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. 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.

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.