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Sennheiser

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Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Company typePrivate
IndustryAudio electronics
Founded1945 (as Labor W)
HeadquartersWedemark, Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany
Key people
Fritz Sennheiser, founder
Daniel Sennheiser, CEO and Chairman of the Board
ProductsAudio electronics for consumer, professional, and business uses
OwnerSennheiser family
Number of employees
2,183 (2011)[1]
Websitesennheiser.com

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG (/ˈsɛnhaɪzər/; branded Sennheiser) is a private German audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of both consumer and high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephony accessories, and avionics headsets for consumer, professional, and business applications.

Company history

The company was founded in 1945, just a few weeks after the end of World War II, by Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010)[2][3] and seven fellow engineers of the University of Hannover in a laboratory called Laboratorium Wennebostel (shortened, "Lab W"). The laboratory was named after the village of Wennebostel in the municipality of Wedemark to where it had been moved due to the war. Its first product was a voltmeter.[1] Lab W began building microphones in 1946 with the DM1, and began developing them in 1947 with the DM2. By 1955, the company had 250 employees, and had begun production of many products including but not limited to: geophysical equipment, the Noise-Compensated microphone (DM4), microphone transformers, mixers, and miniature magnetic headphones. Labor W was renamed 'Sennheiser electronic' in 1958.[citation needed]

In 1968, Sennheiser released the world's first open headphones.[4] The introduction of open headphones affected the headphone market as they were able to produce a more natural sound that many users preferred.[5]

Sennheiser was transformed into a limited partnership (KG) in 1973. In 1980, the company entered the aviation market, supplying Lufthansa with headsets.[6][7]

The company began producing modern wireless microphones in 1982, the same year when founder Fritz Sennheiser handed the management of the company over to his son, Jörg Sennheiser. In 1987, Sennheiser was awarded at the 59th Academy Awards for its MKH 816 shotgun microphone.

Also in 1991, Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin, which builds studio microphones, became a part of Sennheiser.[8][9]

In 1996, Sennheiser received an Emmy Award for its advancements in RF wireless technology.[10] Also in 1996, Sennheiser became a private limited company (GmbH and Co. KG). Since then, Sennheiser has maintained its tradition of high quality audio technology, and still maintains those high standards today. Professor Dr. Fritz Sennheiser died in 2010.

On July 1, 2013, Daniel Sennheiser and Andreas Sennheiser were promoted to the position of CEO responsible for Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG.[11]

In October 2013, Sennheiser received the prestigious Philo T. Farnsworth Award at the 65th Primetime Emmy®Engineering Awards in Hollywood.[12] In May 2014, Sennheiser founded a new competence center for innovative streaming solutions, Sennheiser Streaming Technology GmbH (SST).

Locations

Sennheiser is headquartered in the municipality of Wedemark, Germany (near Hannover). Its United States headquarters is located in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The company has factories in Wennebostel (Wedemark, near Hanover); Tullamore, Ireland (since 1990); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (since 2000). Sennheiser's R&D facilities are located in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Singapore and San Francisco, California.

Products

Sennheiser is mainly known for its consumer headphones and professional microphones. The most famous microphones by Sennheiser are the MKH 416 short shotgun, which came to be the Hollywood standard shotgun microphone, and the 816, similar in design with longer reach. Its also makes wireless microphones. Subsidiary products include aviation, multimedia and gaming headsets, micro-Hifi systems, conferencing systems, speakers and amplifiers. [citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mr Ugesh A. Joseph (28 January 2014). The 'Made in Germany' Champion Brands: Nation Branding, Innovation and World Export Leadership. Gower Publishing, Ltd. pp. 396–. ISBN 978-1-4094-6648-2.
  2. ^ "Fritz Sennheiser gestorben", Heise Online (in German), May 19, 2010
  3. ^ Everington, John. "Off hours: Sennheiser co-chief makes sweet music". The National. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. ^ Fox, Margalit. "Fritz Sennheiser, 98, Executive, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Open-Back Headphones". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  6. ^ "Sennheiser's success". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  7. ^ "History of Sennheiser headphones". Soundearphones.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  8. ^ Studio Sound and Broadcast Engineering. Link House Publications. 1993.
  9. ^ Anselm Roessler (2003). Neumann: The Microphone Company : a Story of Innovation, Excellence and the Spirit of Audio Engineering. PPVMedien. ISBN 978-3-932275-68-5.
  10. ^ "Winners Announced for the 65th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards". Emmys.com. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. ^ Curtis, Sophie. "Sennheiser: German audio pioneer prepares for the 'next milestone'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Host Sarah Shahi from "Person of Interest", presents the Philo T. Farnsworth Award to Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser onstage at the 65th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards, on Wednesday, October 23, 2013". Yahoo News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
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