The Dyson Zone headphones raise questions. So many questions. Why are they so big? What’s it like wearing the mask? Can headphones created by a company best known for vacuum cleaners be any good?
The quick answers are, in order: because they are noise-cancelling headphones and personal air-filtration device in one; a little disconcerting at first, but you get used to it; and yes, actually.
That last answer may be the most surprising of all. A company whose expertise lies in vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and fans is turning its hand to audio. That’s not something everyone would have seen coming, but there is a weird sort of logic to it.
They all involve acoustics in some shape or form. In the case of the vacuum cleaners and fans, keeping the motors as quiet as possible is the important thing. That experience comes into play here with the air-filtration aspect, which requires adding a mask to the headphones that gives a you a bit of a sci-fi look. Six years and 500 prototypes in the making: Dyson really wants you to have clean air.
The mask attracts attention. It took me a few days to work up the courage to go outside wearing the full kit
It was only a matter of time before someone made the obvious joke. My husband cracked first; I sent him a photo of me testing out the Dyson Zone, and he sent back a picture of Bane from Batman.
It’s not far off. If you are in any way self-conscious, the Dyson Zone may not be for you. The mask attracts attention. My eight-year-old saluted me when she tried it on (she felt like a pilot); the six-year-old begged me for a turn, and then promptly asked if he looked silly. Kids know. Even at my current age – which is somewhere between “I don’t give a damn who wears what” and “My, aren’t these sandals comfy?” – it took me a few days to work up the courage to go outside wearing the full kit.
But as headphones go, the Dyson Zone does well. On the right cup, you have a small joystick to control music and phone functions; on the other is the button to control the filtration speed. Tapping on the right ear cup enables the noise cancelling or switches you to transparency mode; the former activates with a satisfying thunk, like something is locking down, but the latter doesn’t work as well as other headphones and you have to strain to hear.
You get 50 hours of active noise cancelling and audio on a single charge. That’s down to twin rechargeable batteries on the headband, meaning the weight is distributed a little differently. Turn on the air purifying and you’ll cut that down to about four hours on low and less than two on high mode.
They are heavier than other headphones I’ve tried. They are comfortable for a while, but you eventually feel the weight – plus if you dip your head for any reason, they can slide forward, which is awkward.
Air filtration will only work when the mask is properly connected; remove it and the airflow will stop. That makes sense, as the angle of the airflow means you wouldn’t get any benefit from it without the mask to guide the purified air across your mouth and nose.
The mask directs the airflow effectively, and although you can set it to auto mode, which will detect your activity and speed up the airflow and slow it down accordingly, it never feels like you are being blasted in the face with a jet of air.
Good
As far as living up to promises go, the Dyson Zone hits the mark. It cuts down on noise pollution while giving you a stream of purified air.
The active noise cancelling is good, cutting out up to 40dB – that means most voices, and nearly all the background noise – before you even started playing audio.
Sound quality is way better than you would expect, although the preset equaliser options don’t offer the chance to customise your own settings, but you can use your device’s settings to adjust where available. The presets also cover quite a bit in terms of audio requirements, but there are only three options.
Bad
Although the design distributes the weight of the batteries across the headband rather than storing it in the ear cups, the headband can dig in after a while.
Also they aren’t cheap, rivalling high-end, premium audio brands in terms of price but without the heritage built up behind it. They are good, but are they good enough to persuade people to part with €850?
And there’s the weird factor, though a straw poll among less techie observers showed a surprising willingness to don the mask if it meant cleaner air.
Everything else
Unhinging the mask from the headphones will activate conversation mode – stopping the air filtration and activating transparency mode.
You can view the Zone’s performance in the MyDyson app, showing both real-time noise and air pollution filtering.
The verdict
They’re certainly a talking point, and work well as both headphones and air filter. But will people pay the premium price?
