Sennheiser and Neumann will show the full bandwidth of their audio solutions at a joint stand in Hall 8, D50. Themed areas from mobile journalism to field production will showcase future-oriented products such as the AMBEO virtual-reality microphone, a special microphone for action cameras or the brand-new 27 series broadcast headsets. These headsets combine a closed, circumaural design with very low weight and outstanding comfort for the user.

New products

The broadcast headsets of the new 27 series will bring a new age of user comfort to commentary booths: All models feature a closed, circumaural design while remaining lightweight and compact – an advantage over other models on the market. The new headsets fulfil the EU directive on protection against noise at the workplace.

For extreme sports footage with great audio, IBC will see Sennheiser show the prototype of a new microphone for GoPro action cameras that easily withstands adverse conditions such as wind, water, snow and splashes of mud. The special windshield of the microphone ensures excellent protection against wind noise even during water sports. The microphone is expected to become available from March 2017.

AMBEO 3D audio – a virtual-reality demo recorded with Sennheiser’s upcoming AMBEO VR Mic will envelop visitors with immersive, natural sound – almost eliminating the boundaries between playback and the real experience.

Mobile journalism – for the growing field of mobile journalism, Sennheiser is showcasing the wireless microphone systems of its AVX series, which operates in the license-free 1.9 GHz range. “A lot of expertise in RF wireless technology went into the development of this series, which is why it is such an easy-to-use tool for videographers,” explains Gleissner.

Filmmaking – the Filmmaking area addresses semi-professional users and demanding consumers, showcasing the MKE 440 stereo microphone for DSLR cameras, and the mono MKE 400 and MKE 600 models.

Field production – the highlight product in this area is the two-channel EK 6042 – the only camera receiver that is able to simultaneously receive an analogue and a digital transmitter. For wireless boom miking, there is an MKH 8060 shotgun microphone with SKP 2000 plug-on transmitter, while an SKM 9000 handheld transmitter and an MKE 1 clip-on microphone are showcased as miking options for ENG work.

Sports broadcasting – besides the new broadcast headsets of the 27 series and the HD 25 professional headphones, shotgun microphones of both Sennheiser (the classic MKH 416, the MKH 8060 short gun and the MKH 8070 long gun) and Neumann (KMR 81i, medium length) will be on show. Also presented is the Esfera microphone system which generates fully-fledged 5.1 audio from just two channels.

Studio monitoring – various set-ups for studio monitoring can be tested at the stand: Neumann loudspeakers including the KH 310 and KH 120 as well as KH 810 subwoofers are available for those wishing to try out surround and surround + height arrangements. To get the perfect sound for 9.1, original AMBEO 3D audio recordings and AMBEO upmixes are used.

Recording and broadcast microphones – the Neumann BCM 104 is an ideal announcer’s microphone for broadcasting and studio, which will be demonstrated alongside the Neumann TLM 102, TLM 103 and U 87 Ai studio models. Rounding off the microphone area is the Sennheiser MK 4 digital, which features Apogee-A/D conversion and preamp technology that make it an ideal choice for digital audio recording.