Wireless Audio Everywhere
Audio equipment company Sennheiser places a strong emphasis on getting feedback from end users to drive product innovations. According to Joe Douillard, who spoke about their process at the recent CTI National Sales Meeting, the includes wireless audio products. By having a large in-field business development team dedicated to working with customers and gathering requests, Sennheiser can funnel that information directly to their sales and engineering departments. This tight feedback loop enables them to continuously update their product lines to address evolving customer needs.
Several of their latest wireless audio products show how this process produces cutting-edge revised gear. For example, Douillard highlighted their new ENG camera mount receiver with a magnetized mounting system that securely affixes to cameras. He says it’s a “true diversity system,” meaning it has multiple antennas to avoid signal dropout by always picking the stronger signal. What makes it even more versatile is a new handheld transmitter coming soon that will allow separate recording of audio onto an SD card.
Customer-Driven Design
This innovation came directly from customer requests according to Douillard. Reporters and video production teams often need a backup audio recording as a safety net in case their camera audio fails, which can ruin an entire shoot. With the new transmitter add-on, they’ll get that peace of mind in a convenient single unit.
Sennheiser also has an entire next-generation line of digital wireless systems called EW DX available in various configurations from handheld microphone kits to bodypack transmitters with clip-on lavalier mics. A key capability Douillard highlighted is its Dante audio over IP integration, with two-channel receivers on the way that work seamlessly with the Dante networked audio standard. These systems aim to be priced competitively too, countering misconceptions that Sennheiser products cost significantly more than competitors.
Battling Wireless Audio Crosstalk
The last major point Douillard discussed was Sennheiser’s system for avoiding wireless interference when many channels are deployed simultaneously. He explained that their digital wireless technology enables an equal distribution of frequencies to prevent intermodulation distortion. This allows packing transmitters closely together without crosstalk or other sound degradation issues. Engineers no longer have to worry about overlapping frequency bands or adding redundant channels as a failsafe.
For those interested in learning more about Sennheiser’s gear or connecting with sales reps, Douillard suggests visiting their website at Sennheiser.com or following them on social media like Facebook and LinkedIn. He emphasized that customer input directly enables Sennheiser to keep producing wireless audio innovations tailored exactly how end users want. Judging by the enthusiasm over these latest product releases, their process seems to be working.
