Psychoacoustics in Germany in the period 1900 to 1950

Abstract

Psychoacoustic research in Germany in this period was performed in the context of various academic disciplines (experimal psychology, musicology, physics, communication engineering) and a range of institutions, covering both industrial laboratories (AES, Siemens & Halske), (technical) universities (Berlin, Breslau, Dresden) and (semi) governmental institutions like the Heinrich-Hertz Institut für Schwingungsforschung (Oscillation Research) and imperial mail research institutions. Prominent researchers were Heinrich Barkhausen (appointed as professor at the TU Dresden in 1911 for the field communications engineering); Erwin Waetzman (since 1912 professor at the University Breslau); Ferdinand Trendelenburg (since 1922 with Siemans & Halske, Berlin, in addition since 1935 adjunct professor at the University Berlin); Erwin Meyer, since 1928 at the Heinrich-Herz Institute in Berlin. The research questions were often derived from technical needs of the upcoming communication and radio industry, or addressed consequences of innovations like the car. Barkhausen introduced in 1926 a loudness meter (by comparison with a standardized reference), which was taken into production by Siemens a year later. Waetzmann’s habilitation thesis (1907, published as book in 1912) extended Helmholtz’ studies on the damping characteristics of “ear resonators.” Erwin Meyer started with binaural research in 1924 because he recognized its relevance for stereophonic sound reproduction.