Sennheiser

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is a German privately held audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephone accessories and aviation headsets for personal, professional and business applications.

History
The company was founded in 1945, just a few weeks after the end of World War II, by Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010) 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. 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 geophysical equipment, the Noise-Compensated microphone (DM4), microphone transformers, mixers, and miniature magnetic headphones. Labor W was renamed 'Sennheiser electronic' in 1958.

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

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

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.

In 1996, Sennheiser received an Emmy Award for its advancements in RF wireless technology. Also in 1996, Sennheiser became a private limited company (GmbH and Co. KG). 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.

In October 2013, Sennheiser received the prestigious Philo T. Farnsworth Award at the 65th Primetime Emmy®Engineering Awards in Hollywood. 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 Hannover); Tullamore, Ireland (since 1990); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (since 2000). Some consumer products are made in China. 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, such as the MKH 416 short shotgun, which came to be the Hollywood standard shotgun microphone; and the 816, similar in design with longer reach. It also makes the US$55,000 Orpheus headphone set; wireless microphones; aviation, multimedia and gaming headsets; micro-Hifi systems; conferencing systems; speakers; and amplifiers.

Sennheiser has collaborated with fashion brands, including with Swiss bag brand Freitag as well as Dior Homme.

In 2017, the Momentum M2 model in-ear headphones were voted Product of the Year by What Hi-Fi? magazine.

CEOs
Andreas Sennheiser is a German business executive, known for serving as chief executive officer of Sennheiser. He took over as CEO along with his brother Daniel Sennheiser on July 1, 2013. Andreas was born in 1974 in Zurich, and earned a doctorate in Supply Chain Management from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 2004. Sennheiser Electronic was founded by his grandfather, Fritz Sennheiser, and he joined the family business with his brother Daniel. In 2013, both Daniel and Andreas were promoted to the position of CEO. Andreas focused on gaming handsets and affordable wireless headphones including Sennheiser PC350 and Sennheiser RS120-II. Along with his brother Daniel, they entered the music business in 2014.