Audio pioneer Fritz Sennheiser dies, aged 98

Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, audio pioneer and founding partner of audio hardware manufacturers Sennheiser has passed away, aged 98.

Born 9th May 1912 in Germany, Sennheiser avoided his father’s wishes to go into into landscape architecture and instead entered the electrical engineering/telecommunications program at Berlin’s Technical University.

Founding Sennheiser in 1945, he oversaw the development of the first shotgun microphones and open headphones, as well as being an instrumental figure in the growth of wireless radio and infra-red transmissions. 

In 1982 he retired from the management of the company, handing over to his son, Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser, though remaining closely involved with developments in audio technology.

Said to be a modest and sincere man, spare Sennheiser a thought as you bop along to your tunes this week, as they’d probably sound pretty ruddy awful without the innovations he brought to the audio industry.