When you're looking for a new pair of headphones, you of course want them to sound good, be comfortable to wear, and be as painless as possible to use. Naturally, I expect you to be looking for pairs from the likes of Bose. Sony or Apple Firstly, such is their extreme brand recognition.
Let me suggest a new contender: the AKG N9 Hybrid. These on-ear headphones tick all the basic boxes and will even improve the sound quality on your devices with a nifty feature – all at a price lower than the three aforementioned brands, even at their full price of AU$499. Why pay if they have got 36% off on Amazon? This makes them so easy to recommend.
If you haven't heard of AKG before, you're probably not alone. However, the company has a long and distinguished history in the audio world. It was founded in 1947 in Austria and then acquired by Harman in 1994. Harman was then acquired by Harman. Samsung in 2017, so essentially AKG is now a sub-brand of a sub-brand of Samsung.
The N9 Hybrid on-ear headphones sold here are the company's latest attempt at creating a true alternative to more established brands, and our review found them to be largely successful. The key to this success is the USB-C dongle, which can be hidden in the left earbud when not in use.
The dongle can be connected to any device that has a USB-C port, including best iPhonescausing the audio output to be upscaled to a higher resolution, something the iPhone can't do natively. The dongle also provides a more stable and reliable connection than Bluetooth, and allows for instant connection—no more need to go into the Bluetooth settings on your device.
The possibilities don't end there. Battery life is incredibly good: up to 100 hours with noise cancellation turned off. Turn it on and you'll get up to 45 hours of battery life on a single charge—more than you'll get from Bose, Sony, or Apple.
Noise cancellation is also impressive, although admittedly not class-leading, and the smartphone app lets you adjust various settings, including EQ and spatial audio.
According to our reviewer, the sound quality is excellent, detailed and “beautifully balanced.” It was this balanced sound profile that allowed our tester to use them not only for music, but also for movies and games. One pair of headphones for all occasions? You can't get much better value for money than this.
Even at its original price of AU$499.95, the AKG N9 Hybrid offers a lot of features. They're now 36% off (in white) and are sensational value. The black couple also gets a discount, although only 19%.
