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Hand-Crafted With Care.

Founded in 2000 by Siwei Zou, SE Electronics has rapidly grown into an internationally-respected manufacturer managed by a group of dedicated, creative individuals spread out across the globe, spanning four cities on three continents. After studying Western Composition at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and moving on to become a successful conductor, composer, and bassoon player, Mr. Siwei Zou was invited to California State University as a visiting scholar in their music department. During his first years in San Francisco, his contacts in Shanghai would send him newly-developed microphones with which to record. Though he was impressed with the performance of these models, he was unhappy with their machining and design, and began suggesting changes. At this point, sE began to take shape as a business. In the company's infancy, all sE microphones were produced by the same large-scale manufacturing facilities that still produce mics for dozens of brands known around the world. However, Siwei felt the need for a higher standard of quality and artistic control over his mics, and in 2003 the company opened its very own production facility in Shanghai.

The SE Factory.

Built By Hand.

Designed In-House.

Since 2008, the sE factory has been run by Siwei's daughter, who presides over the day-to-day operations of the company and all of its 65 employees, including their team of 12 skilled staff engineers. At this facility, sE manufactures nearly everything that goes into their microphones. Additionally, sE has the distinction of being the world's only microphone manufacturer to collaborate with Mr. Rupert Neve - arguably the most famous name in the history of recording equipment. Today, sE Electronics is made up of specialized design, engineering and production teams, and has a global sales and marketing team across Europe and the USA.

The world's finest musical instruments are built by hand, and so are these mics. Why? A microphone is the first - and most important - part of your signal path. No matter what you're recording, your microphone is capturing the movement of air. Tiny fluctuations in air density set the capsule's diaphragm in motion, creating the tiniest of electrical impulses, which are amplified by the microphone and sent down an XLR cable to your preamplifier - but it all starts with the capsule's diaphragm. In short, a microphone's capsule is about as delicate an instrument as you can find.

This simple fact is why at sE, all the condenser capsules and ribbons are designed in-house, and constructed & tuned by hand by the highly skilled technicians in our capsule rooms. Building and tuning a capsule is a subtle, artistic process, and given the scale of the vibrations which they must perceive, this is the most vital element of the mic. Whether your sE condenser or ribbon costs $2,000 or $200, we're hand-building it for you. From chassis to shock mount, the assembly of each piece of equipment is given the same care and attention to detail, and each and every mic is tested in our very own anechoic chamber and by the highly-trained ears of our final testers.

SE Electronics

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