Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to work at beyerdynamic?
Let me start from the beginning of my career in the audio industry. After my studies I began my career as Marketing Manager for Harman International. In 2001 I joined beyerdynamic as Global Product & Sales Manager of their Consumer Unit. After learning the business, I was able to bring in some of the new dimensions to their products focusing on the consumer part of this business. In 2005, I got an offer from a start-up called Sonos where I became Regional Director of Central Europe for Sonos, Country Manager of Central Europe. After Sonos I joined another company called Libratone for four years, the last three as Vice President EMEA then I joined a company called Jabra for a short time, and now for the last year and a half I am back here with beyerdynamic. As you can see, I can only have worked in the audio industry.
I understand that beyerdynamic as a company has been in business for over 100 years. Can you give me a short summary of the company milestones and achievements?
beyerdynamic is one of the oldest manufacturers of headphones and microphones in the world. The company was founded by Eugen Beyer 1924 in Berlin, who emigrated to Germany after the cultural revolution. In the beginning he focused on designing and building microphones and headphones. The first beyerdynamic headphones, the DT 48, was launched in 1937. 1939 was the release of the first studio-quality dynamic microphone, the M 19. During the Second World War, the Berlin-based company was completely destroyed, which is why Eugen Beyer decided to relocate to Heilbronn in 1948 and rebuild his factory there. In 1960, the company moved to a new building in Heilbronn, where the company’s headquarters and production facilities are still located today.
In 1980 beyerdynamic released the DT 880, the first dynamic headphones with electrostatic reproduction characteristics which to this day continue to enjoy a large presence in studios around the world. Two premium models were launched in 2015, the DT 1770 PRO and the DT 1990 PRO. Both models set a new reference standard in the field of professional studio headphones and are our first studio headphones with integrated Tesla technology. The DT 1770 PRO is by far our most popular product followed by the DT 990 PRO. Just at the end of October 2024 the new generation of studio headphones, the two flagships DT 1990 MKII and DT 1770 PRO MKII, launched with amazing new features and a newly developed TESLA.45 driver—developed and manufactured in our headquarter in Germany.
In the last two years we have launched a great number of innovative products for the consumer segment of the market, which brings us up to the next level where we are today.
Can you give me a breakdown of the major product groups in beyerdynamic’s consumer and pro audio divisions?
Our pro audio division is comprised mainly of studio and broadcast headphones which continues to be the main market segment we are pursuing. The pro audio team also manufactures a range of professional microphones as well as a range of professional wireless headphones for phone calls and e.g. conferencing. Our consumer division produces a wide range of gaming headsets as well as a range of products for mobile devices including bluetooth. We just launched our first bluetooth over-ear headphones with more to come in 2025.
The global marketplace is constantly evolving. How is beyerdynamic addressing the needs of a rapidly changing marketplace?
Of course, we are continually tracking the global market, especially at the moment when you see so many changes in the world with different governments, different rules in the U.S., in China, in Europe it is required to be agile as a company and react to market changes even faster than we how we have done it in the past.
As a company we continue to focus on strategic and sustainable growth goals, expanding our product portfolio with a view to future technologies and continue to develop beyerdynamic’ s global brand name awareness. At the same time, we will work to become more agile as a company for high-quality audio products, thus being able to respond more flexibly to new customers and market requirements.
Where do you see beyerdynamic as a company in five years?
Right now everything is developing into the right direction. We are targeting younger audiences with some of our products, especially in the consumer world, which is a trend that I expect will continue. At the same time, we will remain focused on our core DNA, which is very important to be recognized as an audio brand. Our product portfolio has a strategic balance between pro audio and consumer products, which is what we want to continue doing in the future.
Any interest in developing a professional in-ear monitor product line?
Yes, we are indeed exploring the development of in-ear monitor (IEM) products. The demand for high-quality, professional-grade audio equipment has been growing, and we recognize the immense potential in this segment. Our research and development team is dedicated to creating IEMs that offer exceptional sound clarity, comfort, and durability, catering to both casual listeners and professional musicians. By leveraging our expertise in audio technology and engineering, we aim to bring IEMs to market that will not only meet but exceed the expectations of our customers. We’re very excited about the possibilities and look forward to sharing more details as these projects progress.
Immersive audio has very much become a hot topic, as many delivery platforms now require content to be Dolby Atmos compliant. Your new DT 1770 PRO MKII studio closed-back headphones look like they would be a great choice for that application. Can you elaborate?
Taking a step back we just launched the AVENTHO 300 at the end of October 2024, which is a Dolby Atmos wireless headphone and a completely new kind of product for us. These products are made with premium components and manufactured to very high quality standards using our own manufacturing technologies. Also, in the middle of October 2024 we launched the AMIRON 300, which is our high-end earbud, with the highest level for sound performance of any competing product in the marketplace.
In the pro world we are of course thinking about immersive audio for future products but for now, we have to wait for the next generation of products to fully implement immersive audio into our products. As I mentioned earlier, we are continuing to consider market trends and will proceed to develop products to meet consumer demands.
Any new products at NAMM that our readers should be aware of?
Absolutely, we are thrilled about the upcoming NAMM Show. Our teams have been hard at work and we are excited to unveil a new product series at the show that we believe will set new benchmarks in the industry. Right now I cannot share further details, but please stay tuned and we are looking to meet you all at the beyerdynamic booth #11702 in hall A.
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