Recording - August 2020 - 71

Does the MKH series run on
phantom power now? What
powered them originally,
was it an external power
supply back then?
The earliest MKH mics were designed
for use with battery-powered field recorders, so they used a negative 9v bias
powering system. The series evolved to
utilize 12v AB power, and then T power
and finally 48v power. The circuitry runs
on phantom power now but is not directly
coupled to the capsule in the same way
a traditional 48v condenser is. 

When Sennheiser released
the MK 4 in 2012, and then
the MK 8, were those your
first traditional large diaphragm condensers?
The capsule used in the MK 4 and MK
8 actually started life in the multi-pattern
e 965 handheld vocal condenser mic,
roughly fifteen years earlier. But the MK 4
was our first proper 48v large diaphragm
side address studio condenser mic.

When did Sennheiser first
develop headphones?
The model which started it all for us
was the HD 414, released in 1968.
Those were the first open-air headphones. Now we've got this wonderful
portfolio of over-ear models in the HD
series for audiophiles and studios. DJs
have picked up on our lightweight, overear HD 25 as well, because of the swivel
ear. Originally, those were a broadcast
model designed for film and location recording. [Look for a review of the 75th
Anniversary HD 25 model soon. -Ed.]

Sennheiser also has a long
history in wireless technology.
The wireless microphone portfolio
started in 1957.

Wow, seriously?
Believe it or not, the first bodypack transmitter that people would clip on their belt or
put in a pocket, um, actually had tubes in
it-so that thing probably got pretty warm.
And the antennas were ridiculously long by
modern standards. Much of this technology
was again originally for broadcast applications, as well as tools for theatre and stage.
What makes Sennheiser wireless technology so special is the quality of the
wireless link. It has to have a high level of
detail and stability. It doesn't matter how
good the signal is if it drops out, right?
The three most important requirements for
a wireless system are reliability, reliability,
and reliability. Of course, we have to have
this pedigree with audio quality as well.
Originally, wireless was quite niche.
Some of the first big productions to use it,
maybe you remember seeing the ads back
in the 1980s, were Broadway productions
like Cats. Just last year, we celebrated 20
years of the evolution wireless series.

Let's talk about the future of
Sennheiser. What is AMBEO? 
AMBEO  is the umbrella name for our
whole effort to truly push things into the
future. The company view is that immersive
audio is the future. We now have the capability and the technology to do much more
than stereo, 5.1 or 9.1, and the requirements keep growing. You may have seen the
AMBEO VR Microphone, a tetrahedral, fourmics-on-a-stick device that records immersive
3D sound. AMBEO technology is also in
some headsets, apps and plugins. It's about
reproducing the space and actually being
able to hear it, in both larger systems and
headphones, so things sound like they're in
front of you or behind you or above you. 
Last year, we acquired a company called
Dear Reality, which creates VR plugins that
allow you to mix and experience audio in
a virtual reality environment.

RECORDING THE BAND-
SENNHEISER RECOMMENDS:
As this is our issue dedicated to recording the band, RECORDING asked
Kevin and the folks at Sennheiser what
their top microphone pics would be for
the following sources.
Kick Drum: E 602-II ($159) or E 901 ($249)
Snare: MD 431 ($449) or MD 441 ($899)
Rack Toms: MD 421-II ($449)
Floor Tom: E 602-II ($159) or MD 441
Drum Overheads: E 914 ($379)
Electric Guitar Cabinet: E 906 ($189) or MD 421-II
Bass Cabinet: E 902 ($199)
Acoustic Guitar: E 914 ($379)
Orchestra/Strings: MKH 8040 ($1199)
Brass (Solo or Ensemble): MD 421-II or MD 441
Live Vocals: E 965 ($499)
Studio Vocals: MK 8 ($699)

I tried that at NAMM with
the VR goggles and gloves,
it was pretty trippy!
The bottom line is, we are continually
working on pioneering tools to push audio in new directions.

Is there anything I didn't
ask that you want people to
know about Sennheiser?
Because Sennheiser is still a familyowned, privately held company, it can
take risks-AMBEO was just a science
experiment a few years ago. Andreas
and Daniel Sennheiser are still very
hands-on, and they advocate and encourage us to push boundaries, shape
the future, and not just build the same
old things.

It's a fantastic legacy-I can't
wait to see what's next.
I think 75 years is just the start. It's
great to celebrate and look back at this
history, but we're really setting ourselves
up for the next 75 years. 

RECORDING August 2020

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