Sennheiser is officially 80 years old, founded by Dr. Fritz Sennheiser in June 1945. It began as a small laboratory near Hanover and has grown into a major international audio brand.
I first heard of Sennheiser in the late 80s when my company purchased TheatreSound, which was a major AV staging company for live performances, opera, plays and major concert venues. It would only use Sennheiser professional microphones and headphones.
The techs convinced me that I needed a pair of Sennheiser HD 535, open back, cabled headphones, which cost an eyewatering (at the time) $400 (when money was worth something). Until then, my headphone budget was <$50. I was blown away by the vast sound stage, the feeling of being there, and the incredible subtleties that were absent in other headphone brands. I still have them and have replaced the ear pads three times – not bad in 30+ years, and Sennheiser still has parts. I still use them when I listen to hi-res music.
Since then, I have used Sennheiser in its many iterations.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 BT, ANC over-the-ear headphones – how do you improve on perfection? (AV review) when I want the best possible over-the-ear BT aptX Adaptive/HD experience.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 True Wireless BT/ANC earphones – can’t get better than this (AV review) when I need good buds for movies and music when travelling.
My favourite, sadly discontinued, was the PXC550-II, a 217g fold-up/in travel headphone. EPOS picked up this design and calls it the EPOS Adapt 660 USB-C, and while it is now sold for unified Comms use (work headphones), it is still the best travel headphone.
Why Sennhesier?
Not to devalue the excellent cans from Sony, B&W, Bose, Sonos, Apple, et al., Sennheiser has a sole focus on music quality over things like manufactured music (what the brand thinks you want to hear) or the best ANC (which can crush a sound signature) or battery life (which can affect DSP and DAC processing).
I find that it’s no-music-compromise, use of aptX codecs, USB charge and listen, and built-in DACs just make them better. And they last and last.
Dr. Andreas Sennheiser said, “When we look back on our company history, it’s less about the number of years and more about what we have learned from the past for our future. Every product, every milestone, every challenge has shown us how we can build the future of audio — with new ideas that change the audio world.”
Sennheiser is sharing product stories and interviews via its website and social media, and launching special offers on selected models, starting with the IE 100 Pro in July and HD 25 Light in August.
Happy 80th Sennhesier
I published this as it is a testament to a grand old company moving with the times. In 2021, Sennheiser’s consumer audio division was acquired by Sonova, a Swiss hearing aid company. The original company focuses on professional microphones, headphones, wireless systems for live production, touring, theatre and studio recording.
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