I tested Dyson’s first ever headphones that come with an expensive twist – I look weird but the sound is air-mazing
WE all know Dyson creates top notch vacuum cleaners, fans and hair styling devices – but we never expected headphones quite like the Dyson Zone.
The over-ear headphones double up as a wacky air purifier that make you look like a cross between Batman villain Bane and music duo Daft Punk.
I’ve been testing the Dyson Zone for the past two weeks to see if Dyson’s big new idea is air tight or full of hot air.
How does the Dyson Zone work?
First things first, let’s get through some of the functional aspects.
The Dyson Zone looks and acts like any other pair of headphones without the visor on – in fact, the company sees this as its primary function first and foremost.
A magnetic visor clips on and can be adjusted to your face and mouth, and this is when the air purification kicks in – and when you start to look a little strange.
The aim is to serve as an aid against outdoor pollution in places such as crowded cities where you’re more susceptible to pollutants as well as allergens.
Tightly packed motors that do the filtering are actually in the cans.
Dyson Zone: Look and feel
The Dyson Zone is a meaty bit of kit, weighing almost 1.3 pounds without the visor and just over 1.4 pounds with it on.
That’s a lot and you can definitely feel it when you first hold them.
But to my surprise, I don’t notice it quite so much once they’re on my head.
The premium plush cushions attached to the headband, as well as the cosy ear pads seem to do a good job of offsetting the heaviness.
A metal mesh makes up the cans with a plastic centre which reveals part of the motors on the inside, giving it a slick industrial style.
The pair I’m using are known as “Prussian Blue” – what I’d describe as royal blue.
A shiny ” Bright Copper” colour adorns the plastic visor.
This magnetically clicks into place and can be dropped at any point so you can stop the airflow and talk as normal.
A tiny metal joystick-like button acts as the controller, allowing you to turn the volume up and down, and skip or pause tracks.
Dyson Zone: Sound
As headphones are the primary use for the Dyson Zone, sound quality is obviously important – especially given that these are not cheap with a starting price of £749.99.
Dyson is surprisingly well positioned for this type of product, given that the company has been working on noise reduction in its vacuum cleaners for years.
And it most definitely shows.
I always use London Underground as the ultimate test for noise cancellation and the usual screeches of the track were wonderfully dulled.
Dyson says the Zone has 11 microphones inside it, eight of which are used by the advanced noise cancelling (ANC) system to reduce the sound of the city up to 38 dB.
And despite the fact motors are right by your ears, you can’t hear them when air purification is on while you listen to music.
The speakers are devilishly good, bursting with base and crisp vocals.
Dyson’s accompanying app – MyDyson – lets you dabble with the equaliser, as well as noise cancellation options: Isolation, Transparency and Off.
Dyson Zone: Purification
The app will also show you key information about air quality in real-time with an easy-to-understand graph.
If the battery is too low, the airflow won’t work.
Dyson claims you can get 50 hours of audio-only run-time or 4 hours of combined purification and audio run-time.
It took me a good week of regular daily use – without the visor – to need a charge.
You can switch the airflow between several air speeds, which blast clean air right to your mouth via the visor.
It’s a refreshing sensation, but I can’t help feeling like a bit of a plonker walking around my town with it on.
If you’re looking to catch people’s attention, this is certainly one way to go about it.
I prefer using the Zone without it on.
But if you’re sensitive to pollutants and allergens I can see how this might be useful in crowded places.
Dyson Zone: Verdict
Dyson has definitely come up with something very different in the audio space.
I think most people will probably try the visor part once then forget about it.
But as an audio product, it’s beautiful and feels extremely premium inside and out – as it should given the hefty price tag.
And it’s the price that will be the real sticking point.
Even notoriously expensive Apple and its top-of-the-range AirPods Max 2 are cheaper than the Dyson Zone.
Dyson has long triumphed as the expensive, premium vacuum cleaner brand.
The same happened when the firm branched out into fans and again with hair styling products, so maybe this bold entry will surprise me by doing the same.
Verdict: 4/5
The Dyson Zone is available for £749.99 at Dyson.co.uk, Dyson Demo Stores and selected third party retailers.
The Dyson Zone Absolute+ is available for £819.99 exclusively available at Dyson.co.uk and Dyson Demo Stores.
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