Audio specialist Sennheiser has been honoured with three awards at the prestigious International Forum Design competition. The winning products included the MOMENTUM headphones, the high-end IE 800 in-ear phones and the HDVD 800 headphone amplifier, all of which impressed the international jury with their sophisticated, cutting-edge design, to scoop a coveted iF award. 
These new top-of-the-range Sennheiser products deliver a perfect combination of sound and style. The jury at this year’s iF Product Design Awards noted how each skilfully combined form and function, with no compromises. This year, 49 design experts judged 4,352 entries in 16 categories, honouring only the best products with the ultimate accolade – an iF Design award. The judges acknowledged excellence in product design based on criteria including design quality, degree of innovation, functionality or brand value. The MOMENTUM, IE 800 headphones and the HDVD 800 headphone amplifier distinguished themselves in the ‘Audio/Video’ category.
“Combining an uncompromising sound performance with a pure design is key to our products in the Sennheiser Style Selection and high-end segment. Therefore we are delighted that the Jury of the International Forum Design has recognised these winning qualities in three of our latest releases,” said Maurice Quarré, Director Product Lifecycle Management at Sennheiser Consumer Electronics.
The MOMENTUM is part of Sennheiser’s Style Selection. Its minimalist design resolutely cuts out superfluities, making the headphones appear understated and timeless, yet at the same time stylishly urban. The high-quality, predominantly natural materials emphasize the headphones’ pure aesthetics. People love them for how they look and also for how they feel – combining design and luxurious textures to excite the sense of touch with the ultimate in comfort to wear. The MOMENTUM’s sound is like its design: pure and unadulterated.
Bursting with innovations, the IE 800 high-end in-ear headphones ensure that audiophiles can get as close as possible to perfect sound even when they’re on the move. They feature high-quality materials such as the scratch-resistant ceramic housing, while the pure design language and black/silver finish give them that extra special something. To guarantee a perfect fit, Sennheiser has developed new ear adapters with an oval shape based on extensive international studies in ergonomics.
The headphone amplifier HDVD 800 has been designed with meticulous attention to detail inside and out. The aluminium housing, the potentiometer control and the rotary switch for selecting the source are made of anodised aluminium, while the front panel of the housing and the controls are milled from solid material. A glass panel embedded in the aluminium housing of the amplifier gives a clear view of the HDVD 800’s top-quality interior. The material selection has been thought through down to the smallest detail in order to fully exploit the amplifier’s sound potential.
All award winners will be on show from February 2013 in the iF Online Exhibition at www.ifdesign.de.
About the iF Product Design Awards
The iF Product Design Award is one of the world’s most highly regarded design competitions. The wide-ranging competition covers all areas of product design and has been organised annually since 1953 by the International Forum Design. The international jury evaluates the contributions on the basis of their design quality, finish, choice of materials, degree of innovation and functionality. The best products in a total of 16 categories are chosen and subsequently presented in a product design yearbook and an exhibition.
About Sennheiser
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €531 million euros in 2011. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers), and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).