Sound shaper

Sound can profoundly affect the listener's mind in magical ways. From shifting an anchored perception to evoking strong emotions to generating soothing feelings, sound waves can work wonders.

When sound is delivered through high-end audio equipment, the soul-stirring impact can multiply exponentially. I can attest to this fact after trying on the most expensive headphones in the world. The Sennheiser HE 1, with a price tag of around US$60,000, took me on a journey into a whole new space where every instrument of the orchestra comes to life.

I was so mesmerised by the experience that I almost forgot that I was sitting in the Asian headquarters of Sennheiser -- minimalist decor, stylishly embellished with exposed brick walls, bare concrete and a display area that showcases a wide array of high-fidelity products from microphones to headsets and speakerphones.

The door flings open and in strides Daniel Sennheiser, the company's third-generation leader, greeting me amiably and eager to share his perspective on shaping sound.

Appointed as co-CEOs of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co KG five years ago, Mr Sennheiser and his brother Andreas have given new impetus to the strategy of the privately owned audio specialist from Germany.

Together, they aim to create innovative audio products and sound experiences with the vision to shape the future of the industry by drawing on 70-plus years of rich history.

Although the soft-spoken Zurich-born CEO was intimately familiar with the family business from childhood, Mr Sennheiser didn't think about joining the company until a decade into his post-college working life.

"For my brother, it was very clear that he wanted to join the company at a very young age and he did everything to get there," the 45-year-old executive tells Asia Focus.

"For me, it was very clear that I did not want to join the company and it took me about 12 years in other companies until I realised that I have something to contribute."

Mr Sennheiser completed his studies in product design at the Art Center College of Design in La-Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland, and in Pasadena, California, and later founded Digani, a Munich-based communications agency. He worked for various other communications agencies and later joined Procter & Gamble in 2003 as an associate director of design and innovation for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Sennheiser was very much an engineering-driven company. I studied design and worked in communications, so I initially thought I would have nothing to do here," he says.

However, as time passed, Mr Sennheiser and his brother both realised that design, marketing and communication have become an inseparable part of technology.

"The artistic element has become one of the most important factors for customers," he explains. "If you look at the momentum of the consumer headphones line, it has become very design-oriented. Today, the top products when it comes to audio technology not only have the sound quality but they must also look nice.

"If you look at a product like this," he says, pointing to the HE 1, "this is more of a sculpture than actually a product."

Hand-crafted at Sennheiser headquarters, the HE 1 features a Carrara marble base, chosen not only for its sumptuous looks but also sound-damping qualities. (For those who want more bling, Sennheiser will fit out the base in jade, gold or even diamonds.) Nestled in glass enclosures that rise from the base are vacuum tubes that are part of the innovative amplification system that makes the listening experience unique.

This aesthetic element is what has drawn Mr Sennheiser back to the family venture. He is convinced that he can play a strong complementary role to his brother, who graduated with a management and production degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Zurich.

"My brother also realised that aesthetics is something important. He is teaching me about technology and the supply chain while I teach him about marketing and design. Together, we have turned a technology-centric company into a customer-centric company. That is a major shift that we've made," he says.

Still keeping its promise to deliver uncompromising sound engineered in Germany, the brothers have added design materials and haptic qualities to create an enhanced customer experience that goes beyond mere audio technology.

Although most of Sennheiser's products are geared towards the premium market and high-end audiophiles, Mr Sennheiser explains that good design doesn't always have to come with a higher price tag.

"It's more a question of attention to details," he says. "The design is not driving the price of our product. Having said that, we are a premium brand and we cannot go too far down on the price level as Sennheiser is a specialist brand for people who know what they want and are willing to pay a premium price for a product that not everybody has."

THE BEGINNING

The Sennheiser story began in a small laboratory called Laboratorium Wennebostel (also known as Lab W) in Wedemark, a municipality in the district of Hanover, Lower Saxony back in 1945.

Daniel's grandfather Fritz Sennheiser, along with seven fellow engineers, founded the company and produced voltmeters as their first product. A year later, it expanded to microphones.

In 1968, Sennheiser released the world's first open-back headphones, which revolutionised the audio industry because they produced a more natural sound that many listeners preferred. While closed-back headphones are designed to isolate one from the world by blocking outside sound, open-back models allow the sound to go free.

Over the past seven decades, the company has branched out into various high-fidelity audio products. The range today includes microphones, headphones, wired microphone and monitoring systems, conference and information technology, and products for assistive listening. Global turnover last year was €667.7 million ($760 million), with 52% coming from the consumer division and the rest from the professional division.

The number of employees has grown from 250 in 1955 to around 2,840 worldwide at the end of 2017 -- half of whom work in the headquarters in Wedemark.

Although they preside over a highly successful business, the Sennheiser family has always stressed the virtues of being unostentatious to each new generation.

"I was brought up in a very humble way and I was never too spoiled. People ask me all the time: how is it to see your name on so many products? But for me, it was never different. Staying humble is a very important thing," he says, adding that his parents were his role models because they lived up to their teachings -- leading good but simple lives.

Being born into the Sennheiser family also did not mean that one could simply loiter and wait for the auspicious day to inherit the business.

"Joining the company right away was never an option," says Mr Sennheiser. "It is part of our philosophy that if I, my brother or my sister wanted to be in the company, we needed to qualify and there is a very clear protocol on how to do that. We also have the external resources to check whether we are really qualified."

Before taking the role as a CEO in 2013, Mr Sennheiser spent five years in the company where he created the Strategic Innovation department and focused on refining the long-term strategic orientation of the company.

In 2011, he became a member of the executive management board and served as president of strategy and finance, responsible for strategic marketing, strategic innovation, technology, corporate control and finance.

GROWTH AND EXPANSION

While Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) still represent the company's largest share of revenue at €351.7 million in 2017, compared with €174.5 million in the Americas and €141.5 million in Asia Pacific, Mr Sennheiser is optimistic about the Asian market given its growing consumer preference for wireless technology and built-in smart functions in their audio devices.

The company has overseen the Asia Pacific business from headquarters in Singapore for the past 26 years, with an emphasis on steady and sustainable growth.

"We don't see ourselves as suddenly being aggressive. As a family-owned company, it's about the long term and a sustainable relationship with our customers," he says. "We want to be looked at as a friend rather than a brand that wants to make their money quickly."

In addition to the consumer and professional divisions, Sennheiser is also making more of a push into business communication audio equipment. This reflects the global trend toward interconnected working environments, in which communication has become more crucial than ever.

"The market for business is changing. People are using [video conferencing] for business communication; thus the audio quality is becoming very important," says Mr Sennheiser. "We all know how poor sound quality in a teleconference can be very tiring and can lead to misunderstanding.

"Really focusing on that market will give us an opportunity to grow while also giving an opportunity for consumers to get a better experience."

Speaking from his expert vantage point, Mr Sennheiser shares his outlook for the future of audio equipment. "The short term is going to be about wireless," he says, "which is essentially connecting the audio system to all the digital devices and artificial intelligence."

In the medium to longer term, he believes, the proliferation of augmented reality and virtual reality will bring demand for 3D audio experiences. This will involve a shift from a channel-oriented system to a volumetric system with powerful spatial computing experiences, in which real sounds blend seamlessly with virtual audio.

But no matter what direction sound moves in, there will be Sennheiser equipment there to capture all the magic.