Schoeps Mikrophone: 75 Years Of Family-Led Innovation
by Sarah Jones
16th June 2023
Sponsored by Schoeps Microphones
A range of early Schoeps microphones, including the CM50, second from left.
For 75 years, Schoeps has been a leader in microphone design, known for simple, elegant products of outstanding quality that suit a range production scenarios. By continually breaking new ground in its ongoing quest for transparency, the company has played an outsize role in advancing microphone technology, earning legions of fans in studios, sets, and stages around the globe.
Dr. Karl Schoeps
The post-WWII period: early days
Schoeps’ journey is one of sonic excellence and visionary innovation, cultivated through generations of family leadership. The company’s origin story begins in 1948 in the picturesque village of Durlach, Germany. Two visionary engineers, Drs. Karl Schoeps and Wilhelm Küsters, emerged from the prestigious halls of the Technical College of Karlsruhe with the mission to help rebuild post-war civilian life, developing sound systems for the cinemas and public meeting halls being restored and constructed across southwestern Germany. On the side, they delved into recording technologies, building tape recorders for the phonograph industry and performing occasional disc mastering, inspiring the company name Schall-Technik (“sound technology”) Dr.-Ing Karl Schoeps.
In 1950, the team, now totaling four employees, developed their first condenser microphone capsule, the CM50, which offered an extended frequency response and a natural sound quality that surpassed anything on the market.
Broadcasting demands and a new factory
Everything changed in 1952 when Schoeps’ new CM 51/3 landed in the hands of some engineers from the French broadcasting company RTF - Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française - renamed to Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) after 1964. In short order, every broadcast studio in the country was equipped with the microphone. With more than half of its products now being exported to France, Schoeps drew the attention of Telefunken, which became its international distributor, cementing its global reach.
The Schoeps factory in 1956, built in a former brewery. The company is still based here today.
Until then, products were designed and built in the founders’ apartments, but in 1953 the growing company moved into the former home of the Durlacher brewery, a building dating back to 1662. (Today, the company remains in the historic structure, which is among the oldest preserved sites in Durlach.) With a new space and a strong relationship with Telefunken, which sold Schoeps microphones under its own brand, the company’s product range quickly expanded; product highlights in the 1960s include the M221 B miniature tube condenser, featuring eight interchangeable capsules; the CMT 20 Series, the world’s first phantom-powered microphones; and CMTS stereo microphones, many of which are still in use today.
Pushing innovation: enter the Collete Series
In 1970, a young talent named Jörg Wuttke joined the team. Trained by Günther Kurtze, the inventor of the "shotgun" directional microphone, Wuttke brought fresh ideas to the company, and when Dr. Küsters passed away in 1971, he took the reins as the technical director.
A major milestone came in 1974 with the debut of the Colette modular microphone system, which defined a new category with its extensive selection of interchangeable capsules, its transformerless amplifiers, and its system of "active accessories" that allowed capsules to be placed away from their amplifiers without sonic compromise.
The Colette Series marked a new era of innovation and solidified Schoeps' reputation as a trailblazer; five decades later, the line is still thriving, featuring 20 capsules, six microphone amplifiers, and a broad range of accessories, as well as stereo microphones and accessories for stereo and surround.
Fast forward to 1980, when Ulrich Schoeps, son of founder Karl Schoeps, joined the ranks. In 1993, when Karl Schoeps passed, the younger Schoeps took over management, continuing the family’s legacy of leadership.
Innovations over the ensuing two decades included the CCM (Compact Condenser Microphone) Series, which were the world’s smallest condensers when they debuted in 1994; the CMIT 5 shotgun (“the blue one”), introduced in 2005; and the iconic V4 U small-diaphragm vocal mic, featuring classic aesthetics modeled after the original CM 51/3.
The V4 U microphone features vintage styling.
All along the way, Schoeps made strides in ORTF recording techniques, providing microphones used to pioneer the method pioneered by the French broadcaster. The company launched many ORTF microphones, arrays, and accessories over the years, beginning with the MSTC 54 ORTF Stereo Microphone in 1954, and later adapted the technique to surround-sound and 3D recording.
Geared for the future
Today, Schoeps Co-CEOs Dr. Helmut Wittek and Karin Fléing lead a team of 50 employees who develop and produce the company’s product offerings at its original headquarters in Durlach, which is now part of the city of Karlsruhe. Unlike large, mass-market brands, Schoeps focuses on a niche professional market, and the company’s small size and depth of production resources let it stay it agile and responsive to the needs of its customers when it comes to custom products, service, and consultation.
In addition to its revered Colette system, Schoeps designs and manufactures microphones for a broader range of applications than ever, making ever-deeper inroads into film, sports, and conference markets.
Schoeps continues the family tradition today, designing and producing microphones in the same bulling since 1953.
As its product portfolio expands, the company is able to take advantage of modern electronic components and new manufacturing methods to build products that are smaller, like the CMC1 Colette miniature amplifier, and more robust in the face of radio interference and extreme weather conditions. “These two factors drive the recent development of Schoeps products,” says Florian Gundert, Schoeps’ marketing manager. “This applies not only to new products, but also to the continuous development and improvement of our existing product portfolio.”
What sets Schoeps apart: a family tradition
Even though modern construction, measurement, and simulation technologies streamline the microphone development process, in the end, Gundert explains, the human ear is always the final judge. “So listening tests are a critical step in every new development.”
Looking to the future, Schoeps is focusing on harnessing digital technology in intelligent and useful features. It plans to continue to expand its modular Colette series and says digitalization will play a role in that process. And the CMD 42 digital Colette amplifier is currently in its second beta phase.
For Schoeps, carrying on the tradition of the family business is paramount to success. “Profit maximization is not a corporate goal for Schoeps,” Wittek explains. “Balanced consideration of all stakeholders, with special focus on employee and customer satisfaction, is at the center of our corporate identity. This enables the company to make long-term, sustainable decisions. This is not self-evident even for a family business, and is a merit and express obligation of the owners, the Schoeps family.”
Ulrich Schoeps, Helmut Wittek, and Karin Fléing
From its humble beginnings in the ashes of post-war reconstruction, Schoeps has become a beacon of innovation, setting the gold standard for microphones. When asked what the founders would be most surprised to learn about the company today, Gundert points to the diverse applications where Schoeps microphones are used. In the early years, Schoeps products were mainly used in front of classical orchestras and in broadcasting facilities, he explains. “Nowadays they can also be found in many studios, on film sets, in parliaments, and in stadiums at international sports events.”
Wittek says that Schoeps aims to carry the legacy of the past 75 years far into the future, producing high-quality, reliable tools for today’s creatives and recording engineers. “A given sound may fade,” he says, “but Schoeps microphones and the recordings made with them are here to stay.”
For more on Schoeps Microphones, visit: https://schoeps.de/
A range of early Schoeps microphones, including the CM50, second from left.
For 75 years, Schoeps has been a leader in microphone design, known for simple, elegant products of outstanding quality that suit a range production scenarios. By continually breaking new ground in its ongoing quest for transparency, the company has played an outsize role in advancing microphone technology, earning legions of fans in studios, sets, and stages around the globe.
Dr. Karl SchoepsSchoeps’ journey is one of sonic excellence and visionary innovation, cultivated through generations of family leadership. The company’s origin story begins in 1948 in the picturesque village of Durlach, Germany. Two visionary engineers, Drs. Karl Schoeps and Wilhelm Küsters, emerged from the prestigious halls of the Technical College of Karlsruhe with the mission to help rebuild post-war civilian life, developing sound systems for the cinemas and public meeting halls being restored and constructed across southwestern Germany. On the side, they delved into recording technologies, building tape recorders for the phonograph industry and performing occasional disc mastering, inspiring the company name Schall-Technik (“sound technology”) Dr.-Ing Karl Schoeps.
In 1950, the team, now totaling four employees, developed their first condenser microphone capsule, the CM50, which offered an extended frequency response and a natural sound quality that surpassed anything on the market.
Broadcasting demands and a new factory
Everything changed in 1952 when Schoeps’ new CM 51/3 landed in the hands of some engineers from the French broadcasting company RTF - Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française - renamed to Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) after 1964. In short order, every broadcast studio in the country was equipped with the microphone. With more than half of its products now being exported to France, Schoeps drew the attention of Telefunken, which became its international distributor, cementing its global reach.
The Schoeps factory in 1956, built in a former brewery. The company is still based here today.
Until then, products were designed and built in the founders’ apartments, but in 1953 the growing company moved into the former home of the Durlacher brewery, a building dating back to 1662. (Today, the company remains in the historic structure, which is among the oldest preserved sites in Durlach.) With a new space and a strong relationship with Telefunken, which sold Schoeps microphones under its own brand, the company’s product range quickly expanded; product highlights in the 1960s include the M221 B miniature tube condenser, featuring eight interchangeable capsules; the CMT 20 Series, the world’s first phantom-powered microphones; and CMTS stereo microphones, many of which are still in use today.
Pushing innovation: enter the Collete Series
In 1970, a young talent named Jörg Wuttke joined the team. Trained by Günther Kurtze, the inventor of the "shotgun" directional microphone, Wuttke brought fresh ideas to the company, and when Dr. Küsters passed away in 1971, he took the reins as the technical director.
The Colette Series, introduced in 1974.
The Colette Series marked a new era of innovation and solidified Schoeps' reputation as a trailblazer; five decades later, the line is still thriving, featuring 20 capsules, six microphone amplifiers, and a broad range of accessories, as well as stereo microphones and accessories for stereo and surround.
Fast forward to 1980, when Ulrich Schoeps, son of founder Karl Schoeps, joined the ranks. In 1993, when Karl Schoeps passed, the younger Schoeps took over management, continuing the family’s legacy of leadership.
Innovations over the ensuing two decades included the CCM (Compact Condenser Microphone) Series, which were the world’s smallest condensers when they debuted in 1994; the CMIT 5 shotgun (“the blue one”), introduced in 2005; and the iconic V4 U small-diaphragm vocal mic, featuring classic aesthetics modeled after the original CM 51/3.
The V4 U microphone features vintage styling.
Geared for the future
Today, Schoeps Co-CEOs Dr. Helmut Wittek and Karin Fléing lead a team of 50 employees who develop and produce the company’s product offerings at its original headquarters in Durlach, which is now part of the city of Karlsruhe. Unlike large, mass-market brands, Schoeps focuses on a niche professional market, and the company’s small size and depth of production resources let it stay it agile and responsive to the needs of its customers when it comes to custom products, service, and consultation.
In addition to its revered Colette system, Schoeps designs and manufactures microphones for a broader range of applications than ever, making ever-deeper inroads into film, sports, and conference markets.
Schoeps continues the family tradition today, designing and producing microphones in the same bulling since 1953.
As its product portfolio expands, the company is able to take advantage of modern electronic components and new manufacturing methods to build products that are smaller, like the CMC1 Colette miniature amplifier, and more robust in the face of radio interference and extreme weather conditions. “These two factors drive the recent development of Schoeps products,” says Florian Gundert, Schoeps’ marketing manager. “This applies not only to new products, but also to the continuous development and improvement of our existing product portfolio.”
What sets Schoeps apart: a family tradition
Even though modern construction, measurement, and simulation technologies streamline the microphone development process, in the end, Gundert explains, the human ear is always the final judge. “So listening tests are a critical step in every new development.”
Looking to the future, Schoeps is focusing on harnessing digital technology in intelligent and useful features. It plans to continue to expand its modular Colette series and says digitalization will play a role in that process. And the CMD 42 digital Colette amplifier is currently in its second beta phase.
For Schoeps, carrying on the tradition of the family business is paramount to success. “Profit maximization is not a corporate goal for Schoeps,” Wittek explains. “Balanced consideration of all stakeholders, with special focus on employee and customer satisfaction, is at the center of our corporate identity. This enables the company to make long-term, sustainable decisions. This is not self-evident even for a family business, and is a merit and express obligation of the owners, the Schoeps family.”
Ulrich Schoeps, Helmut Wittek, and Karin Fléing
From its humble beginnings in the ashes of post-war reconstruction, Schoeps has become a beacon of innovation, setting the gold standard for microphones. When asked what the founders would be most surprised to learn about the company today, Gundert points to the diverse applications where Schoeps microphones are used. In the early years, Schoeps products were mainly used in front of classical orchestras and in broadcasting facilities, he explains. “Nowadays they can also be found in many studios, on film sets, in parliaments, and in stadiums at international sports events.”
Wittek says that Schoeps aims to carry the legacy of the past 75 years far into the future, producing high-quality, reliable tools for today’s creatives and recording engineers. “A given sound may fade,” he says, “but Schoeps microphones and the recordings made with them are here to stay.”
For more on Schoeps Microphones, visit: https://schoeps.de/
