Whenever you hear the phrases “Dyson headphones,” the very first thing that involves thoughts is probably going the Bane-like Zone. The corporate debuted its air-purifying wearable in 2022, however woefully quick battery life saved the product from being helpful every day. Now Dyson is again with one other model, and its sole objective is to offer audio and energetic noise cancellation (ANC) for “regular” use. The OnTrac headphones ($500) have a basic Dyson coloration scheme and construct with lengthy battery life, however the lack of superior options maintain this premium set of cans from competing with the very best.
Dyson
An virtually infinitely customizable design is what’s distinctive about Dyson’s first headphones (with out onboard air purifiers).
- Crisp, clear sound
- Lengthy battery life
- Listening to well being options
- Customization choices
- Value
- Audio lacks depth and immersion
- No spatial audio or superior options
- Common ANC efficiency
$500 at DYson
Design
I’d wager for those who fed an AI picture generator the immediate “Dyson headphones” you’d get one thing just like the OnTrac. There’s little doubt what firm made these cans, with clear nods to issues like vacuums, air purifiers and hair care gadgets. That’s very true of the copper, navy and silver coloration combo on my assessment unit, a trio of hues that has appeared on earlier merchandise from Dyson.
To keep up the premium search for these very high-end headphones, the corporate used a mixture of metals and ceramics for the outer shells of the ear cups. Relying in your coloration desire, the choices embody copper, aluminum, black nickel, blue, inexperienced, grey or pink. Then there are the micro-suede, cloth-wrapped ear pads in one other seven hues. Dyson says it is going to promote extra units of the outer caps and cushions with over 2,000 doable combos throughout the entire elements. That may be a excessive diploma of customization, for those who’re prepared to pay much more than the preliminary $500.
These interchangeable supplies accompany a segmented headband and rotating, gimbal-esque building that when once more recollects earlier Dyson gear. The corporate says it put the 2 battery cells within the headband for higher weight distribution, which is why the 2 aspect sections of that element are inflexible and solely the middle one is plush and cushiony. Alongside the again edges of the ear cups are controls for energy/pairing on the left with a playback “joystick” on the best. That latter choice lets you play/pause, skip tracks and regulate quantity, along with activating a voice assistant.
Whereas I reward Dyson for utilizing largely bodily controls right here, the joystick does take some getting used to. You must be very exact, so that you don’t press down by any means if you’re really attempting to maneuver up, down or to the aspect. I nonetheless usually pause the music after I’m attempting to vary the quantity, even after a couple of weeks of use. The skin of each ear cups are touch-enabled, permitting you to cycle by way of ANC and transparency mode with a double faucet. This works properly, reliably accepting inputs even after I solely get the sting of the panel.
Dyson’s choice to stay the battery within the headband does assist with total consolation. The OnTrac headphones remained loads cozy for hours at a time and by no means felt heavy regardless of their dimension. My solely gripe right here is that the ear cups are spherical as an alternative of oval. I don’t thoughts them from an aesthetic standpoint, however after I go to place them on my oval-shaped ears, I’ve to regulate the headphones with a couple of wiggles for a great match. It’s not like most units the place I simply put them on and my ears are within the candy spot. Plus, the OnTrac is massive and ponderous. So even when they’re comfy, you’ll need to take that under consideration for those who plan to make use of these for journey.
Options and software program
The OnTrac headphones work with the MyDyson app, however there aren’t loads of options there. You get the standard battery share, noise controls, EQ choices and on-board management tutorial proper up entrance. The EQ menu is restricted to a few presets – Enhanced, Bass Enhance and Impartial – with the primary being the default (and the very best). Diving into the settings menu by way of the gear icon allows you to disable automated head detection and maintain listening quantity beneath 80dB.
One distinctive factor that Dyson places in the primary app interface for OnTrac is a real-time sound publicity graph. This shows each in-ear sound degree and exterior noise during the last 30 seconds. Staying beneath 85dB for in-ear measurements will maintain you out of the pink right here. That corresponds with about 75 p.c quantity, which is nearly painfully loud on these headphones.
The OnTrac doesn’t have any superior options like automated speech detection or adaptive ANC, each of which you’ll discover on Sony’s 1000XM5. There’s additionally no spatial audio choice, which has turn out to be a core aspect of most flagship headphones and earbuds lately. Not solely does Dyson lag behind the competitors on this space, however it’s additionally considerably pricier than most alternate options. The fundamentals are well-covered by way of options, however that’s about it.
Sound high quality
The actual measure of headphones, in any case, is sound high quality. Dyson packs in 40mm drivers able to a frequency vary of 6Hz to 21kHz. And whereas this gives nice readability, the OnTrac headphones lack the immersiveness most high-end fashions supply today.
The OnTrac headphones are nice to take heed to by way of total element, however the inventory tuning is void of the depth that loads of flagship fashions supply. The likes of Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and Bowers & Wilkins all present a deeper, richer sound that tends to envelope you, even for those who aren’t listening to spatial audio.
Killer Mike’s Songs For Sinners & Saints lack the low-end thump that the album gives on different headphones just like the 1000XM5. There’s good element for some genres although, such as you’ll hear with Koe Wetzel’s 9 Lives. With the OnTrac, I may decide up clear texture within the track’s drums and guitars, whereas the nation singer’s vocals lower by way of the combination. Billy Strings’ current bluegrass dwell album additionally sounds good on the OnTrac, however if you enterprise to one thing like Jack White’s No Identify, there’s an airy-ness that’s lacking from the general sound profile. Issues that may soar on different units, like White’s guitar riffs, are a bit muted, and the general sonic impact is subdued, when it could blanket you with sound on a competing machine.
ANC efficiency
Dyson says the OnTrac’s ANC setup makes use of eight mics to detect undesirable sounds 384,000 instances per second. Mixed with the passive noise isolation from the ear pads, the headphones can block as much as 40dB of distracting sounds. That appears fairly good on paper, however in the long run, the OnTrac does solely a median job with fixed rumbles from followers and white noise machines. It struggles mightily with human voices and TV sounds. These headphones can be OK in sure conditions, however the one-size-fits-all strategy to noise-blocking doesn’t silence the world the best way Sony, Bose and others can.
Name high quality
The OnTrac headphones do a stable job of blocking background noise on calls, however the total voice high quality falls behind comparable flagship headphones. My voice sounded compressed and lacked any vitality you’d need on a name. Dyson could have devoted eight microphones to ANC, however just one is afforded to calls. And, properly, you possibly can actually inform.
Battery life
Dyson guarantees as much as 55 hours of listening with ANC on, a determine that’s solely surpassed by Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 (60 hours) amongst headphones I’ve reviewed. What’s extra, that’s 25 hours longer than Sony’s WH-1000XM5, which is our present prime decide for greatest wi-fi headphones. I managed 48 hours of use with noise cancellation on at a cushty 50 p.c quantity. If you happen to want it, a quick-charge choice provides you two and a half hours of ANC-enabled playback in 10 minutes or 9 and a half hours in half-hour .
The competitors
At $500, Dyson is competing with the likes of Apple and Grasp & Dynamic, which each promote premium over-ear headphones for greater than the OnTrac. Nevertheless, solely M&D’s MW75 made our greatest wi-fi headphones record, largely as a result of firm’s premium design and pure sound profile. Not like Dyson, Grasp & Dynamic combines steel and leather-based finishes in a means that appears like headphones and fewer like a chunk of equipment.
If you happen to’re in search of a greater worth, my recommendation is to save lots of your self some huge cash and go for Sony’s WH-1000XM5. For considerably much less, you’ll get wonderful sound high quality, highly effective ANC and a bunch of superior options that can make your life simpler. These embody automated speech detection that can pause your music when you could have a fast chat and the power to modify sound settings based mostly on exercise or location with out having to futz with an app. They’re extra comfy and are a greater journey companion, plus you’ll get 360 Actuality Audio the place supported and DSEE Excessive upscaling to reclaim element in songs that’s in any other case misplaced to compression.
Wrap-up
If you happen to’re a fan of Dyson’s design, you is likely to be inclined to spend massive on the OnTrac headphones. With a less-than-stellar audio profile and common ANC efficiency, the dearth of superior options means you’re settling for an honest set of headphones when higher choices can be found for a lot much less. The customizable design is a plus, as is the spectacular battery life and listening to well being characteristic, however you may get the lengthy runtime elsewhere. On the finish of the day, I’m undecided the design is sufficient to make these headphones stand out from the gang.
