Setting the stage for the Super Bowl's memorable golden anniversary', Lady Gaga delivered a soulful, classy rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner during the pre-game segment, crooning into a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter coupled with an MD 5235 dynamic microphone capsule. Accompanied by just a solo piano, her performance was marked by her incredible dynamic range and subtle use of cadence - captivating the emotions of millions of viewers around the world in clear and pristine audio.
The MD 5235 capsule works with her voice really well and I don't have to get in the way of what she's doing, says Jim Corbin, monitoring engineer for Lady Gaga. One of the things I love most about this capsule is that it picks up dynamics really well, both in the lower and higher registers. This is also true with proximity - if she is up close on the mic or farther away, it sounds very similar and I don't have to change settings. In terms of reliability, I wouldn't want to use another wireless product for an event like this.
Super Bowl 50 goes Uptown' with Sennheiser
Following an ultra-physical, first half match up between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, the halftime show featured headliner Coldplay, who was soon joined onstage by veteran stadium performers Bruno Mars and Beyonc . Mars' set began with Uptown Funk - featuring collaborator Mark Ronson on the decks and a troupe of dexterous dancers adding an impressive dimension of visual energy aside a captivating vocal performance by Mars - who sang through a custom Sennheiser headmic solution.
Bruno is probably the most involved artist I've worked with as far as the sonics are concerned, says Toby Francis, who handled FOH mixing duties for Bruno Mars during Super Bowl 50. One of the things I love about the MD 5235 capsule is that it performs better than any other mic when the artist goes out in front of the P.A.. And these days, there is usually some element in the staging that puts the artist in front of the speakers. The MD 5235 has a tight pattern and good rejection to handle this - it also sounds more hi-fi' than most other dynamic microphones.
Pristine digital audio in the court of the Queen Bey
The intensity of the 12-minute halftime show increased further as Mars was joined onstage by Beyonc , accompanied by her own legion of physically nimble, leather-clad dancers. Beyonc unleashed her most recent single Formation - while delivering a command performance through a Sennheiser Digital 9000 wireless system with a customized gold SKM 9000 handheld transmitter and MD 9235 dynamic microphone capsule. Mars rejoined Beyonc for the new track as the two embarked on a dance off' - Mars switched over from the headmic to his tried and true Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter and MD 5235 capsule combination.
For a long time, Beyonc was on Sennheiser's 5000 wireless series. But when we finished the 2014 tour, we had a chance to upgrade to the Digital 9000 system. Since then, we've never looked back - there is really no other choice, says Stephen Curtin, FOH engineer for Beyonc . The thing that we appreciate most is its sound, he elaborates. Before the Digital 9000, everything would be going through some companding and compression - so you'd be losing a bit of your frequency bandwidth. Since Beyonce is such a dynamic singer, we can now represent this entire bandwidth more accurately.
With the Digital 9000, it was just another great sonic experience, added James Berry, Beyonc 's monitor engineer. Steve [Curtin], the broadcast mixer, myself and of course Beyonc were all extremely pleased - the unit delivered great sound and a solid RF performance. Berry says that Sennheiser was at their side to help support the event for the duration: They sent out two Digital 9000 units - one that had to be loaded in for rehearsals, and another unit that was loaded in for the halftime show. Everything went perfectly.
Beyonc leveraged her successful halftime show performance to announce her Formation Tour, a 40-date affair that will kick off on April 27th and which will rely on the Sennheiser Digital 9000 system to deliver authentic audio.
Sennheiser: setting the stage for flawless RF
RF engineer James Stoffo says that Super Bowl 50 was probably the most difficult RF environment of any of the 17 Super Bowls I've ever done. He attributes this to both the proximity to Silicon Valley, the proliferation of white-space devices and an increasingly congested UHF spectrum. Sennheiser equipment has always been the most meticulously engineered wireless microphones on the market, so having a quality product out there for an event like this calms my nerves, he says. Since it is a digital system, the signal is much more tolerant to interference - this is not the case with other wireless systems, which will typically pick up background RF noise on overcast days. The Digital 9000 is a solid piece of machinery and an example of where we have faith in the quality of Sennheiser products.
As Stephen Curtin comments, the success of an event of this scale depends on a tightly knit team of professionals, including Valencia-Calif.-based ATK Audiotek - which once again provided audio integration services for this year's Super Bowl: I trust all the guys that are involved - from ATK to all the independent engineers that are there. It is a huge trust factor among a lot of people, like Pat Baltzell, a sound designer and FOH mixer who has been doing this for almost two decades. The stakes are really high, but the people involved are at the top of their game and there is a lot of trust there. And obviously the equipment side is covered with Sennheiser.
Sennheiser is proud to have played an integral role in such a milestone event, concludes Byron Gaither, A
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
08/12/2025
DENVER MediaKind, a global provider of cloud-based video streaming technology announced today that it is acquiring the video business of Harmonic Inc. for appro...
08/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsen has announced that its Audience Segments from Nielsen Marketing Cloud (NMC) are now available across the Amazon Ads marketplace, including the ...
08/12/2025
Marshall Electronics showcases the CV355-27X-ND3 Optical Zoom NDI (NDI HX2, NDI HX3) Camera at ISE 2026 (Booth 4N900). Designed for users seeking high-quality ...
08/12/2025
Cinnafilm today announced the immediate availability of IPx LIVE and Tachyon LIVE, delivering broadcast-grade, real-time IP video transcoding and motion-compens...
08/12/2025
Following a successful 45th anniversary year in 2024, Hiltron reports increasing demand for its wide range of satellite communication equipment manufacturing, p...
08/12/2025
Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh is the first celebrity to be revealed for the s...
08/12/2025
Changing children's lives for good: A staggering 4.6 million raised in the 2025 appeal
The people of Ireland and people all over the world have once again...
08/12/2025
It's murder on the dancefloor as The Traitors Ireland legend Paudie Moloney ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
Setting the stage for the Super Bowl's memorable golden anniversary', Lady Gaga delivered a soulful, classy rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner during the pre-game segment, crooning into a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter coupled with an MD 5235 dynamic microphone capsule. Accompanied by just a solo piano, her performance was marked by her incredible dynamic range and subtle use of cadence - captivating the emotions of millions of viewers around the world in clear and pristine audio. 
