In 1898, Horace Short patented a design for a loudspeaker driven by compressed air; he then sold the rights to Charles Parsons, who was issued several additional British patents before 1910.
Alexander Graham Bell je patentiral svoj prvi električni zvočnik (zmožen predvajati razumljiv govor) kot del njegovega telefona leta 1876, leta 1877 pa je sledila izboljšana različica Ernsta Siemensa.