History of headphones / 1979-071979-07 · Portable
Stereo leaves the living room: TPS-L2 Sony’s first-generation Walkman went on sale in July 1979.
Device / standard Walkman TPS-L2
People Not identified in this entry
Organisation Sony The context Portable personal listening is the context of this milestone; no undocumented inventor motivation is assumed.
The documented development The TPS-L2 paired a portable cassette player with headphone listening. Sony records different early overseas product names.
Why it belongs in this timeline The entry connects portable sources to the role of headphones in everyday listening.
What the evidence does not settle July 1979 refers to the initial launch, not every regional release. The Walkman did not invent headphones.
No cleared reproduction; view the source collection.
Sources & provenance Primary-source confidence means the source directly documents the statement, not that every historical priority or performance claim has been independently established.
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