AKG N9 Hybrid Black

This set of headphones was a promising idea, but the implementation is flawed, and unnecesarily so.

By default the headphone gives beeps and voice announcements of everything: that it is on, that is is turning ff, that this function is on, that it is off. And these announcements are LOUD and destructive, as they cut off the sound of what you are listening to. There is no button or button combo to turn that off. You have to go in the AKG app. And in the AKG app you can only turn off certain voice announcements. Some other remain. And the beeps cannot be turned off at all. Note that the volume of them is very loud, loud enough to give concern about hearing damage. This is just plainly poor, sloppy product design.

The basic sound of the headphone is decent but not great - it does require still tweaking of the eq to tame the highs, which can be shrill - and this can only be done with an app. Even though it has several eq presents, there is no button or button combination to cycle through presents. You must go in the app. This is poor design. A set of say 3 well designed presets would be enough, and a button combo to cycle though them.

The built in microphone (works on bluetooth or dongle only, not directly via USB or the analog minjack). This is another flaw. The mic should at least have a basic 3-pole connection. Also even on bluetooth the microphone does not just work without modification. It is always "enhanced", meaning it is, probably with som AI, always collecting information. In the app, you cannot turn off the "enhancements" to the audio of your conversation - not the microphone you speak into and not even the incoming audio, which is also "enhanced" and you cannot turn it off.

By default the headphones autoplay and autopause when you take the headset on or off. You cannot change this behaviour without going in the app.

Despite having a built in USB jack already on the phone, you still need the app to update the firmware.

The dependence on the app is privacy-invasive, as the app details on IOS shows that it collects "diagnostics" and "usage data". A device that has access to what I listen to, and my phone conversations, and has a mic - should NOT be collecting sending information of any type to any where. This is dystopian.

And anyway it is poorly designed. Too many things just lumped in with no thought or design intention, and the invasive app used as a crutch for everything.