Sennheiser

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 2010: It's unlikely that anyone tuning in for the glitz and glamour of "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" broadcast on CBS on December 1st watched the show specifically to discover what audio equipment was being used. But during the performance by the show's sole musical guests, the triple Grammy Award-winning Black Eyed Peas, as well as behind the scenes during taping at the Sixty-Ninth Regiment Armory in New York City, Sennheiser communications headsets, wireless microphones and personal monitor systems were in abundance.

According to Vinny Siniscal of Firehouse Productions, the communications solutions provider for the event supplied well over a hundred Sennheiser headsets for the show's production staff. Those included the HMD 281 Pro, a single-sided headset with dynamic super-cardioid boom microphone, and the HMD 280 Pro dual-earpiece version. The Sennheiser headsets were used in conjunction with the Riedel Artist Digital Matrix intercom system provided by Firehouse for the event. "It's a nice fit," says Siniscal, "the two of them together."

He comments, "Those headsets have become very popular. The mic element sounds great and the headset is really comfortable. In fact, we almost want to take credit for a lot of the TV trucks abandoning the traditional favorite brand for the Sennheiser HMDs. They're basically turning into an industry standard."

In fact, the headsets have proved so popular with clients that Firehouse Productions has had to increase its rental inventory, says Siniscal. "We've got close to two hundred in total and we can't keep them on the shelf. So we just bought another fifty of the HMD 281s."

Montréal-based sound and video production provider Solotech supplied Sennheiser gear for the Black Eyed Peas, who performed two songs, including their major hit single, "Boom Boom Pow." According to Patrice Lavoie, Solotech system tech for the event, "We had SR 3256 twin stereo transmitters and EK 3253 belt packs, along with an A 5000-CP antenna and an AC 3000 wideband antenna combiner for this event." Black Eyed Peas members Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap each used a Sennheiser SKM 835 G2 wireless vocal microphone, while will.i.am made use of the new SKM 2000 wireless vocal mic.

Sound design for the event was provided by Erich Bechtel of New York's ADI (Audible Difference Inc.).

"The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" was taped at the Sixty-Ninth Regiment Armory, a National Historical Landmark building located on Lexington Avenue in lower Manhattan, on November 19th and broadcast on the CBS Television Network in primetime on December 1st. The holiday-infused lingerie runway show, which began in 1995 and moved from the internet to broadcast television in 2001, featured supermodels Heidi Klum, as host, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller, Adriana Lima, and Behati Prinsloo, as well as the Black Eyed Peas. Earlier this year the Black Eyed Peas made history with a record-breaking 26 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their songs "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling."

ABOUT SENNHEISER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION

Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Sennheiser's pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.