance of the plates is inversely proportional to
the distance between them, the vibrations produce changes in capacitance. These changes in
capacitance are used to measure the audio signal. The assembly of fixed and movable plates is
called an "element" or "capsule".
Condenser microphones span the range from telephone transmitters through inexpensive karaoke
microphones to high-fidelity recording microphones. They generally produce a high-quality audio
signal and are now the popular choice in laboratory and recording studio applications. The inherent
suitability of this technology is due to the very small mass that must be moved by the incident sound
wave, unlike other microphone types that require the sound wave to do more work.
Condenser microphones require a power source, provided either via microphone inputs on
equipment as phantom power or from a small battery. Power is necessary for establishing the
capacitor plate voltage and is also needed to power the microphone electronics (impedance
conversion in the case of electret and DC-polarized microphones, demodulation or detection in the
case of RF/HF microphones). Condenser microphones are also available with two diaphragms that
can be electrically connected to provide a range of polar patterns (see below), such as cardioid,
omnidirectional, and figure-eight. It is also possible to vary the pattern continuously with some
microphones, for example, the Røde NT2000 or CAD M179.
There are two main categories of condenser microphones, depending on the method of extracting
the audio signal from the transducer: DC-biased microphones, and radio frequency (RF) or high
frequency (HF) condenser microphones.