The history of the brand Sennheiser: freedom and visionary
Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is one of the most famous manufacturers of equipment for recording, reproducing and broadcasting audio.
Sennheiser’s “Peru” (which, despite the changed market conditions, remains family-owned) belongs to many technologies that we now consider to be a natural part of our life. And it's not just about headphones, which many people know about the brand today - in its early years, the company was engaged in the development of measuring instruments, microphones and sound recording systems. It is the Sennheiser microphones that we now see, for example, in many archival photographs of world leaders of the 60s and 70s.
There were a lot of interesting and bright moments in the history of Sennheiser - today we remember them.
Sennheiser HD 25 ( LIGHT , PLUS ) Headphones Cover / Photo Flavio Ensiki CC BY
The history of the brand began on June 1, 1945, just a few weeks after the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces. The company, which was engaged in repairing and assembling lamp voltmeters, was founded by engineer Fritz Zennheiser. He called it Labor W - an abbreviation for “Laboratorium Wennebostel” (“Laboratory in Vennebostel”). Vennebostel is a small German city where the laboratories of the University of Hannover, where seven Zenhheiser partners, engineers and technologists worked, were evacuated during the war.
Voltmeters, however, they did not last long. In 1946, Labor W introduced its first microphone - the DM 1 model (Dynamisches Mikrofon - Dynamic Microphone). A year later, the first microphone of the company with the original design appeared - DM 2. The model name became nominal - at that time German marks (Deutsche Mark) were the currency in Germany, and many joked that the DM 2 microphone can be bought in just 2 DM.
In 1949, Labor W released the power amplifier - in the future it will be recognized as compliant with the Hi-Fi standard (the term “Hi-Fi” was extended only in the 1950s). At the same time, an “invisible” one appears, a very small microphone for its time - DM 3 / MD 3. Reducing dimensions while maintaining the power and quality of sound reproduction has become one of the company's main technological tasks. Although at that time, Labor W continued to continue to engage in the development of measuring instruments (the ones with which it began): in the late 40s, the production of geophysical measuring equipment and geophones was also started.
The first Zennheiser headphones were released only in the early 1950s - they were miniature magnetic headphones (models HM 11, HM 21), which appeared on the market in 1952. Two years later, the company released a microphone-cannon (MD 81) - it was actively used in film and television filming, since it could record sound coming only from certain directions, which was a significant innovation for those times.
All this time, however, despite interesting engineering finds and ideas, Labor W remained a company that was little known outside of Germany.
In 1958, Labor W finally received the name of its creator — the name by which we know the brand today: Sennheiser electronic.
Sennheiser’s worldwide popularity was yet to come. In 1960, the classic MD 421 microphone came onto the market - it laid the standard for recording devices for journalists and reporters for the years ahead. It is thanks to this microphone (and not the headphones at all) that the name Sennheiser has become known throughout the world. This model (with minor changes) is produced and sold so far.
Studio microphone Sennheiser MD 421-II / photo Flavio Ensiki CC BY-SA
In addition, in the late 50s and early 60s, the company released many more new products. For example, a stereo microphone, as well as a microphone with a reversible MD 93 transducer, which was used for both sound recording and playback. It was actively used in dictaphones, which due to this became much more compact.
Then a miniature wireless radio system with a microphone appeared - it was used by actors on theatrical scenes and broadcasters on television (the technology was released by Telefunken under the Mikroport brand). Then Zennheiser created the first telephone answering machine (also in conjunction with Telefunken), a proto-baby monitor (microphone for audio tracking for children) and even a Philharmonic Hi-Fi system.
In 1968, the company released its (at that time) loudest innovative technology - the world's first open HD 414 headphones. They did not completely isolate the carrier from all external sounds (as did the closed headphones that exist on the market), but allowed the noises of the sound environment to penetrate yourself - thereby making the experience of listening to music more natural.
This development has forever changed the market for portable audio. For all the time, until HD 414 were produced, more than 10 million pairs were sold in the world. To this day, they remain one of the champions in sales among headphones.
HD 414 not only represented a revolutionary technology, but also looked quite different - bright yellow ear inserts became the symbol of the brand for a long time. By the way, it was possible to buy HD 414 at a fairly affordable price - $ 29.95 (the price can be seen on the first page of the advertising booklet of that period). The model was accessible and focused mainly on a wide audience, although professionals and demanding music lovers also respected her.
In 1995, the company paid tribute to its iconic model and made the anniversary edition of the HD 414 - these headphones could be used in modern portable players. Since then, however, the model has not been updated.
Throughout its history, Sennheiser has always been ahead of its time.
In 1969, at the Consumer Electronics Fair, the company introduced the Oscar, the first human dummy with microphones, which made it possible to record a real binaural sound (if you listen to it with headphones, you can feel the distance to the sound source and its direction). A few years later, the technology received a more budgetary development - Sennheiser released the MIC 2002 stereo microphone, which looked like a stethoscope. He had to be put on his head to make a full binaural audio recording.
Wireless headphones - a technology that has tightly entered our lives recently. But Sennheiser began experimenting with them back in 1975 - when they managed to transmit sound via infrared for the first time. The SI 406 transmitter and HDI 406 receiver appeared on the market in 1976, and the technology was used in almost unchanged form in IS 850 wireless headphones, which went on sale in 1993.
Sennheiser’s “Peru” (which, despite the changed market conditions, remains family-owned) belongs to many technologies that we now consider to be a natural part of our life. And it's not just about headphones, which many people know about the brand today - in its early years, the company was engaged in the development of measuring instruments, microphones and sound recording systems. It is the Sennheiser microphones that we now see, for example, in many archival photographs of world leaders of the 60s and 70s.
There were a lot of interesting and bright moments in the history of Sennheiser - today we remember them.
Sennheiser HD 25 ( LIGHT , PLUS ) Headphones Cover / Photo Flavio Ensiki CC BY
Early years: the story of Labor W
The history of the brand began on June 1, 1945, just a few weeks after the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces. The company, which was engaged in repairing and assembling lamp voltmeters, was founded by engineer Fritz Zennheiser. He called it Labor W - an abbreviation for “Laboratorium Wennebostel” (“Laboratory in Vennebostel”). Vennebostel is a small German city where the laboratories of the University of Hannover, where seven Zenhheiser partners, engineers and technologists worked, were evacuated during the war.
Voltmeters, however, they did not last long. In 1946, Labor W introduced its first microphone - the DM 1 model (Dynamisches Mikrofon - Dynamic Microphone). A year later, the first microphone of the company with the original design appeared - DM 2. The model name became nominal - at that time German marks (Deutsche Mark) were the currency in Germany, and many joked that the DM 2 microphone can be bought in just 2 DM.
In 1949, Labor W released the power amplifier - in the future it will be recognized as compliant with the Hi-Fi standard (the term “Hi-Fi” was extended only in the 1950s). At the same time, an “invisible” one appears, a very small microphone for its time - DM 3 / MD 3. Reducing dimensions while maintaining the power and quality of sound reproduction has become one of the company's main technological tasks. Although at that time, Labor W continued to continue to engage in the development of measuring instruments (the ones with which it began): in the late 40s, the production of geophysical measuring equipment and geophones was also started.
The first Zennheiser headphones were released only in the early 1950s - they were miniature magnetic headphones (models HM 11, HM 21), which appeared on the market in 1952. Two years later, the company released a microphone-cannon (MD 81) - it was actively used in film and television filming, since it could record sound coming only from certain directions, which was a significant innovation for those times.
All this time, however, despite interesting engineering finds and ideas, Labor W remained a company that was little known outside of Germany.
In 1958, Labor W finally received the name of its creator — the name by which we know the brand today: Sennheiser electronic.
Sennheiser Revolution
Sennheiser’s worldwide popularity was yet to come. In 1960, the classic MD 421 microphone came onto the market - it laid the standard for recording devices for journalists and reporters for the years ahead. It is thanks to this microphone (and not the headphones at all) that the name Sennheiser has become known throughout the world. This model (with minor changes) is produced and sold so far.
Studio microphone Sennheiser MD 421-II / photo Flavio Ensiki CC BY-SA
In addition, in the late 50s and early 60s, the company released many more new products. For example, a stereo microphone, as well as a microphone with a reversible MD 93 transducer, which was used for both sound recording and playback. It was actively used in dictaphones, which due to this became much more compact.
Then a miniature wireless radio system with a microphone appeared - it was used by actors on theatrical scenes and broadcasters on television (the technology was released by Telefunken under the Mikroport brand). Then Zennheiser created the first telephone answering machine (also in conjunction with Telefunken), a proto-baby monitor (microphone for audio tracking for children) and even a Philharmonic Hi-Fi system.
In 1968, the company released its (at that time) loudest innovative technology - the world's first open HD 414 headphones. They did not completely isolate the carrier from all external sounds (as did the closed headphones that exist on the market), but allowed the noises of the sound environment to penetrate yourself - thereby making the experience of listening to music more natural.
This development has forever changed the market for portable audio. For all the time, until HD 414 were produced, more than 10 million pairs were sold in the world. To this day, they remain one of the champions in sales among headphones.
HD 414 not only represented a revolutionary technology, but also looked quite different - bright yellow ear inserts became the symbol of the brand for a long time. By the way, it was possible to buy HD 414 at a fairly affordable price - $ 29.95 (the price can be seen on the first page of the advertising booklet of that period). The model was accessible and focused mainly on a wide audience, although professionals and demanding music lovers also respected her.
In 1995, the company paid tribute to its iconic model and made the anniversary edition of the HD 414 - these headphones could be used in modern portable players. Since then, however, the model has not been updated.
Ahead of time
Throughout its history, Sennheiser has always been ahead of its time.
In 1969, at the Consumer Electronics Fair, the company introduced the Oscar, the first human dummy with microphones, which made it possible to record a real binaural sound (if you listen to it with headphones, you can feel the distance to the sound source and its direction). A few years later, the technology received a more budgetary development - Sennheiser released the MIC 2002 stereo microphone, which looked like a stethoscope. He had to be put on his head to make a full binaural audio recording.
Wireless headphones - a technology that has tightly entered our lives recently. But Sennheiser began experimenting with them back in 1975 - when they managed to transmit sound via infrared for the first time. The SI 406 transmitter and HDI 406 receiver appeared on the market in 1976, and the technology was used in almost unchanged form in IS 850 wireless headphones, which went on sale in 1993.
“Our engineers have always had a lot of freedom. They could give free rein to their creativity — no matter how insane their ideas seemed. Often these very ideas became the basis for the best discoveries and the best products.
Any restrictions on financial managers, who are always primarily interested in profits, were swept away. In the end, our company does not just sell products, it basically sells ideas, ” said Fritz Zennheiser.