HEILBRONN, Germany – After 101 years of private, family ownership, consumer and professional audio manufacturer Beyerdynamic has been sold to Dongguan City, China-based Cosonic Intelligent Technologies for a reported 122 million Euros (approximately $141 million USD).
Founded in Berlin in 1924 as “Elektrotechnische Fabrik Eugen Beyer” to build loudspeakers for the burgeoning talking cinema market. With the growth of radio broadcasting in the 1920s and 1930s, founder Eugen Beyer changed the company’s name to Beyerdynamic GmbH & Co. and diversified into the manufacturing compact devices based on moving coil (dynamic) transducers — headphones and microphones, which remained the company’s specialty for the next century.
The first Beyerdynamic product to come forth from this technology shift was the DT 48 (“Dynamic Telephone”) headphone in 1937, which was wildly successful, staying in production until 2012. Beyerdynamic launched the M 19 — its first studio-quality dynamic microphone – in 1937, with the mic’s excellent reproduction and durability bring it acceptance as the reporting microphone of the then-“Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft” (Reich Broadcasting Corporation).
Over the years, the company continued its successful focus on the headphone and microphone market (along with wireless mics and conferencing systems), reaching a worldwide audience, in home listening, broadcasting, live sound and recording studios. The accolades in each genre were frequent, with Beyerdynamic products achieving acclaim among the audio press, end users and industry awards. And over the years, many products developed into cherished classics, such as the 1985’s DT770 headphones and 1957’s M 160 double ribbon microphone (inducted into the NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame in 2019) and both of these are still in production today.
Cosonic is well-known as an OEM supplier for a variety of companies, and will build some Beyerdynamic products in China, but intends to keep the majority of its manufacturing in Heilbronn, Germany. Likewise, Beyerdynamic managing director Andreas Rapp stated that there were no plans to cut its 500-person workforce in its German or American facilities.
For more information, visit global.beyerdynamic.com.
