“The vision to Shape the Future of Audio is in our company’s DNA, it is our mission,” said Daniel Sennheiser, co-CEO, Sennheiser. “Our culture of innovation has resulted in iconic, era-defining products. With the launch of the new Sennheiser HE 1 last year, we have created the best headphones in the world – the purest distillation of our knowledge and passion for the ultimate sound. This is our art. And like the greatest art, it places you in a unique space where emotion and inspiration are possible – it can’t be easily explained, but has to be experienced and felt. The idea to ‘Shape the Future of Audio’ is not about describing a concept for leadership in sound, but giving people the ability to experience sound as never before.”

The choice of the Art Basel shows in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach as platforms for this vision is particularly significant, as Daniel Sennheiser explains: “Art has always been about pushing forward the status quo and redefining boundaries for the future. It changes our world and the way we perceive it. This is how Sennheiser defines leadership in audio – the creation of new possibilities and profound new ways of experiencing.”

“I am delighted that Sennheiser will partner with Art Basel ‎to support artists in pushing their work forwards, by giving them access to advanced possibilities for creating audio work‎.” said Marc Spiegler, Art Basel’s Global Director‎. “It will be exciting to watch their future experiments in art and technology.”

Enter the Future Sound Cube

Visitors to the Art Basel show in Hong Kong will be able to witness the future first-hand, thanks to Sennheiser’s Future Sound Cube. An entirely unique space for audio-visual artworks, the Future Sound Cube sets the stage for a once-in-a-lifetime sensory experience – an encounter with a new dimension in audio, powered by AMBEO, Sennheiser’s groundbreaking 3D Immersive Audio technology, and a chance to get up close and personal with something utterly extraordinary, the Sennheiser HE 1.

Sennheiser’s new monument to sound, the iconic HE 1, are the world’s best headphones. As the successor to the legendary Orpheus from 1990/91, it redefines the state of the art in audio, and is a milestone creation that redraws the limits of audiophile sound. Crafted from carefully selected materials including the finest Carrara marble – the very stone that Michelangelo used in his sculptures – the new Sennheiser HE 1 is in itself a work of art, delivering an unparalleled sound experience.

As well as the thrilling experience of the groundbreaking Sennheiser HE 1, the Future Sound Cube will offer visitors the opportunity to engage with video installations from several of the visionary artists that Sennheiser has partnered with over recent years. Works from artists including Nigel Stanford and Nik Nowak will be presented in this unique environment and made all the more vivid thanks to the unprecedented immersive three-dimensional sound experience created by the 9.1 AMBEO speaker installation. “AMBEO offers a truly new dimension to audio, utterly transforming sound in space,” said Dr Andreas Sennheiser. “Art Basel is the perfect stage for this unique sensation – just as walking into a gallery creates a sense of immersion into art, AMBEO lets you inhabit a spatial audio experience. This is a striking difference and a step forward in audio that compares to the evolution from mono to stereo.”

The Future Sound Cube will be continuing its journey beyond Art Basel’s shows in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach and can be experienced at global events including prolight+sound, HIGH END and IFA.

Inspiring a future generation of sound artists

Continuing the audio specialist’s partnership with artistic visionaries, Sennheiser will be launching the Future Audio Artists Program at Art Basel, a new initiative to support some of the world’s most exciting sound artists. The Future Audio Artists Program will be steered by a highly influential jury of curators and collectors, appointed by Jenny Falckenberg, founder of Hamburg art agency 'Unique Art Concepts’. Including art-world luminaries such as Prof. Dr. h.c. Walter Smerling and Daniela Hinrichs, as well the personal involvement of Daniel Sennheiser, the program will provide ambitious sound artists with a platform to present their interpretation of the Future of Audio.

At each Art Basel show, the jury will handpick an outstanding artist who will receive support to create their sound installation projects utilizing Sennheiser’s leading-edge audio equipment. The completed works will be presented at the next shows in Basel and Miami Beach. They will be visualized on the outer surface of the Future Sound Cube – itself a grand canvas for artistic expressions. The works will also be given a global platform through a dedicated Sennheiser website which will be launched shortly at www.sennheiser.com/shapethefutureofaudio..

Exploring the Future of Audio with Daniel Sennheiser

Sennheiser will be hosting an informal press event at its lounge at Art Basel in Hong Kong on March 24, where Co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser will be discussing the question ’What is the Future of Audio?’.

About Art Basel

Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands featuring leading galleries from around the world, each show’s singular exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual arts, offering visitors new ideas. artbasel.com