11 Questions with Dr. Andreas Sennheiser

1. What are the advantages of being in a family owned business?
The main advantages of a family-owned business are long-term strategical thinking, an absolute focus on our customers and a solid financial basis. This in turn creates reliability for our customers and business partners alike, and is a guarantee of continuity in all important decisions.

2. An important learning that has been passed on to the third generation?

The most important learnings are actually the three advantages I have just mentioned, and I would like to add a fourth: we need to have a permanently high degree of innovation and ensure that we constantly re-invent ourselves.

3. Are there any concrete changes in how the company is run today?

In the field of innovation and re-invention, we have been able to increase our speed of product innovation considerably, and have also completed a realignment of the sales team to address new customer target groups.

4. What are the three main milestones in terms of product development in the 70 year history of Sennheiser?

The first milestone in Sennheiser’s company history is the development of our very first wireless microphone in 1957, followed in 1968 by the invention of the world’s first open headphones, the iconic HD 414.

As the third milestone, I would actually choose a product that will only become available in mid-2016. In September, we unveiled the first prototypes of the best headphones in the world, the HE 1060 / HEV 1060 electrostatic headphones. This model is the pinnacle of headphone design, simply the best audiophile headphones that have ever been designed.

5. Your vision for Sennheiser as a company and the pro audio industry in general?

Sennheiser is a driver of the audio industry. We take new paths, be it in recording, in processing or in reproduction, and our aim is to ensure the best possible listening experience for our customers, irrespective of the playback equipment selected.
The pro audio industry in general is facing significant technological changes such as digitization on the one hand and continued integration into existing standard networking technologies on the other. The products themselves will now be differentiated by their software features, increasing smartness, and their interoperability.

6. Which product are you currently pushing most aggressively in the pro-audio market?

On the pro side, we are pushing business communication applications, and 2016 will see a few new products being launched in that segment. Regarding broadcast and media, we’re currently focusing on AVX microphone systems for video cameras, while in the music industry market, we’re pushing evolution wireless D1. With regard to headphones, we are especially strong in high-end and lifestyle headphones. Regarding pro audio in India, we are extremely successful in the system integration/corporate audio market, and we can see a high growth potential for Sennheiser and great benefits for our Indian customers in this field.

7. Was the Sennheiser entry into the Indian market, an experiment or a conscious and planned move?

It was a conscious and planned move, indeed, because we think that a society in a strong growth phase such as India will build a loyalty to brands that are on site to grow together with the country – and not to brands which only appear on the scene when they think they can make a lot of money. We have noticed that India is extremely enthusiastic and demanding as regards good music, both from a consumer and a pro audio view, and we feel that Indian customers see the true value of a product – not just its price point. What Sennheiser and India share, is the love for music.

8. What is the greatest challenge that you face in the Indian market?

In many respects, India has the advantage of not having a long legacy in audio technologies. In Central Europe, on the other hand, investments in broadcasting have been made over thirty, forty years, which sometimes may make it a bit difficult to take steps towards an entirely new future. India is in a situation where new technologies are adopted very quickly, in which new solutions are implemented very intelligently and cost-efficiently, especially in broadcasting. To keep up with the needs and demands of the Indian market and to launch smart solutions as quickly as possible is one of our challenges and also represents a great opportunity at the same time.

9. Can you name one Sennheiser wireless product you would say you’re the proudest of?

That’s definitely our Digital 9000 radio microphone system, which has taken 12 years to develop and remains the only UHF multi-channel wireless microphone system on the market that is able to work entirely without data reduction. Its sound and reliability is superior to anything else in the market, making it the flagship model and pride of our wireless systems range. It’s not just an engineering masterpiece, but also underlines Sennheiser’s long expertise in the RF wireless field.

10. What does Sennheiser have in store in the near future in terms of wireless products for pro-audio?

We will extend our digital wireless microphone portfolio and introduce new products in this area. Sennheiser will also launch several smart wireless solutions in the field of business communications for speaking situations and the meeting room.

11. Where or how do you see the market for wireless microphones and headphones in India in the next five years?

For us, India is clearly one of the focus markets for strong growth. We will continue to invest strongly in India to serve the music-loving Indian society with great microphones and headphones and to satisfy the increasingly high standards and demands. I can see no end to the potential of the Indian market and we’re looking forward to being present in this exciting and demanding territory throughout the decades to come.