The wireless revolution is looking fairly unprepossessing: at the “German Radio, TV and Phono Exhibition” in Frankfurt, “Labor W” demonstrates a gently curved, pocket book-sized transmitter bound in leather, with a silver hand-held microphone. It is August 1957, and the RF specialists around Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser talk to interested visitors about their first wireless model, developed in close cooperation with German broadcaster NDR. Today Labor W is called Sennheiser electronic, and it is hard to imagine our modern life without wireless microphone technology. TV shows, concerts, films, events, reports —people pulling long cables behind them is a thing of the past.

“The story of our wireless microphones is a story about maintaining close customer relations”, explains Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser, “and of course it is closely tied up with broadcasting organizations, because wireless microphones were initially only considered for professional use, for reporters really. NDR predecessor NWDR was already using wireless microphone systems for outdoor broadcasts.” The first Sennheiser transmitter (photo), still operating with a tube and so with lots of batteries, had only a short life span, as just a few months later the follow-on SK 1002 model was launched in 1958. Not only had the pocket transmitter become considerably smaller thanks to transistors, but Sennheiser had now identified a strong partner for wireless microphones in Telefunken. Both companies marketed the new-found wireless freedom under the brand name “mikroport”. Transmission took place on two channels licensed by the German postal authorities.

On screen
More technological enhancements to the wireless microphone followed at lightning speed, and when Sennheiser electronic brought out the
SK 1004 in 1962, they also produced their first wireless microphone for the amateur: "Mikroport Junior" allowed you to listen to your own wireless transmission live over a normal UKW radio. Meanwhile on TV, the wireless Sennheiser microphone featured as a long-running guest of the big Saturday night shows in Germany. At the end of the 1960s, the SK 1008 (photo), a delightful transmitter with a plug-on microphone head, and the small
MKH 124/125 RF condenser microphone with its huge frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz enjoyed TV careers. At the end of the 1970s, Sennheiser launched its first modular rack-mount receiver. The EM 1026 had up to six receiver modules, an excellent large-signal behavior and high interference resistance, whilst remaining easy to operate.

Pssst!
At around the same time there was a quantum leap in technology for wireless microphones: noise reduction became the magic word, reducing the RF noise usually found with radio microphones. In 1979 Sennheiser introduced HiDyn, its own compander system, together with the new SK 1012 transmitter. New compact receivers and tried-and-tested receiver systems benefited from the new "quiet" technology.

Farewell long antennas...
The 1980s heralded a new era: UHF broadcasting — initially only possible in Germany for TV broadcasts — made wireless audio transmissions much more fail-safe. In 1982 and 1983 Sennheiser developed the SKM 4031 TV hand-held transmitter (photo), the SK 2012 TV pocket transmitter, the EM 1036 TV receiver system and the EK 2012 TV mini receiver for German TV. Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser: “This new generation of wireless products was of such high quality and so fail-safe during broadcasting that you really could put your wired microphone to one side. The VHF spectrum where older equipment worked was much more susceptible to disruptions. With the new UHF models we laid the foundations for the success of wireless Sennheiser microphones for years to come.”

Around the world
And the success enjoyed was huge because RF technology from Sennheiser — in combination with tiny clip-on microphones — found itself included on equipment lists for major musicals because it was so reliable. Wireless Sennheiser technology started travelling the world with the hits from Cats and Starlight Express. In 1987 Sennheiser engineers developed remote computer monitoring for the EM 1036 — the first of its kind. Sound engineers could now centrally control and monitor all important transmitter and receiver parameters on a computer.

In 1988 another important step was taken: the SER 20 reporting transmitter was the first Sennheiser product to make use of new
PLL synthesizer technology. This meant that Mikroport could be used in the UHF frequency band with complete flexibility and that even bigger wireless multi-channel microphone systems could be created. 1992 and 1993 saw the launch of the wireless classic SKM 5000 (hand-held transmitter), the SK 50 and SK 250 (bodypack transmitters) as well as the modular receiver system EM 1046, later renamed the 5000 series. HiDyn plus technology further enhanced noise suppression.

Times are changing...
With the new wireless generation Sennheiser once and for all proved itself to be the specialist for ambitious multi-channel solutions. Thanks to excellent product quality and precise frequency planning the number of microphone channels operating in parallel was growing to increasingly vertiginous levels. On the French national holiday in 2000, for example, 106 microphone channels were on air — just under thirty years ago people were delighted at getting a third transmission frequency licensed…

evolution wireless
In 1999 Sennheiser created its most successful wireless range to-date with “evolution wireless” — three lines covering almost every use, with musicians being particularly big fans. Miniaturization continued: in 2001 the SK 5012 bodypack transmitter was launched — it had the size of the battery pack of the SK 250.

In 2002 another coup, this time with the studio expert Georg Neumann: developers in Berlin and Wedemark combined a Sennheiser transmitter with a Neumann capsule leading to the SKM 5000 N (photo), with the legendary Neumann sound conquering concert stages around the world. In 2004 the second generation of evolution wireless was launched and in 2005 and 2006 the new generation of the
5000 series.

And the future?
“Of course it would be great if we could simply enjoy this anniversary and our top new products, like the SKM 5200 hand-held transmitter or the SK 5212 bodypack transmitter. But all the successes we have been celebrating with our wireless technology are being jeopardized now by the impending sell-off of UHF spectrum”, explains Volker Bartels, Speaker of the Sennheiser Executive Committee. “The consequences for the whole entertainment sector would be disastrous. There would no longer be room for radio microphones. Not reserving a spectrum for wireless microphones would mean the end of lavish stage shows, the end of major productions, concert tours and musicals. Complete freedom of movement on stage — as made possible by wireless microphones and wireless monitoring — would be a thing of the past. But I’m an optimist. I think that everyone involved can reach a sensible solution together, with our pioneering RF technology guaranteeing breathtaking stage shows for the future.”

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, the Sennheiser Group with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, had total sales of about €300 million in 2005. The export share is 82.5%. Sennheiser has a total workforce of more than 1,650 employees, of whom about 60% are employed in Germany. Sennheiser is active worldwide and, in addition to other partnerships, has its own sales subsidiaries in France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, China, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

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