Audio Formats: Wire Recording, Reel-to-Reel Tapes, Audio Cassettes

Recording audio data on magnetic tape was an advancement over earlier wire recordings. Though the basic concept is the same, a recording head magnetizes individual parts of a medium such as wire or tape with specific magnetic intensities that correlate to an audio signal. This magnetic signal is played back to recreate the original audio. Magnetic recording using wire was invented in 1898 and evolved to magnetic tape in 1928 when a German engineer coated thin paper with iron oxide powder and a lacquer glue. With this innovation, the path to reel-to-reel tapes and audio cassettes was simply a matter of improved materials, miniaturization, and engineering. The cassette and 8-track tape, both developed in the 1960s, would become the dominant forms of recorded audio, replacing vinyl records as more portable.