Dyson Revealed the Zone Headphones In early 2022, the company combined its air filtration expertise with noise-canceling headphones. At the time, COVID-19 was still a big part of our lives, but the Zone doesn’t protect you from the virus. Instead, Less polluted air It allows you to charge your smartphone while battling urban toxins, seasonal allergens, and more in your daily life. But the first model had an extremely short battery life and a hefty price tag of $949, making it a device the average person couldn’t afford.
Now the company has launched its first “audio-only” over-ear headphones, the Dyson OnTrac. There’s no mask or air filtration system like the Bane, just a set of noise-canceling headphones with a decidedly Dyson look and a steep $500 price tag. Battery life is no longer an issue, and the company is touting both the OnTrac’s active noise-canceling (ANC) performance and audio quality. There are also over 2,000 customization combinations for the outer caps and ear cushions, so you can change up the look however you want.
The design of the OnTrac headphones looks like something made by the same company that makes the V12 stick vacuum, Airstrait hair straightener, and Cool air purifier. Dyson combined ergonomics with premium materials to ensure a proper seal for audio and ANC, while still maintaining comfort. The company used aluminum, copper, nickel, and ceramic for the outer caps of the ear cups, and “ultra-soft microfiber” foam cushions for the ear pads. They also feature “multi-pivot gimbal arms” for added comfort and pressure relief. Additionally, Dyson moved the battery to the headband for better weight distribution.
Inside the OnTrac are 40mm, 16-ohm neodymium speaker drivers that Dyson says offer a frequency response of 6Hz to 21kHz, which covers a wider range than the standard 20Hz to 20kHz range that most headphones offer. The company also tilted the drivers 13 degrees toward the ears for improved acoustic performance. All of this combines to deliver “deep sub-bass that you can feel and clear treble at the top end of the frequency range.” Dyson promises that OnTrac will also “reveal hidden detail.”
OnTrac’s ANC setup consists of eight microphones that sample external sounds 384,000 times per second. According to the company, these microphones work with custom noise-cancelling algorithms and “carefully designed internals” to block 40dB of noise. Battery life won’t be an issue, either, as long as Dyson’s claims come true. The company says that OnTrac can last up to 55 hours with ANC on, thanks to two high-capacity lithium-ion battery cells. A 10-minute charge will give you up to 2.5 hours, and a 30-minute charge will give you 9.5 hours (both with ANC on). During that playtime, the onboard playback and volume controls are operated by a “joystick” on the back edge of the right ear cup. A double tap on the outside of either ear cup will toggle ANC on and off.
The OnTrac headphones are available in four colors — aluminum/orange, copper/blue, black-nickel, and ceramic red — and are priced at $500 from Dyson. Replacement caps and cushions are available in sets of two for $50. Most options have to be purchased directly from Dyson, as only a few colors are available from other retailers.
