Old Lyme, Conn. – April 29, 2015 – For decades, Sennheiser has been known in the aviation, professional audio and consumer electronics industries for its high-quality products, excellent sound and numerous innovations that have set new standards in audio technology. This year, Sennheiser is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The company remains a family-owned and operated enterprise, helmed by a third generation of the Sennheiser family: today’s CEOs, Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, are the grandchildren of the company’s founder, Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser.
In 1957, Sennheiser introduced the AM 101 headset, which was used for air traffic control and telephone exchanges, marking the first time headsets were introduced into the company's portfolio. Later in 1980, the company began manufacturing headsets specifically designed for pilots and the broader aviation market, applying its vast audio expertise to an industry in which precise sound clarity is critical.
“Sennheiser first produced a pilot’s headset when Lufthansa Airlines asked us to create a more convenient, quieter communication environment for their cockpit crews,” said David Dunlap, Director, Sennheiser Aviation. “This was a very natural extension of our business, as the company already had many years of experience developing microphones and headphones and had been present in the field of ATC with various headset models. Since then, we’ve developed a full portfolio of headsets designed for various flying environments, while perfecting our active noise-canceling technology and making great strides towards protecting pilots’ hearing.”
Sennheiser’s first pilot’s headset, the lightweight, Open-Aire™ LHM 1410 KA, was produced for Lufthansa in 1982—the same year that Sennheiser’s founder Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser appointed his son, Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser, Managing Director of the company. In 1984, pilots and airlines expressed concern regarding high cockpit noise levels, which was causing such problems as hearing loss, stress and interference. Lufthansa asked Sennheiser to find a solution, which led to the development of Sennheiser’s ground-breaking, active noise-canceling technology: NoiseGard™.
The Pursuit of Perfect Sound
Sennheiser's pioneering noise-canceling system, known as NoiseGard™, operates on the principle that noise can be cancelled when it is combined with an out-of-phase copy of itself. As a result, end users experience a decrease in hearing loss, an increase in communication clarity and a reduction in noise-induced fatigue. The first NoiseGard™ headset, the LHM 45, was introduced in 1987 and was the first ANC headset to obtain FAA TSO certification.
Since entering the aviation market, Sennheiser has maintained open communications among airlines, pilots and other aviation professionals as it seeks to constantly improve and innovate its product line.
“Our customers play a very important role in helping us evaluate the performance of our current products, and during the research and development of future products," Dunlap continued. “We place a strong emphasis on customer feedback during the development and testing phase of all our products. This is especially true for Sennheiser’s aviation headsets.”
Sennheiser’s S1 is the latest family of headsets to be added to its aviation headset lineup. The S1 Digital was specially developed for pilots of single and twin-engine propeller aircraft and ensures safe and reliable voice communication, easy control, outstanding audio quality, and wearing comfort. With a push of a button, the headset adapts to the noise environment in the cockpit and fit to the wearer within seconds. Meanwhile, the S1 NoiseGard is a general aviation headset that provides both optimal wearing comfort and outstanding speech intelligibility in a stylish design. The entire family of S1 general aviation headsets, which also includes the S1 Passive and S1 Passive Helicopter, are made in Germany and come with a five-year guarantee.
A smart approach to the future
As an innovation-driven company, Sennheiser will continue playing a key role in shaping the future of audio. The foundations for this have already been laid with its new Innovation Campus, built on the company site in Germany. “Here, as at our worldwide innovation centers, we will work in cross-functional teams that bring together our breadth of expertise to shape unique solutions,” said Co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser. “In the future, we will align our product development even more closely to customers’ true needs, wherever they arise, while always striving to achieve acoustic perfection.” With adaptable and increasingly smart products, Sennheiser will keep on developing and delivering future solutions that redefine audio technology.
For more information on Sennheiser’s portfolio of aviation headsets, visit www.sennheiser-aviation.com.
