Sonova, a Swiss company best known for its medical audio products like hearing aids and cochlear implants, is buying the consumer electronics division of German firm Sennheiser. That means Sonova is taking over Sennheiser’s portfolio of consumer headphones, wireless earbuds, and soundbars, moving into an expanding market for personal audio equipment.
I, for one, welcome our new Swiss overlords.
Maybe we’ll finally get an HD 800 that doesn’t have treble fuckery.
Hmmm…now this is true 
It’s not immediately apparent to me how consumer audio fits into a medical device company.
It seems the required mindset is completely different both in terms of the nature of the target audience and the design/marketing of the product.
It’s not a giant chi-fi, $3 IEM maker… That’s all I know.
I would not miss Sennheiser if they were to disappear. Other than the HD560s, they don’t produce anything relevant anymore.
I’d disagree on that…the 6series are very much still relevant even today. Probably the best starter headphone along with the Sundara.
Most people would agree with you.
Yeah I just saw your post saying you didn’t like the 6XX but that’s totally fine.
I am curious tho what you didn’t like about them…bass roll-off maybe?
Might disagree with that assessment. Have you tried HD800S? That is a very nice headphone.
I think they want the consumer to see hearing loss as a natural part of aging and hearing aids as non-medical devices. A natural progression from IEM’s to hearing aids all with the same company.
This is from the Sonova website:
“Personal audio devices have become an integral part of everyday life as people interact with their digital devices increasingly through sound. As hearing loss occurs in most cases as a normal part of ageing, first remedial steps may include non-medical solutions to enhance hearing in specific situations. Sonova believes that such complementary solutions will ultimately expand the traditional hearing aid market by increasing adoption rates.”
They paid EUR 200 Million for this purchase so they must see something.
The Sennheiser HD6XX just sound so awful to me compared to all of my other headphones. I don’t hear what so many others are hearing with them.
No, I have not tried the Sennheiser HD800S yet.
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The old original Sennheiser HD280 was my most used headphone back in the day. But now off course it has been replaced with the new revision. I have the new revision and am hoping to tube them when I get around to it.
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The Sennheiser HD560s is a decent headphone for newbs. It does not cost very much and it has a pleasing sound that I think most would find appealing. I own a pair but I don’t ever really grab them to listen because they can’t compete with my more expensive headphones. But, I do like the sound they produce.
I’d encourage you to check out the HD800S. They are a touch lacking in bass frequency response, but are some of the best soundstage headphones out there. I’ve had both the HD800 and HD800S. Ending up selling the earlier model base HD800 last year. Both are comfortable well made cans.
—Cheers. Robert
Thank you for the recommendation. I actually enjoy quite a few headphones that are considered bass shy so the HD800S just might be the ticket.
Does that mean they want to use headphone/iem plus mobile app as a starter hearing aid, then people will want to move up to a $3,000 hearing aid?
I guarantee you one thing - if Sennheiser becomes known as “the old people’s headphone” sales to non-old people are going to tank.
I would say that the majority of people will never even know that Sennheiser consumer audio was sold, as they say they will continue to use the same name.
Its like JBL, the vast majority of their consumers have no idea they are owned by Samsung.
I agree, unless Sonova changes the marketing. People may not know about the sale but they will notice the new marketing.
Yeah, this might stick out a little…
