The first Dyson headphones, the Zone (4/10, WIRED review), with their attachable air filter for cynical techno-futurists, were so ridiculous and stupid that I had a hard time taking the company seriously. Let’s face it: Dyson’s vacuum cleaners and hair care products are a lot of fun, but many of its other products are feeble, design-forward gimmicks that quickly fade away behind the media hype. Sure, you saw a few “fanless” Dyson air movers or purifiers in high-end locations after they first came out, but they never achieved the broad market ubiquity of are shiny plastic-sucking machines.
All this to say: I had low expectations for the new, $499 Dyson OnTrac headphones. With everyone from established brands like Apple, Sony, and Bose to newer brands like Sonos at the height of their noise-cancelling headphone gameit was just hard to imagine Dyson making a product that could compete in anything other than extruded plastic styling. But after a few weeks with my review unit, I think they are among the better headphones on the market.
These are visually customizable over-ear headphones with great sound, excellent noise cancellation, and 55 hours of battery life. I’m surprised to admit that I like almost everything about them.
To suck up
A big, stately box accompanies the new OnTrac headphones, but the hard case you use to protect the headphones between uses leaves a lot to be desired. Just like the case that comes with AirPods Max (8/10, WIRED recommends), the one that comes with the Dyson heads is a slip-in situation, with holes in the top and bottom of the housing that let in dust and other debris if you toss them in your bag. It does little to protect the headphones from bumps and bruises, which is annoying when you've dropped a lot on a pair of headphones.
Photo: Parker Hall
The headphones themselves are a bit like Dyson vacuum cleaners: they’re maximalist, plasticky, and packed with color options. My review units came in a flashy metallic copper with navy accents, with the option to swap out ear pads and earcups in other colors. Considering the price, I actually like that these things are so easily swappable, as it means you can replace them when they wear out.
Unlike recent competitors like the Sonos Ace (8/10, WIRED recommends), they’re big and bulky, not sleek, and light, weighing in at 451 grams compared to the Ace’s 311 grams and the AirPods Max’s 385 grams. That said, a comfortable, well-padded headband and thick fabric ear cushions give them a great seal around my ears for good passive noise isolation, and they don’t feel heavy on my head.
Bells and whistles
To turn the headphones on, you press a small physical button on the bottom of the right ear cup until you hear the chime and see a small light flash to indicate they’re in pairing mode. From there, you control the headphones either with a joystick (another nod to Apple’s AirPods Max) on the right ear cup or by touching the left ear cup with your hand to switch between transparency mode or noise canceling. This mix of touch and physical controls is perhaps the only annoying thing I found with the OnTrac; I kept accidentally touching the ear cup and turning ANC off while I was working in the yard. I wish that was just another button on one side or the other instead of being controlled by touch.
Photo: Parker Hall