Buds, cans, on-ear, in-ear, closed back or custom-fit, there's a variety of headphone to suit every ear, every wallet and every fashion proclivity. And, despite it feeling quite new to not be able to move for fear of knocking the £300-worth of oversized earwear from a hipster's bonce, headphones have been an essential part of any music enthusiast's tech armoury for decades.

In fact, they've been an integral part of music for well over a century, and while strapping two speakers to your head doesn’t sound all that difficult the progress from Ernest Mercadier’s telephonist’s tool to Dr. Dre’s global empire is an oddly compelling one. Read on to find out why.