Behringer
Encyclopedia
Behringer is an audio equipment
company founded by Uli Behringer in 1989, in Willich
, Germany
. Behringer was listed as the 14th largest manufacturer of music products in 2007. Behringer is a multi-national group of companies, with direct marketing presence in 10 countries or territories and a sales network in over 130 countries around the world. Though originally a German manufacturer, the company's products are now imported from China
.
The company is owned by Music Group
, a holding company chaired by Uli Behringer, which also owns other audio companies such as Midas
, Klark Teknik
and Bugera, as well as Electronic Manufacturing Services company Eurotec.
(the UB-1) by the age of 16.
While studying sound engineering and classical piano at the Robert Schumann conservatory in Düsseldorf
, Behringer found the university had limited equipment for student use, so he started to build his own products. His fellow students requested equipment from him too, and soon he was receiving more orders than he could handle himself, leading to the creation of Behringer Inc.
In the early days, Behringer focused on studio audio processors such as noise reduction systems and compressors, but the product line soon included guitar amps, PA amplifiers and loudspeakers, mixing boards, stompboxes, recording interfaces, microphones, digital pianos, guitars, lighting equipment, etc. The appeal of Behringer's products was the package of performance and low price.
While Behringer products were manufactured in Willich, Germany, many of the individual components were imported from mainland China. In 1990, to lower production costs, Behringer shifted production from West Germany to mainland China. Initially, subcontractors were engaged to produce the equipment. By 1997, Uli Behringer had relocated to Hong Kong in an effort to supervise manufacturing quality and to better understand Chinese culture.
According to Uli Behringer his piano teacher, impressed with his sense of perfect pitch, nicknamed him "The Ear," the inspiration for the Behringer Ear logo. The highlighted "ING" stands for "diploma engineer," or the German academic title "Dipl.-Ing," which he received upon his graduation from the University of Düsseldorf.
The logo was updated to the current logo on September 2010.
Corporation, a US-based semi-conductor manufacturer. CoolAudio is a high-power Class-D "digital" amplification technology with power ratings up to 4,000 Watts and efficiencies up to 90% which has been rated high audio quality. The acquisition included an extensive intellectual property portfolio and licensees such as Alpine and Rowe, among others.
There is a waiting list of those wishing to be employed at Behringer City.
(FCC) fined Behringer $1M, issuing a Notice of Apparent Liability against Behringer, claiming that 50 of the company's products had not been tested for conducted and radiated emissions limits as required by US law, and noting that Behringer continued to sell the products for a year after being notified. Behringer had believed that since the units had passed stringent European CE standards, they would also comply with FCC verification requirements. According to Behringer, it had overlooked the differences in testing standards and procedures under FCC and European requirements and has since implemented a complete UL certified safety and EMC testing laboratory under the UL certified witness program, including an in-house audit and global regulatory review system.
accused Behringer of trademark and trade dress
infringement, and brought suit seeking $327M in damages but such claims were later rejected by the court. In their suit, Mackie said that Behringer had a history of copying products by other manufacturers and selling them as their own. The Mackie suit detailed an instance in which Behringer was sued by Aphex Systems
for copying the Aural Exciter Type F—in that case Aphex Systems won 690,000 Deutsche Marks. The Mackie suit also mentioned similar cases filed by BBE, dbx
and Drawmer. On November 30, 1999, the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington, dismissed Mackie claims that Behringer had infringed on Mackie copyrights with its MX 8000 mixer, noting that circuit board layout was not covered by U.S. copyright laws.
In 2005, Roland Corporation
sued to enforce Roland's trade dress, trademark, and other intellectual property rights with regard to Behringer's recently released guitar pedals. The two companies came to a confidential settlement in 2006 after Behringer changed their designs.
In 2009 Peavey Electronics Corp. filed two lawsuits against various companies under Behringer/Music Group umbrella for patent infringement, federal and common law trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution and unfair competition.
In 2011 The Music Group filed a lawsuit against Peavey for "false advertising, false patent marking and unfair competition". Basically, the lawsuit was about Peavey also failing to comply with the same FCC regulations Behringer had troubles with, which was felt to create unfair competitive advantage.
, and driven by the Kaizen
philosophy of continual improvement, Behringer makes efforts to help its employees to improve. "Behringer University" supplies employees with training resources and E-learning courses to hone their career skills within the company. This project includes classes for management, career planning, health, language, and general knowledge.
of Germany.
Behringer products have received industry recognition as well. Products to receive industry recognition include:
Audio equipment
A piece of audio equipment is any device designed principally to reproduce, record or process sound. This includes microphones, radio receivers, AV receivers, CD players, tape recorders, amplifiers, mixing consoles, effects units and loudspeakers....
company founded by Uli Behringer in 1989, in Willich
Willich
Willich is a town in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the cities of Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and Krefeld, about 30 kilometres from the border with the Netherlands.-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Behringer was listed as the 14th largest manufacturer of music products in 2007. Behringer is a multi-national group of companies, with direct marketing presence in 10 countries or territories and a sales network in over 130 countries around the world. Though originally a German manufacturer, the company's products are now imported from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The company is owned by Music Group
Music Group (company)
Music Group is a holding company based in Manila, Philippines. It is chaired by Uli Behringer, founder of Behringer.-History:In December 2009, Music Group acquired Midas and Klark Teknik from Bosch Communications Systems of Bosch Group.-Portfolio:, Music Group's portfolio includes:* Midas* Klark...
, a holding company chaired by Uli Behringer, which also owns other audio companies such as Midas
Midas Consoles
Midas has been designing and manufacturing audio consoles since the early 1970s.Later on it became part of the Telex group. When, in January 2006, Telex Communications was acquired by the Bosch group, Midas consoles became part of the business unit "Bosch Communications Systems"...
, Klark Teknik
Klark Teknik
1971 saw the start of Klark Teknik when brothers Phillip and Terence Clarke formed “Klark Equipment” a company that produced garage forecourt equipment; vending style vacuum cleaners, space heaters and other similar products....
and Bugera, as well as Electronic Manufacturing Services company Eurotec.
1989–2001: Foundation and early development
Uli Behringer, the company's founder, was committed to music and technology from a very early age, and had constructed a synthesizerSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
(the UB-1) by the age of 16.
While studying sound engineering and classical piano at the Robert Schumann conservatory in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Behringer found the university had limited equipment for student use, so he started to build his own products. His fellow students requested equipment from him too, and soon he was receiving more orders than he could handle himself, leading to the creation of Behringer Inc.
In the early days, Behringer focused on studio audio processors such as noise reduction systems and compressors, but the product line soon included guitar amps, PA amplifiers and loudspeakers, mixing boards, stompboxes, recording interfaces, microphones, digital pianos, guitars, lighting equipment, etc. The appeal of Behringer's products was the package of performance and low price.
While Behringer products were manufactured in Willich, Germany, many of the individual components were imported from mainland China. In 1990, to lower production costs, Behringer shifted production from West Germany to mainland China. Initially, subcontractors were engaged to produce the equipment. By 1997, Uli Behringer had relocated to Hong Kong in an effort to supervise manufacturing quality and to better understand Chinese culture.
Ear logo
The logo was updated to the current logo on September 2010.
CoolAudio acquisition
In May 2000, Behringer acquired the rights to the entire CoolAudio technology from IntersilIntersil
Intersil Corporation is an American company that specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of high-performance analog semiconductors for four high-growth markets — Communications, Computing, High End Consumer and Industrial.-Company history:...
Corporation, a US-based semi-conductor manufacturer. CoolAudio is a high-power Class-D "digital" amplification technology with power ratings up to 4,000 Watts and efficiencies up to 90% which has been rated high audio quality. The acquisition included an extensive intellectual property portfolio and licensees such as Alpine and Rowe, among others.
2002–2007: Behringer City
In 2002, Behringer completed its own factory, Behringer City, in Zhongshan of China's Guangdong province after it consolidated more than ten separate production locations into one vertically integrated plant. Comprising eight buildings that produces electronics, speakers, guitars and digital pianos and also hosts an onsite health clinic. This strategy was different than that taken by other musical instrument companies who used third party manufacturers. Choosing to run a self-contained plant allowed Behringer a greater level of quality control. The 1200000 square feet (111,483.6 m²) manufacturing complex in Zhongshan ships more than 2.5 million Behringer products per year to markets around the globe. The plant turns out over 50,000 mixers per month with a failure rate that is less than 0.1%.There is a waiting list of those wishing to be employed at Behringer City.
FCC dispute
In February 2006, the US Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) fined Behringer $1M, issuing a Notice of Apparent Liability against Behringer, claiming that 50 of the company's products had not been tested for conducted and radiated emissions limits as required by US law, and noting that Behringer continued to sell the products for a year after being notified. Behringer had believed that since the units had passed stringent European CE standards, they would also comply with FCC verification requirements. According to Behringer, it had overlooked the differences in testing standards and procedures under FCC and European requirements and has since implemented a complete UL certified safety and EMC testing laboratory under the UL certified witness program, including an in-house audit and global regulatory review system.
Legal cases
In June 1997, MackieMackie
Mackie is a brand of the United States-based company LOUD Technologies. The Mackie brand is used on professional music and recording equipment, such as mixing consoles, loudspeakers, and DAW control surfaces....
accused Behringer of trademark and trade dress
Trade dress
Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that signify the source of the product to consumers...
infringement, and brought suit seeking $327M in damages but such claims were later rejected by the court. In their suit, Mackie said that Behringer had a history of copying products by other manufacturers and selling them as their own. The Mackie suit detailed an instance in which Behringer was sued by Aphex Systems
Aphex Systems
Aphex is a brand of audio signal processing equipment. Aphex Systems was founded in 1975 in Massachusetts by Marvin Caesar and Curt Knoppel, the inventor of the Aural Exciter. The company changed its name to Aphex in 2011.-About Aphex:...
for copying the Aural Exciter Type F—in that case Aphex Systems won 690,000 Deutsche Marks. The Mackie suit also mentioned similar cases filed by BBE, dbx
Dbx, Inc.
dbx, Inc. is an American producer of professional audio recording equipment. It was founded by David E. Blackmer in 1971. The original company goal was: "To get closer to the realism of a live performance." Its early products were based on the concept of using decibel expansion which gave the...
and Drawmer. On November 30, 1999, the U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington, dismissed Mackie claims that Behringer had infringed on Mackie copyrights with its MX 8000 mixer, noting that circuit board layout was not covered by U.S. copyright laws.
In 2005, Roland Corporation
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
sued to enforce Roland's trade dress, trademark, and other intellectual property rights with regard to Behringer's recently released guitar pedals. The two companies came to a confidential settlement in 2006 after Behringer changed their designs.
In 2009 Peavey Electronics Corp. filed two lawsuits against various companies under Behringer/Music Group umbrella for patent infringement, federal and common law trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution and unfair competition.
In 2011 The Music Group filed a lawsuit against Peavey for "false advertising, false patent marking and unfair competition". Basically, the lawsuit was about Peavey also failing to comply with the same FCC regulations Behringer had troubles with, which was felt to create unfair competitive advantage.
Behringer University
Inspired by lean manufacturingLean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, lean enterprise, or lean production, often simply, "Lean," is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination...
, and driven by the Kaizen
Kaizen
, Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, game development, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government,...
philosophy of continual improvement, Behringer makes efforts to help its employees to improve. "Behringer University" supplies employees with training resources and E-learning courses to hone their career skills within the company. This project includes classes for management, career planning, health, language, and general knowledge.
Awards
In 2008, Uli Behringer was one of 60 finalists in "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & YoungErnst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
of Germany.
Behringer products have received industry recognition as well. Products to receive industry recognition include:
- DSP110 Shark – Keyboard Magazine, "Key Buy" Award, 2001
- Mixers – Acoustic Guitar Magazine, "Player's Award," 2002
- DDX3216 Digital Mixer – Nominee for Mix Foundation's 18th annual TEC AwardsTEC AwardsThe TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings and concerts...
in 2003 - BX1200 Bass Amp – Thomann customer's "Gear of the Year" Award, 2003
- BCD2000 – First Place Winner, "DJMAG.Com" Tech Awards, 2006
- BUGERA 6260 Amp and 412H-BK 4x12 Cabinet – Guitar World, "Gold Award for Quality and Design," 2008