We’d forgive you for not remembering that Dyson had already launched one pair of noise-cancelling headphones in 2022.
After all, the company’s best known for its premium cordless vacuum cleaners, fans, hair dryers and air purifiers — and the Dyson Zone headphones were positioned as a more niche product with a detachable air purifying mask on the front that most of us wouldn’t want to wear in public.
This time around, Dyson’s thankfully gone for something much more straightforward with its brand-new OnTrac headphones.
They’re large noise-cancelling over-ear headphones with customisable designs, high-end noise elimination and noise monitoring, long battery life and soft foam ear cushions.
Dyson OnTrac headphones: At a glance
Dyson OnTrac: Noise-cancelling
- Dyson’s OnTrac are a high-end pair of standalone active noise-cancelling headphones
- They’re designed for effective passive attenuation with foam ear cushions to block external sounds
- That works in combination with powerful active noise-cancelling (ANC) that monitors background noise 384,000 times a second and uses eight microphones to limit the background distractions from reaching your ears
Dyson OnTrac: Sound quality and features
- They have 40mm speaker drivers, promising excellent high-fidelity sound quality
- They have an impressive 55-hour battery life with the ANC turned on
- You use the MyDyson app and on-headphone buttons, joystick and touch surfaces to control them – the app also provides reports about potentially harmful levels of noise you’ve experienced
Dyson OnTrac: Materials, weight and colours
- They’re reasonably heavy at 451g, but they try to distribute weight thoughtfully by placing the batteries within the headband rather than the ear cups – this should make a difference to how heavy they feel to wear
- The main materials are lightweight aluminium and microfibre
- Dyson OnTrac colours: they come in “CNC Copper”, “CNC Aluminium”, “Ceramic Cinnabar”, and “CNC Black Nickel” colourways (we know you’re wondering – as far as we can tell, “CNC” stands for “computer numerical control”)
- But, you can customise the outer cap panels and ear cushions to make the look of the headphones your own
Dyson OnTrac: Price
- They cost £449.99, which puts them firmly in premium territory
- Still, that’s more affordable than the Dyson Zone, which cost £750 at launch (and £549 to this day)
Dyson OnTrac
Key specifications
| Battery life | Up to 55 hours |
|---|---|
| Charging | USB-C |
| Weight | 451g |
| Water resistance | No |
Notably, Dyson has decided to focus more on sound quality and noise-cancellation with this product, compared to the Dyson Zone, which has more of a focus on its unique removable face visor for air purification.
However, reviewers of the Zone praised the audio and noise-limiting capabilities, so it makes sense that Dyson would want to further refine those elements into a product with the audio experience and noise control as its primary selling points.
From what we’ve seen after a brief hands-on session with the new headphones, they are certainly large and the weight is noticeable. In fact, they’re even heavier than the Sonos Ace and Apple’s AirPods Max. But, if Dyson’s promise of balanced weight distribution turns out to be true, they could end up being more comfortable than the Apple premium pair.
It’s certainly competing in the same high-end tier, with it having the same price tag as the Sonos at £449.99, not far off the AirPods, which are £499. That’s far from a cheap pair of headphones, but if they live up to their claims, they may be worth it.
“Dyson’s audio engineering mission is to preserve the integrity of the artist’s sound wave, free from interference. We also wanted to create a set of headphones that people would cherish, be excited by, and be proud of. With over 30 years of experience in aeroacoustics, we’ve mastered sound physics,” says Jake Dyson, Chief Engineer.
“By reducing noise through in-house anechoic chambers and expert engineers, we’ve applied and further expanded our audio knowledge to develop the Dyson OnTrac headphones. Our first over-ear audio only headphones deliver best-in-class ANC, exceptional sound quality, and all-day comfort through unique materials, design and customisation.”
The other aspect of the Dyson OnTrac that we find the most intriguing is the completely customisable look of the product. Dyson says there are “over 2,000 customisable colour combinations for outer caps and ear cushions,” making it possible to get a look that feels unique and personal.
Sets of caps and cushions will be available from the Dyson site for £49.99, and some styles will also be stocked at third-party retailers.
At launch, the Dyson OnTrac headphones will come in “CNC Aluminium”, “CNC Copper”, “Ceramic Cinnabar”, and “CNC Black Nickel” colourways, all available from the Dyson website on 1 August for £449.99.
Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks, on Threads at @simonrcocks, and on Twitter/X at @simoncocks.
