Sennheiser and Dear Reality: Inside a Partnership Aimed at Advancing Immersive Audio

On July 1, Sennheiser announced that it took a majority shareholding in Dear Reality GmbH, a German firm specializing in spatial audio algorithms and VR/AR audio software including the dearVR Pro encoder and dearVR Spatial Connect immersive mixing application.

Under the agreement, Dear Reality will continue to operate as a separate company and will continue to offer its dearVR products; Sennheiser and Dear Reality will develop joint VR/AR workflows in conjunction with Sennheiser’s AMBEO 3D audio program, which aims to cover immersive audio products and technologies for the entire signal chain.

“With AMBEO, Sennheiser is active in all areas of immersive audio production, from the initial recording to mixing and processing and, finally, reproduction,” says Sennheiser Co-CEO Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. “Audio software is an important building block in this production chain, especially as regards VR/AR applications.”

“We have been working closely with Sennheiser as an investor and partner for the past one and a half years and are excited to now become a part of the Sennheiser family,” add Dear Reality founders Achim Fell and Christian Sander. “3D audio software has an ever-increasing importance in audio production. Together, we will expand our innovative, professional end-to-end workflows—and develop new ones.”

Uwe Cremering, responsible for AMBEO Immersive Audio at Sennheiser, will support Dear Reality as a third CEO alongside founders Achim Fell and Christian Sander; he recently shared additional insight with us about the new structure and product-development plans.

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Uwe Cremering, Achim Fell and Christian Sander

Live Design: What are your first priorities in your new role with Dear Reality?

Uwe Cremering: I am thrilled to be part of the Dear Reality CEO team. Our first priorities regarding customer groups will be to develop the business with broadcasters, supporting them with the audio products, software, and workflows they require to deliver breathtaking immersive VR/AR/XR experiences. From a geographical standpoint, we have a very solid base in Europe and would like to further develop the business in the USA and in Asia.

LD: What excites you most about leveraging Dear Reality’s expertise in future product development?

UC: The most exciting aspect will be to activate the full potential for XR, especially as regards AR mixing and audio processing. At NAMM, Sennheiser and Dear Reality showed the first scene-based end-to-end workflow for VR and 360° productions, which we would like to firmly establish on the market.

LD: What are some ways VR/AR/MR have the potential to redefine our relationship with sound in a live environment, and what role do you envision Sennheiser and Dear Reality playing?

UC: We see the importance of spatial audio for live settings growing, and the Dear Reality immersive controller is not limited to controlling DAWs. We are very much looking forward to providing the immersive experience to live environments, and in fact, have made very good experiences with that a few years ago in a music club where we launched a 3D music session.