‘We are not rock stars,’ laughs Daniel Sennheiser from his brand’s booth at Art Basel in Switzerland. ‘My brother and I are very down to Earth,’ he assures us.
Wonderland has met with the co-CEO of the audio juggernaut Sennheiser (Daniel runs the company with his brother Andreas) the morning after a glamorous party in the Swiss city where music and art fans from around the world danced the night away to a DJ set by German producer Robin Schulz. The event – hosted by Sennheiser as the world’s one percent converge on the city to splurge on exclusive artworks – was not an effort for the Sennheiser brothers to boast about their success or music contacts (P!nk uses their products, Imogen Heap recently collaborated on a project, and the brand has ties to Jay Z’s Tidal – a company Daniel firmly believes will reach its potential in good time), but to showcase the power of their latest speaker system. As Robin dropped beats, the sound of his tunes basically enveloped everyone that was there, making everyone feel like they were part of the music and truly showcasing the power of the brand’s products.
‘A few years ago everybody was wanting the best MP3s and iPods – these devices – at the expense of sound,’ Daniel tells us in his reassuringly soft voice. ‘Now sound is getting the attention again. People want clearer sound. People want better quality.’
Indeed, Sennheiser are perhaps most famous for their incredible headphones – offering crystal clear sound, that doesn’t compromise on style (seriously, their headphones are works of art). Their booth at Art Basel includes a presentation suite where the latest technology offers ‘3D sound’ – effectively, audio so clear that you feel the instruments and singers you hear on records are performing right beside you. And for the Sennheiser’s, the pursuit of sound perfection is one that will be forever evolving.
‘The purpose of life is not death,’ Daniel says, dismissing the idea that trying to create perfect sound will be an impossible feat. ‘It is about the journey we take along the way.’
