RutSum

Getting Cheap Sennheiser Headphones in Delhi

UPDATE : I bought the Sennheiser HD 415 from the eBay seller delhimall (Phone Number – 9212000728). Got a pretty good bargain (2650 INR was the price, I paid 2250 INR, with a 15% discount coupon from eBay). The purchase from eBay was a pretty smooth one, the seller is cooperative and helpful. I am located in Delhi, I just wish he would ship it a bit faster. Took him 6 days.

Another place where you can get Sennheiser in Delhi is Multilink Technologies at Nehru Place. Phone numbers are – 011-41617562, 011-41617563

According to the post, its been almost 11 months since I bought the Altec Lansing AHP524 Studio Headphones, and they are still capable of producing as crisp sound as when I first bought them. I’ve mentioned earlier that I got these headphones dirt cheap, at about 1000 INR. The compromise was build quality, it was all plastic, and not very sturdy. The left ear cup broke off a few months ago. This was, however, not a problem, I was able to fix them and put them back in a workable condition.

Recent developments have led me to appreciate and realise the intricacies in music, and the desire to experience a better sound experience has forced me to move on. I now need new headphones.

Sadly, I’m still on a tight budget, so I am limited to Sennheiser’s low end range. From the vast collection they have, I’ve managed to short list 3 of them, based on sound quality, durability, comfort and of course, cost.

1) HD 202 – These ones are the cheapest of the lot. Most reviews I read online are favorable, and say that these headphones are 100% value for money. Problem is, these headphones are almost the same as the one as I currently have, just better build quality. High frequencies tend to cut off, and surround sound experience is not satisfactory. My AHP 524s have precisely the same limitations, and therefore buying these doesn’t make much sense, except for a slight improvement in bass and better build quality. Should cost around 1300 INR.

2) eH 150 – At first look, these headphones are a pleasure to the eye. Sleek and elegant. Crisp and thumpy bass; clear, loud treble, and excellent reproduction of high and mid range frequencies are some of the commonly mentioned pros in the reviews I found. Sadly, this model doesn’t seem to be quite popular, I could find just 1 listing for these ones on eBay and reviews are also scarce. This makes me scared, because the thing that scares me most is getting stuck with a problem/defect in a product which is a one-off case and the company has no idea how to deal with it. Other than that, I can see no downsides to these headphones. In fact, some reviews go ahead and mention that these headphones sound better than any of its competitors within twice the price range. Sounds nice to me. Cost would be somewhere near 1950 INR.

3) HD 415 – The most expensive of the three I shortlisted, are also the only supra-aural headphones of the three. They are low impedance headphones, and will therefore work great with any portable music device (phone, iPod, PMP) that I buy in the future (right now, all I have is my phone). Orgasmic bass, excellent reproduction of highs, mids and lows! Comfortable for long duration use, portable, have a cable winder attached. The design too, is awesome. If these didn’t come with a price tag of 2500 INR, I would’ve bought them immediately. The price tag is about 20% more than I can currently afford to spend. I can wait for a while, collect some more cash, and then buy these, but then you always get the feeling, are they worth it?

More difficult than deciding between these headphones is finding a place in Delhi/NCR that sells them cheap enough. eBay seems to have decent rates, but I have my doubts about eBay. I like to pay cash and get my products in my hand instantly. There are always cases when people get scammed on eBay or have a bad experience with a dealer because of misunderstandings.

There are a few shops at Nehru Place, but those too, are scattered and only a handful. Anybody know any specific place where I can get Sennheisers for a reasonable rate?

If you liked this post, or found it useful, don't forget to subscribe to my RSS feeds. Or you can get my posts delivered to your inbox directly, by subscribing to my feeds by email. Or maybe you'd like to know what I'm doing right now, by following me at Twitter.