beyerdynamic
Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany · founded 1924
Credited with inventing the first dynamic headphone (the DT 48, late 1930s); its DT 770/880/990 line has been a studio-headphone standard for decades. After ~100 years of Beyer-family ownership, sold to China's Cosonic in June 2025 — a landmark end to its family-independent era.
beyerdynamic (legally beyerdynamic GmbH & Co. KG) is a German audio manufacturer founded in 1924 in Berlin by Eugen Beyer as “Elektrotechnische Fabrik Eugen Beyer,” relocating to Heilbronn in 1948 after its Berlin facilities were destroyed in WWII. It makes headphones, microphones, wireless systems, and conference systems, and is credited with the first dynamic headphone (the DT 48, late 1930s, produced until 2012); as of 2025 roughly 85% of its microphones and headphones were still hand-assembled in Heilbronn. After a century of Beyer-family ownership, in June 2025 it was sold to Chinese ODM/OEM audio manufacturer Cosonic Intelligent Technologies (a subsidiary of Shenzhen-listed Jiahe Intelligent Technology, ticker 300793) for a provisional ~EUR 122 million (~USD 140 million). The deal covered ~93.63% of the limited partnership interests plus 100% of the general partner BEYER DYNAMIC Verwaltungs-GmbH, ending family control.
At a glance
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Founder
- Eugen Beyer
- Founded
- 1924
- Headquarters
- Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Price range
- Budget → flagship
- Makes / sells
- over-ear headphones, studio/monitoring headphones, gaming headsets, microphones, wireless microphone systems, conference systems, in-ear monitors
- Known for
- dynamic headphones, studio reference headphones, Tesla driver technology, German hand-assembly, pro-audio microphones, conference and installed-sound systems
- Website
- www.beyerdynamic.com
Notable products
- DT 770 PRO — Closed-back studio/monitoring headphone; long-running industry standard
- DT 880 — Semi-open studio headphone
- DT 990 PRO — Open-back studio/monitoring headphone
- DT 48 — First dynamic headphone (late 1930s); produced until 2012
- DT 1990 PRO — Open-back Tesla-driver reference headphone
- M 160 — Classic hypercardioid ribbon microphone
- M 88 — Dynamic hypercardioid microphone
Sources: Beyerdynamic — Wikipedia · Century-Old German Brand Beyerdynamic Acquired — audioXpress · Headphone maker Beyerdynamic sold to China's Cosonic for $139m — Music Business Worldwide · A journey through 100 years of beyerdynamic — beyerdynamic Blog · Beyerdynamic Sold to Chinese OEM Specialist Cosonic — StereoNET