What Is the Cost of the Headphones Used in Parliament?

The headphones provided to Members of Parliament during the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad have sparked controversy after opposition MP Mir Ahmed Bin Kashem publicly complained about their poor quality, saying prolonged use caused pain from his ears to his head.

The Daily Campus investigation reveals that the supplied headphones are from the American brand Shure, model SRH240A — the entry-level model in Shure’s professional headphone lineup.

According to Shure’s official website, the SRH240A retails at $69 (approximately Tk 8,457 based on the latest Bangladesh Bank dollar rate). This is the lowest-priced model in Shure’s current range.

For comparison, other Shure models include:

• AONIC 50 GEN 2: $389 (≈ Tk 47,750)
• SRH840A: $169 (≈ Tk 20,737)
• SRH440A: $109 (≈ Tk 13,374)
• SRH1540: $500 (≈ Tk 61,375)
• SRH1840: $549 (≈ Tk 67,332)

German-based content creator Natalia and Habib, commenting on social media, noted: “An honourable MP posted about the headphones today. This is an entry-level headphone costing around 60–70 euros. In our company in Europe, we use Dell headsets worth about 120 euros for 4–5 hour daily meetings — they are truly comfortable for long sessions. I thought for such important parliamentary discussions, a slightly ‘parliament-grade’ headset would have been kinder to MPs’ ears!”

During yesterday’s session, mechanical faults in microphones also disrupted proceedings. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed announced a 20-minute break to resolve the issue, stating: “Due to technical problems with the microphones, there is disruption. It will be fixed shortly. The Zuhr azan is being called now. The session is adjourned for 20 minutes.”

The complaints and revelations have triggered widespread discussion online about the quality and cost of equipment supplied to MPs.