We at BW Businessworld spoke with Sennheiser's co-CEO last year in May. We were told Sennheiser began operations in India over 16 years ago with a small team of three, exploring a market where headphones were merely phone accessories and music on the go was unheard of. Fast forward to 2025, and Sennheiser is a major player in the Indian audio market with the third generation of the family-owned company leading the way.
Dr Andreas Sennheiser, grandson of Professor Dr Fritz Sennheiser, who leads the company with his brother Daniel Sennheiser as Co-CEO, told BW that the company has worked hard to make our products smarter and more connected. “Whether it’s ceiling microphones linking with other devices or speakers from different brands, building an ecosystem is key”, he added. The India story is not any different.
We approached Vipin Pungalia, Director of Sales, India - Pro Audio, and Naveen Sridhara, Director of Sales, India - Business Communication, Sennheiser, to understand the company’s trajectory in 2026, its plans to expand its India operations, and its vision for the long run. Here are the excerpts from the interaction.
Sennheiser India has had a very interesting year. What would you say was the company's biggest milestone in 2025, and what is the company's motto in 2026?
Vipin: We had an interesting year marked by the rapid growth of India’s creator economy, broadcasters, and live performance ecosystem, all of which are increasingly demanding richer, more immersive sound experiences. Our biggest milestone this year has been our global 80th anniversary of building the future of audio through bold ideas, groundbreaking innovations, and occasionally, technologies that were simply ahead of their time.
Over eight decades, Sennheiser has been at the heart of this evolution, consistently challenging the limits of what’s possible in sound. This celebration is not about the number of years but more about what you learn for the future. It's about a journey full of exciting experiences, great curiosity, courageous decisions and, above all, a passion for sound.
As we move into 2026, our motto is to build the future of audio by creating breathtaking and unique audio experiences for our customers worldwide. We are focused on empowering our customers with innovative technology-backed solutions that solve their challenges and ensuring world-class audio solutions are accessible across every segment, from large-scale events to creators.
2025 was a landmark year for spectrum efficiency with the deployment of WMAS (Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems) in global markets. As we look at the year ahead for India, do you see the Indian live sound industry, which is often cost-sensitive, fully embracing this broadband technology?
Vipin: India is gradually moving from a price-obsessed market to one that is increasingly value-conscious, with users more willing to pay a premium when they clearly understand how a product can deliver meaningful improvements to their workflows and outcomes. In this context, the Indian live sound industry shows strong potential to adopt WMAS broadband technology, particularly in premium events, large-scale productions, and broadcast environments where reliability, performance, and spectrum efficiency take precedence over upfront costs.
We are already seeing encouraging adoption, with Spectera shipped to key sound rental customers across India. The demand we’re already seeing, from artists, broadcasters, and rental companies, shows how quickly India is ready to adopt this next-generation workflow, and as the value proposition becomes better understood, broader adoption across the industry will follow.
With the sheer number of music festivals and large-scale sporting events (like the IPL) we saw in 2025, RF coordination has become a nightmare. For the year ahead, how is Sennheiser’s 'Spectera' ecosystem helping Indian broadcast engineers manage this shrinking spectrum? Are we moving towards a completely software-defined wireless future?
Vipin: Spectera’s bidirectional wideband design is a game-changer for India, especially as RF coordination becomes increasingly complex at large-scale events. By merging microphones, IEMs, and control data into one unified wireless ecosystem, a single Spectera rack can handle up to 64 channels. This significantly reduces RF complexity, improves reliability, and gives sound & broadcast engineers greater control from one platform.
For large events, rental companies earlier had to carry multiple racks to manage 32 or 64 channels. With Spectera, this is reduced to a single, fully digital unit. The system also offers a future-proof investment - customers can start with 16 channels and expand simply by adding body packs, without needing new base stations. In India's very congested wireless spectrum environment, this reliability in crowded conditions is crucial. Engineers can control everything through mobile or tablet apps using our SoundBase platform.
It's like the move from a push-button phone to a smartphone, which becomes anything you want it to be depending on software-defined features.
In 2025, the TeamConnect Ceiling (TCC) solutions became a staple in premium boardrooms. However, as we look to 2026, the challenge seems to be 'Meeting Equity' in medium and smaller rooms. How is Sennheiser planning to democratise 'Voice Lift' technology for the mass-market meeting rooms in India this coming year?
Naveen: Sennheiser has solutions for small and medium meeting rooms through the TC bar, which comes in 2 variants -TC Bar S(small) for small meeting rooms up to 6 pax, and TC Bar M (medium) for 6-8 pax. The bar comes with enhanced AI features like autoframing and person tiling, so all participants can be seen clearly. A big advantage is that it offers Dante connectivity, which is an industry first for a UC Bar. With Dante connectivity, we offer direct connectivity to a ceiling microphone, keeping the table clutter-free and we also have a wireless boundary mic that can be connected directly.
How does Sennheiser’s service philosophy differentiate itself from its competitors?
Naveen: Sennheiser’s service philosophy is built on the same foundation as our products, delivering sound experiences you can truly rely on. Trusted by legends and loved by listeners, we support artists, engineers, and creators with the precision and clarity they need to bring their vision to life.
What sets us apart is our commitment to preserving performance throughout the product lifecycle. Our service teams focus on restoring products to their original specifications, ensuring compatibility with current standards, and delivering efficient, high-quality support with minimal downtime. This dedication to reliability and customer satisfaction is what truly differentiates Sennheiser from its competitors.
Could you take us through the technology backbone powering Sennheiser's diagnostics, calibration, and testing processes?
Naveen: Sennheiser invests more than the industry standard when it comes to R&D and product development. This is backed by industry-standard hardware and software teams that continuously monitor industry trends while ensuring every product meets the highest quality and performance standards.
Our customers trust us due to the reliability of our products. Going forward, Sennheiser is providing customers with a Cloud option, where updates can be sent to products remotely, ensuring the latest features are enabled on the system.
Can you walk us through the technological innovations Sennheiser is implementing regarding remote diagnostics? With products like the TeamConnect family and WMAS being software-driven, are we moving toward a model where Sennheiser engineers can troubleshoot a boardroom in Mumbai remotely from your Gurugram office?
Naveen: We have built a support ecosystem that removes complexity and shortens response times with two dedicated teams focused on remote diagnostics and solutions. Our Technical Application Engineering team provides both remote diagnostics and on-site support when needed
Complementing this is our Customer Service team, which operates dedicated support channels including a toll-free number and email. Staffed by trained experts, the team delivers Level-1 support to quickly resolve technical queries and guide users toward optimal performance.
In an era of omnichannel engagement, how is Sennheiser creating a seamless 'multi-touchpoint' experience for the professional user?
Naveen: Sennheiser delivers a seamless multi-touchpoint experience by aligning its entire professional ecosystem around the end user. A strong network of system integrators across India ensures installations meet global standards. AV Consultants are key in our industry who ensure that the right products are proposed to the end user. This is further strengthened through close collaboration with global alliance partners to deliver seamless, end-to-end solutions. We also participate in end-user events to showcase solutions to users, where they can experience our solutions firsthand.
The Creator Economy in India is professionalising rapidly, with YouTubers investing in Neumann and high-end Sennheiser gear. Unlike large broadcasters, these individual creators don’t have IT teams. How would you say Sennheiser is democratising pro-level service for this fragmented but high-value demographic?
Vipin: Our Technical Application Engineering team regularly conducts hands-on training sessions designed specifically to help sound engineers and creators stay up to date with the latest audio technologies, workflows, and best practices.
We also actively engage with the community at industry-relevant expos and workshops, such as major broadcast shows like Broadcast India, where the entire industry, including creators and professionals, comes together. At these forums, we have product demonstrations and ensure our technical experts are available on the ground to offer guidance and answer questions.
Looking at the roadmap for 2026, if you had to place a bet on one vertical in India, Government, Education, or Live Sound, to be your biggest growth engine, which one would it be and why?
Naveen: If I had to place a bet looking ahead to 2026, government would be the growth vertical as they continue to invest heavily in digital communication, especially under Digital India initiatives, where training and large-scale information dissemination rely on high-quality audio-visual solutions. Government projects today are highly sophisticated and match global standards of technology.
Education offers strong long-term potential, with Institutes of National Importance and universities investing in world-class infrastructure, collaboration, and immersive training environments. Within these sectors, audio has become critical—if audio fails, communication, collaboration, and learning fail.
If you had to articulate Sennheiser India’s vision for Customer Experience in 2026 in a single sentence, moving beyond just fixing what is broken, what would that promise be to your Indian customers?
Vipin: Our promise for 2026 is to deliver a consistently premium Sennheiser experience across India, building the future of audio by bringing remarkable, reliable sound experiences to our customers, trusted by legends and loved by listeners.
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