Stefan Kudelski, Who Made Sound Recording Portable, Dies

While few outside the film and radio industries may recognize the name Stefan Kudelski, his Nagra recorder — meaning “will record” in Kudelski’s native Polish — transformed the world of sound recording for radio, television and film.

Kudelski, inventor of the first portable professional sound recorder, died Saturday in Switzerland at the age of 84, according to a statement from the Kudelski Group.

Before the Nagra, sound recording on movie sets required devices that “took several people to carry them around,” says Randy Thom, director of sound design for Skywalker Sound in Marin County, Calif. “They typically had to be transported on a truck.”