Sennheiser
From Free net encyclopedia
Sennheiser is a German pro audio company.
The company is famous for its headphones and microphones. Sennheiser headphones are mostly open-air headphones, though they are offering more closed type models. They are currently working on active noise cancelation headphones.
Sennheiser's international headquarters are located in Wedemark, Germany (near Hannover). Their United States headquarters are located in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The company's production facilities are found in Germany, Ireland, and the USA.
It was founded in 1945 by Professor Dr. Fritz Sennheiser (b. 1912). In 1982 he handed the management over to his son, Jörg Sennheiser. Since 1991, Jörg Sennheiser has been honorary professor and has held lectures on electroacoustics at the University of Hanover since 1981.
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Notable products
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- Sennheiser HD 400/ eH Class Headphones (437/457/477/497) (Supra-aural): Marketed as a "streetwear" series, for portable and home use. The lower models, such as the HD 457 and 477, are sealed and seem to be tuned for more bass, making them more appealing for younger users who may like the bass quantity. The flagship HD 497 is open and designed with a more balanced frequency response, allowing them to compete with the Grado SR-60. This series is now accompanied by a collection of similar low-priced circumaural headphones (HD 415/435/465/485) and the eH series, marketed for DJ and studio monitoring use (eH 150/250/350).
- Sennheiser CX Class (Canalphone): Designed to be an intermediary canalphone priced between the $30-50 Sony MDR EX series and the $80-100+ models made by Shure Incorporated, Etymotic Research, and other manufacturers. Marketed to users of MP3 players.
- It should be noted that the design of the Sennheiser CX 300 looks similar to the Creative EP630 and the Sharp MD33 canalphones in physical appearance, but with some touches that differ Sennheiser from Creative and Sharp.
- Sennheiser PXC Class (150/250/300) (Supra-aural): A family of noise-cancelling headphone with active noise control. Although PXC noise-cancellation may not be as extensive as the larger, circumaural Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones, the Bose product is significantly more expensive and not without its own criticism. Sennheiser PXC products can be used with the active noise cancellation feature turned off, whereas the Bose product cannot.
- Sennheiser HD 500/600 Class (580/600/650) (Circumaural): An expensive family of audiophile-quality headphones. The first two models (from $249-449) share the same shape and look, although the higher models feature better build materials, drivers and driver enclosures. These headhones' sound is characterized by a laid back, speaker like presentation and a treble roll off. The HD650's in particular is identified by its emphasis on bass response. Another series, the HD 555/595 ($169-289), also has highly regarded sound quality while featuring a more "upfront" sound presentation.
- Sennheiser HE60/HE90 "Orpheus" Class: An extremely expensive headphone system, it is regarded as one of the finest audio reproduction systems available regardless of type. It originally retailed at a price of $15,000 and still easily commands a price surpassing $5,000. The system consists of an electrostatic pair of headphones (as compared to the dynamic drivers of the HD 500/600), linked to a dedicated tube-based amplifier.
Sennheiser vs. Other Manufacturers
Being one of the leading headphone manufacturers in the world (and having one of the most broad headphone inventories, ranging from cheap earbuds to the aforementioned HD 580/600/650), Sennheiser naturally rivals other leading headphone companies. Its lower levels of headphones are challenged by more mainstream companies, such as Sony and Koss. One Sennheiser product, the PX 100 open, portable headphone, seems to have been released as a direct rival to the market of the Koss Portapro. One of the most common (and audiophilic) competitions is that between Grado and Sennheiser headphones in the upper tiers of headphone prices. Grado's headphones are regarded to have a brighter, "livelier" sound and are supra-aural, while Sennheiser's headphones aim for a less "colored" sound and are circumaural. Defenders of Sennheiser's higher-priced headphones point out the near-unanimous praisings of the headphones' comfort and describe the Grado headphones as colored to the point of distortion, while Grado headphones' fans point out a perceived "veil" in the Sennheiser's treble, making the headphones have a more "boring" sound signature.
These perceived opinions are those generally shared among the members of Head-Fi and the reviews of Headroom Corporation.
Measured performance
An independant test site shows the Sennheisser HD650 to have an exceptionally good low frequency response, and other models, such as the HD500 or PX30 to be less flat to varying degrees[citation needed]. Bass response measurements are particularly revealing on headphones as many manufacturers make extravagent claims like 'frequency response 4Hz to 25kHz' which bear no relation to reality. Very few indeed are actually flat to 20Hz. Measurements of high frequency response are hard to interpret, since most headphones are sold for use on stereo, as opposed to binaural, material, incorporate notch-filtering to reduce the effect of side presentation on signals intended for frontal presentation. This filtering will work better on some listeners than others, depending on their particular pinna shape.
External links
- Official site (German, English, French and Spanish)
- Official USA site (English)de:Sennheiser