There is a lot to like about it Dyson Zone headphones, from the great sound to the excellent noise cancellation. Then there’s the addition of a visor that can filter out city pollution to help you breathe more comfortably. But at $1,000, it’s a tough sell, especially for anyone who doesn’t live or work in a place like a big city, where air pollution is a bigger problem. Many headphone users simply won’t benefit from the heart-zone air filtration system.
Watch this: Dyson Zone headphones review: Great sound despite its weight
After spending some time with my review model, I was impressed with its sound quality and noise cancellation, but its hefty weight, odd looks, and limited appeal make it difficult to recommend, at least to most people. Those with deep pockets who walk or stroll through the busy streets of New York may see the value in these unusual earphones. Traditional services will be better served to everyone else Noise canceling headphones.
Dyson’s Zone headphones are now selling in the US for $1,000 (£749, about AU$1,395 converted), direct from Dyson’s website.
They are not entirely accurate.
Dyson first introduced the Zone speakers Last year, honestly We weren’t sure what to think. They’re bulky, over-ear headphones with metal grilles and a removable, twist-on face shield that sends fresh air into your mouth and nose using tiny compressors and filters inside the earcups. It’s definitely the first of its kind, and Dyson thinks it’s on to something.
Dyson area
Likes
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Great sound quality
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The active noise cancellation is excellent
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Great battery life for music
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Purifying the air can help reduce breathing problems in big cities
You do not like
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very expensive
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Too heavy
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Indoor filtration has limited appeal beyond affluent city dwellers
The Zone is designed for urban use, for those of you who walk or cycle through major cities in the world where air pollution at ground level is a serious problem. Then there are the pollutants in underground subway systems, which can be worse than they are at street level. Dyson says its filter system captures 99% of airborne particulate pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and airborne dust, which are a particular problem in cities.
Now, I can’t judge how good it is In reality It works because it’s fun that I don’t have my own particle lab to test it scientifically. But I went and watched Dyson Laboratories in the UK, where they spent more than six years testing and purifying the area using medical-grade mechanical lungs on mannequins in pollutant-filled chambers to measure how many nasty gases actually got into those lungs. They also test how well it works on heads of different shapes and how effective the system is in different wind conditions.
Watch this: Dyson to your face? Explanation of the area of the air mask and headphones
Wearing a mask feels a bit strange, but it’s not very comfortable. It attaches magnetically to the cups of the headset and sits slightly in front of your face to blow a stream of cool air around your mouth and nostrils. It’s a nice feeling.
The airflow is powered by the smallest motors Dyson has ever made — one in each earcup — but having them so close to your ears is a bit like having two hair dryers attached to your head. Cancellation helps reduce this noise, but you can still hear it, especially if you’re listening to nice music or podcasts. I listen to a lot of metal from bands like Periphery which definitely cranked up the engines when I turned the volume up.
Air filters are located below the metal grilles. They are easy to replace and each set should last up to a year.
But the biggest problem for me is that I personally feel a little silly wearing a condom outside. I feel oh-so-poppy, and it definitely attracted a lot of curious looks while I tried it on. However, I live in Edinburgh, which is a relatively clean city and not the target for the area, so no need to wear it here. I might feel differently on the streets of Paris or Beijing.
I like the overall look.
But it’s new and Anything new often looks a little strange in the beginning. Face masks weren’t common on Western streets until the pandemic hit, and now it’s completely normal to see them on and around, so maybe this type of technology is something we’ll eventually get used to seeing. And Dyson has a solid track record for its unusual products going mainstream, with its bladeless fans and hand dryers now popular, and its Air Wrap hair straightener dominating TikTok beauty feeds the world over.
The filters are easy to access under the earcups’ metal grilles, and Dyson says each set should last about a year before they need to be replaced. The Dyson app tells you when they need to be replaced, while also giving information about the air quality in your area.
The Dyson app shows the air quality in your area.
Take off the face mask and it becomes a standard pair of headphones — albeit a big one. Thanks to these engines, it weighs around 600 grams (21 ounces), which makes it quite heavy. Much heavier than AirPods Max from Apple, which we criticized for being too heavy – it’s just 390 grams (13.6 ounces). However, the earcups are deeply cushioned, making them comfortable to wear for a few hours at a time. The headband fits securely, which makes it feel lighter than it is. I never felt like they were in danger of slipping while walking.
I would be interested in a version where not only the filters and visor can be removed, but the entire filtration unit can be detached when not needed. It will make headphones more comfortable for general use — say, while sitting at your desk for eight hours, or watching a movie at home — when you don’t have to worry about breathing in outside pollution. It may also allow models without the filtration to be sold for less money, while allowing you to purchase the filter system as an optional add-on if you decide you need it. I’d definitely be interested to see what the second generation area looks like.
Active noise cancellation is excellent though, keeping road noise to a minimum and removing general background hum in cafes and bars almost entirely.
They deliver a nice, well-balanced tone too, with 40mm drivers delivering excellent bass that gives a solid yet controlled kick to the EDM tracks that don’t drown out the rest of the beat. As a result, high frequencies from acoustic guitars, cymbals, or strings sound crystal clear. The Tesseract’s Hexes track has been reproduced with rich, warm bass, powerful kick drum and cymbal hits and bright, defined vocals.
These are some great headphones.
Meanwhile, the shimmering high notes of acoustic guitars and close-knit vocals on Enter Shikari’s acoustic version of Dreamer’s Hotel sounded great.
The audio has a battery life of 50 hours, though that will drop to between 90 minutes and four hours with the air filtration on. But that should be enough for your commute to the office, when you can whip them up on a charger for your trip home. Dyson says it can handle wearing it in the rain, but there’s no official water resistance rating here. So keep them away during heavy rains and try not to swim with them.
So there’s no doubting that the Dyson Zone performs well as a set of headphones, but the fact remains that $949 is a hell of a lot of money and a good portion of that cost is for the air filtration system. So you’ll really need to think about how important that is to you in your day-to-day life. If you commute daily through the heart of polluted megacities going along with traffic or experiencing the stale air of the subway for hours each day, it could be a good investment in your long-term health. If you just want a pair of headphones, you can save a bundle and look elsewhere.